AP Calculus BC and Physics C and EM Review Books

[photon]

Any recommendations for review books for?:

AP Calculus BC and Physics C and EM Review Books

My dc wants not just to be well prepared for these tests but also have a solid foundation for the subsequent classes in college (dc's brick and mortar school is trying, but the transition to online classes has not been smooth, thus there is a need to fill in any gaps).

Thanks a lot.

[daijobu]

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Edited April 13, 2020 by daijobu

[daijobu]

1 minute ago, daijobu said:

Welcome to the WTM!

Review books like those published by Barron's and Princeton Reivew are not designed to provide "a solid foundation for subsequent classes."  They assume a student has already studied and understood the material in class and are designed to provide practice problems.  

In calculus, the student derives the derivative product rule and does some practice problems and is tested on it, sometimes within the first 2 months of the school year.  The review books are used near the end of the year so the student can reacquaint themselves with the product rule once again before the exam.  They also help the student develop some "muscle memory" with the product rule so it becomes automatic and helps reduce errors.  

Having said that, the College Board makes it easy to access their archive of old exams, which IMO are the best way to prepare for any exam.  You will need to set up a teacher account which requires you to submit a syllabus for approval.  However, if you select one of their pre-approved syllabi, you will be automatically approved.  It's worth this extra effort because of all the resources that are now made available to you.  

They have also made available a Question Bank from which you can create worksheets and quizzes on different topics.  Frankly, it's a little clumsy to use, but I've been creating calculus worksheets for my student this year, and I think he appreciates seeing real AP type problems since early on in the course.  

Now maybe you aren't looking for a review book, but maybe an actual textbook?  

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by daijobu

[MamaSprout]

We're not quite there yet- but I've been looking at resources and reviews of resources since my dd is taking BC next year.

Maybe Physics Prep for the physics courses? It's not a book, but it's a self-study site that is put together by a well-like AP teacher: https://physics-prep.com/

They are more expense than test prep books ($150 for each Mechanics and E&M), but they would be much more complete. This is actually the content of his much more expensive PA Homeschoolers course, but in a self-study format.

For Calc, what textbook does you dc class use?

Larson's books match up with free websites. Here is a popular book AP classes use you could match up with the videos and resources here: https://www.larsoncalculusforap.com/apcalc1e/

or here: http://www.larsoncalculus.com/calc10/content/proof-videos/

Thinkwell's Calc 1 and 2 review courses are free right now and might be useful: https://www.thinkwellhomeschool.com/collections/essential-review-courses

As for a book, Dr Chung's Calc BC book is the one recommended by the extremely well-regarded teacher at Blue Tent, https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542717450?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

I agree that you might have to choose a goal at this point- test prep or solid foundation. Maybe do both, test prep first and continuing after the exam to go deeper on some concepts?

Hope this helps!

 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by MamaSprout

[gstharr]

2 hours ago, MamaSprout said:

Thinkwell's Calc 1 and 2 review courses are free right now and might be useful: https://www.thinkwellhomeschool.com/collections/essential-review-courses

As for a book, Dr Chung's Calc BC book is the one recommended by the extremely well-regarded teacher at Blue Tent, https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542717450?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

I agree that you might have to choose a goal at this point- test prep or solid foundation. Maybe do both, test prep first and continuing after the exam to go deeper on some concepts?

Hope this helps!

 

 

Good tip. The 9th grader is wrapping of TW calculus.  I added TW free  reviews for precalc, calc 1, and calc 2 for when we need them.  It does not say how long they will stay open.  But, it might be like there other classes.  The clock does not start running until the class is opened and assigned to a student.   We still have an unused geometry class in our account from 3 years ago. BTW, all high school math is available for free.