AP Calculus BC

The key document for each AP course is the course and exam description. Start by reviewing it to understand the objectives and expectations of the course and exam.

AP Calculus AB and BC Course and Exam Description

Your course must fulfill these requirements.

AP Calculus BC curricular requirements:

• The students and teacher have access to a college-level calculus textbook, in print or electronic format.
• The course is structured to incorporate the big ideas and required content outlined in each of the units described in the course and exam description. The course provides opportunities for students to develop the skills related to:
  • Mathematical Practice 1: Implementing Mathematical Processes
  • Mathematical Practice 2: Connecting Representations
  • Mathematical Practice 3: Justification
  • Mathematical Practice 4: Communication and Notation
• Students have access to graphing calculators and opportunities to use them to solve problems and to explore and interpret calculus concepts.
• The course provides opportunities for students to use calculus to solve real-world problems.

AP Calculus BC resource requirements:

• The school ensures that each student has a college-level calculus textbook (in print or electronic format) for individual use inside and outside the classroom. The textbook is supplemented when necessary to meet the curricular requirements.
• The school ensures that the teacher has a copy of the most recent edition of a college-level calculus textbook or other appropriate materials to support instruction.
• The school ensures each student has a graphing calculator for individual use inside and outside of the classroom, with all required capabilities listed in the course and exam description.

The list below represents examples of textbooks that meet the resource requirements of AP Calculus BC and meet or exceed the required alignment to the learning objectives and skills in the course curriculum framework. The list is not exhaustive and the texts listed should not be regarded as endorsed, authorized, recommended, or approved by College Board. Not using a book from this list does not mean that a course will not receive authorization. Syllabi submitted as part of the AP Course Audit process will be evaluated holistically, with textbooks considered along with supplementary, supporting resources to confirm that the course as a whole provides students with the content delineated in the curricular requirements of the AP Course Audit. While every effort is made to keep this list current, it can take a few months for newly published titles and revised editions to be reviewed.

• Anton, Howard, Irl Bivens, and Stephen Davis. Calculus: Early Transcendentals. 9th edition. Wiley.
• Anton, Howard, Irl Bivens, and Stephen Davis. Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Single Variable. 10th edition. Wiley.
• Anton, Howard, et al. Calculus, AP^® Edition. 11th edition. Wiley.
• Anton, Howard, et al. Calculus. 10th edition. Wiley.
• Anton, Howard, et al. Calculus: Single Variable. 10th edition. Wiley.
• Bean, Spencer, Michael Brust, Timothy Kelly, Corey Sullivan. AP Calculus BC Workbook. Flippedmath.com. 
• Best, George, Stephen Carter, and Douglas Crabtree. Calculus: Concepts and Calculators. Venture Publishing. 
• Boelkins, Matthew. Active Calculus. Grand Valley State University.
• Briggs, William L., Lyle Cochran, Bernard Gillett, and Eric Schulz. Calculus Early Transcendentals. 2019. Pearson. 
• Briggs, William, et al. Calculus AP Edition. 2nd edition. 2018. Pearson.
• Demana, Franklin et al. Calculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic AP Edition. 6th edition. 2020.
• Dietiker, Kysh, Sallee, Hoey. Calculus. 2nd edition. CPM.
• Dietiker, Kysh, Sallee, Hoey. Calculus- AP Calculus BC. 3rd edition. CPM Educational Program.
• Finney, Ross L., Franklin D. Demana, Bert K. Waits, and Daniel Kennedy. Calculus: A Complete Course. Prentice Hall.
• Finney, Ross L. Calculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic. 3rd edition. Prentice Hall/Pearson. 
• Foerster, Paul A. Calculus: Concepts and Applications. 2nd edition. Key Curriculum Press.
• Garner, Chuck. Calculus: Dynamic Mathematics for BC. 3rd edition. RMMT Publishing.
• Hartman, Gregory. Apex Calculus. 4th edition. Creative Commons. 
• Hass, Joel, Christopher Heil, and Maurice D. Weir. Thomas’ Calculus. 14th edition. Pearson. 
• Hass, Joel, Maurice Weir, George B. Thomas Jr., and Christopher Heil. University Calculus: Early Transcendentals. 3rd edition. Pearson.
• Hughes-Hallett, Deborah, et al. Calculus: Single and Multivariable, AP^® Edition. 7th edition. Wiley.
• Hughes-Hallett, Deborah, et al. Calculus: Single and Multivariable. 6th edition. Wiley.
• Hughes-Hallett, Deborah, Andrew M. Gleason, and William G. McCallum. Calculus Single and Multivariable EMEA Edition. 7th edition. Wiley.
• Hughes-Hallett, Deborah, et al. Calculus: Single Variable. 6th edition. Wiley.
• Larson, Ron, and Bruce H. Edwards. Calculus (AP Edition) – AP Calculus BC. 11th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Larson, Ron, and Bruce H. Edwards. Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions. 7th edition. Cengage.
• Larson, Ron, Robert Hostetler, Bruce Edwards. Calculus with Analytic Geometry. 6th edition. Houghton Mifflin.
• Larson, Ron, and Paul Battaglia. Calculus for AP®. 1st edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Larson, Ron and Bruce Edwards. Calculus of a Single Variable: Early Transcendental Functions (AP® Edition). 10th edition. Cengage Learning. 
• Larson, Ron, and Bruce H. Edwards. Calculus of a Single Variable (AP Edition). 11th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Larson, Ron, and Bruce H. Edwards. Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions (AP Edition). 6th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Rogawski, Jon. Rogawski’s Calculus: Early Transcendentals, for AP® Calculus BC. 2nd edition. Bedford, Freeman and Worth Publishing Group.
• Smith, Robert T. and Roland B. Minton. Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions. 4th edition. McGraw Hill.
• Stecher, Sarah. Calc Medic. Calc Medic.
• Stewart, James. Calculus. 8th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James. Calculus, International Metric Version. 6th edition. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James. Calculus Concepts and Contexts. 4th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James. Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, Enhanced Edition. 4th edition. Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James. Calculus: Early Transcendentals. 8th edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James and Stephen Kokoska. Calculus for AP®: A Complete Course. 1st edition. National Geographic/Cengage Learning.
• Stewart, James, Daniel K. Clegg, and Saleem Watson. Single Variable Calculus. 9th edition. Cengage Learning. 
• Strang, Herman, et al. Calculus, Volumes 1 & 2 (both required). OpenStax.
• Sullivan, Michael and Kathleen Miranda. Sullivan: Calculus for the AP ® Course - Calculus BC. 2nd edition. Bedford, Freeman & Worth. 
• Sullivan, Michael and Kathleen Miranda. Calculus for the AP Course. 3rd edition. Bedford, Freeman & Worth.
• Swokowski, Earl W. Calculus the Classic Edition. 2000. Cengage Advantage Books. 
• Thomas, George. Thomas' Calculus: Early Transcendentals. 12th edition. Pearson.

This annotated sample AP Calculus BC syllabus shows how the curricular requirements can be demonstrated in a syllabus and what level of detail you’ll need to include.

AP Calculus BC Sample Syllabus 1 (.pdf/351.29 KB)

Review this document for help creating your syllabus.

Syllabus Development Guide: AP Calculus BC (.pdf/172.76 KB)

This resource includes the guidelines reviewers use to evaluate syllabi along with three samples of evidence for each requirement. This guide also specifies the level of detail required in the syllabus to receive course authorization.