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Important Updates

Support for Students and Schools Impacted by Coronavirus
In response to school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re offering at-home testing for 2020 AP Exams. Note that any related adjustments to 2020 AP Exams, such as length or content covered, may not be reflected on all AP Central pages. Visit Taking the Exams for the latest exam information.

New Secure Practice Exam
The international 2019 AP Calculus BC Exam is now available on the AP Course Audit site and in the AP Classroom question bank, along with scoring guidelines and a worksheet. 

You continue to have access to the international versions of the 2018 and 2017 exams. All are available as secure practice exams on the AP Course Audit site and as individual secure questions in the question bank. 

As a reminder, these exams are most appropriate for student practice late in the school year, as the exam date approaches.

Get Real-Time Feedback from Personal Progress Checks
Personal progress checks in AP Classroom are a great way to ensure your students are continuing to build mastery of content and skills. The real-time results can help you and your students prioritize additional practice before the AP Exam.

Sign In to AP Classroom

Exam Overview

Exam questions assess the course concepts and skills outlined in the course framework. For more information on exam weighting, download the AP Calculus AB and BC Course and Exam Description (CED). Scoring guidelines for each of the sample free-response questions in the CED are also available.

Encourage your students to visit the AP Calculus BC student page  for exam information and exam practice.

  • Event
    • TUE, MAY 12, 2020, 2PM ET

    AP Calculus BC Exam Day

    •  

Exam Format

The AP Calculus BC Exam will continue to have consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day. The overall format of the exam—including the weighting, timing, and number of questions in each exam section—won’t change.

Section 1: Multiple Choice

45 Questions | 1 Hour 45 minutes | 50% of Exam Score

  • Part A: 30 questions; 60 minutes (calculator not permitted).
  • Part B: 15 questions; 45 minutes (graphing calculator required).
  • Questions include algebraic, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, and general types of functions.
  • Questions include analytical, graphical, tabular, and verbal types of representations.

Section 2: Free Response

6 Questions | 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

  • Part A: 2 questions; 30 minutes (graphing calculator required).
  • Part B: 4 questions; 60 minutes (calculator not permitted).
  • Questions include various types of functions and function representations and a roughly equal mix of procedural and conceptual tasks.
  • Questions include at least two questions that incorporate a real-world context or scenario into the question.

AP Calculator Policy

A graphing calculator is permitted for parts of the exam (see Exam Format).

Exam Questions and Scoring Information

For free-response questions (FRQs) from the 2019 exam, along with scoring information, check out the table below.

Be sure to review the Chief Reader Report. In this invaluable resource, the chief reader of the AP Exam compiles feedback from members of the AP Reading leadership to describe how students performed on the FRQs, summarize typical student errors, and address specific concepts and content with which students have struggled the most that year.

2019: Free-Response Questions
Questions Scoring Samples and Commentary Score Distributions

Free-Response Questions

Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Sample Responses Q1

Sample Responses Q2

Sample Responses Q3

Sample Responses Q4

Sample Responses Q5

Sample Responses Q6

Scoring Distribution

Subscore Distribution

Exam Practice

Score Reporting

Policies