Course Audit

AP Precalculus

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March 2024–January 2025

Teachers submit materials and administrators renew courses for 2024-25 authorization.

AP Course Audit

Find resources below to help you complete the AP Course Audit. For more information on the authorization process, please see  About AP Course Audit . 

 

AP Course Audit Submission for 2024-25 

 

All new and returning AP Precalculus teachers can now submit an AP Course Audit form and choose one of these three options for authorization: 

  • Adopt a sample syllabus or unit guide 
  • Claim an identical syllabus to a colleague who has been authorized for the 2024-25 school year 
  • Submit a new or revised course document 

Sample syllabi and Syllabus Development Guide are available below. 

AP Precalculus Course and Exam Description

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 Precalculus Course and Exam Description

Curricular and Resource Requirements

Your course must fulfill these requirements.

AP Precalculus curricular requirements:

  • The students and teacher have access to a precalculus textbook in print or electronic format.

  • The course is structured to incorporate the required content outlined in units 1, 2, and 3 in the AP Precalculus Course and Exam Description.

  • The course provides opportunities for students to develop the skills outlined in the course and exam description related to:

    • Mathematical Practice 1: Procedural and Symbolic Fluency

    • Mathematical Practice 2: Multiple Representations

    • Mathematical Practice 3: Communication and Reasoning

  • Students have access to graphing calculators and opportunities to use them to solve problems and to explore and interpret precalculus concepts. 

  • The course provides opportunities for students to practice building function models in settings where students must choose, construct, and defend the selection of a function model. 

AP Precalculus resource requirements:

  • The school ensures that each student has a precalculus 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 a precalculus 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.

Example Textbook List

The list below represents examples of textbooks that meet the curricular requirements of AP Precalculus. 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. 

The current editions of the following textbooks meet the Course Audit curricular requirements. Earlier editions of these texts or other textbooks not listed here may meet the AP Course Audit curricular requirements. 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. 

  • Abramson, Jay. Precalculus. 2016. Open Stax.
  • Axler, Sheldon. Precalculus: A Prelude to Calculus. 3rd Edition. Wiley.
  • Beecher, Judith, Judith Penna, and Marvin Bittinger. Precalculus: A Right Triangle Approach. 5th Edition. Pearson.
  • Blitzer, Robert. Precalculus. 6th Edition. Pearson.
  • Carlson, Marilyn P., Michael Oehrtman, and Kevin Moore. Precalculus: Pathways to Calculus. 2021, Hayden-McNeil.
  • Cohen, David, Theodore B. Lee, and David Sklar. Precalculus (custom version). 7th Edition. Cengage.
  • Connally, Eric, Deborah Hughes-Hallett, Andrew Gleason, et al. Functions Modeling Change: A Preparation for Calculus. 6th Edition. Wiley.
  • Demana, Franklin D., Bert K. Waits, et al. Precalculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic. 10th Edition. Pearson.
  • Demana, Franklin D. et al. Precalculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic (AP Edition). 11th Edition. 2023, Pearson. 
  • Dugopolski, Mark. Precalculus: Functions and Graphs. 4th Edition. Pearson.
  • Faires, J. Douglas, and James DeFranza. PreCalculus. 5th Edition. Cengage.
  • Larson, Ron. Precalculus. 10th Edition. Cengage.
  • Larson, Ron, and Robert P. Hostetler. Precalculus. 7th Edition. Brooks Cole.
  • Larson, Ron, et al. Precalculus with Limits: A Graphing Approach. 5th Edition. Houghton Mifflin.
  • Lial, Margaret L., John E. Hornsby, David I. Schneider, and Callie Daniels. Precalculus: A Right Triangle Approach. 5th Edition. Pearson.
  • Lippman, David, and Melonie Rasmussen. Precalculus: An Investigation of Functions. 2nd Edition. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
  • Miller, Julie, and Donna Gerken. Precalculus. 1st Edition. McGraw Hill.
  • Ratti, J.S., Marcus S. McWaters, and Leslaw Skrzypek. Precalculus: A Right Triangle Approach. 4th Edition. Pearson.
  • Ratti, J.S., Marcus S. McWaters, and Leslaw Skrzypek. Precalculus: A Unit Circle Approach. 3rd Edition. Pearson.
  • Rockswold, Gary K. Precalculus with Modeling & Visualization. Pearson.
  • Stewart, James, Lothar Redlin, and Saleem Watson. Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus. 7th Edition. Cengage.
  • Sullivan, Michael. Precalculus. 11th Edition. Pearson.
  • Swokowski, Earl, and Jeffery Cole. Precalculus: Functions and Graphs. 13th Edition. Cengage.
     

Sample Syllabi

These annotated sample AP Precalculus syllabi show how the curricular requirements can be demonstrated in a syllabus and what level of detail you’ll need to include.

AP Precalculus Sample Syllabus 1

AP Precalculus Sample Syllabus 2

Guide to Developing Your Course Document

Review this document for help creating your syllabus. 

Syllabus Development Guide: AP Precalculus

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.