Course Audit

AP Precalculus

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AP Course Audit

For course authorization in the 2023-24 school year, teachers will only need to complete the AP Course Audit form and have it approved by their AP Course Audit administrator. Teachers won’t be required to submit a syllabus until March 2024.

For more information on the standard authorization process, please see About AP Course Audit.

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 are used in precalculus courses in colleges. The list is not exhaustive, and the texts listed should not be regarded as endorsed, authorized, recommended, or approved by College Board. 

  • 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.

  • 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.