AB vs BC: What's the Difference?

AP Calculus · Axiom Academy

LESSON AB vs BC: What's the Difference? Understand the two AP Calculus tracks and choose your path Overview: Two Paths to Success AP Calculus comes in two versions: AB and BC . Both are rigorous, college-level courses that focus on limits, derivatives, and integrals. The key difference is scope and depth. By the end of this lesson, you'll understand the curriculum for each, which topics overlap, and which additional topics BC students encounter. AP Calculus AB Detailed Curriculum Unit 1: Limits, Continuity, & Change Intuitive and formal definitions of limits Limit laws and algebraic evaluation Continuity and discontinuities Unit 2: Differentiation & Derivatives Average and instantaneous rate of change Limit definition of the derivative Derivative rules (power, product, quotient, chain) Derivatives of trig, exponential, and logarithmic functions Unit 3: Applications of Derivatives First and second derivative tests Unit 4: Integration & Accumulation Antiderivatives and indefinite integrals Riemann sums and area approximation Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Integration techniques (substitution, by parts) Applications (area, volume, accumulation) AP Calculus BC Additional Content BC students cover everything in AB, plus: Unit 5: Differential Equations (Expanded) Slope fields and solution curves Euler's method for numerical approximation Separable differential equations Exponential growth and logistic models Unit 6: Parametric & Polar Curves Parametric equations and curves

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full AP Calculus course.