AP Precalculus Exam

Section I: Multiple choice

42 questions · 105 minutes · 62.5% of score

Forty-two multiple-choice questions, split into two separately timed parts by calculator policy. Items come from every representation the course uses: graphical, numerical, analytical, and verbal, including real-world context and modeling. Each question has four answer choices with one correct answer, and there is no penalty for guessing.

• Part A: 29 questions, 65 minutes, no calculator. This is the larger part, worth 43.75 percent of the whole exam on its own.
• Part B: 13 questions, 40 minutes, graphing calculator required. Only some Part B questions actually need the calculator, but it must be available. Worth 18.75 percent of the exam.
• Calculators should be in radian mode. Across the section you get roughly 2.5 minutes per question, a little tighter on the no-calculator Part A.

Section II: Free response

4 questions · 70 minutes · 37.5% of score · 6 points each

Four free-response questions worth 6 points each, drawn only from Units 1, 2, and 3. Two of the four sit in a real-world modeling context. The section is split into a calculator part and a no-calculator part, each 35 minutes.

• Part A: 2 questions, 35 minutes, graphing calculator required. These are the Function Concepts and non-periodic Modeling questions.
• Part B: 2 questions, 35 minutes, no calculator. These are the periodic Modeling question and the Symbolic Manipulations question.
• Trained readers score against published rubrics with partial credit throughout. Show all work: answers without supporting work may not earn credit where work is requested.

See the full FRQ guide for what each of the four question types wants and how the points are earned.

Calculator policy

Required on some parts, banned on others

• A graphing calculator is required on Section I Part B and Section II Part A, and is not permitted on Section I Part A or Section II Part B. Keep it in radian mode.
• You are expected to use it to graph functions and analyze their graphs (increasing and decreasing intervals, concavity, extrema, zeros, asymptotes), generate tables of values, evaluate functions, solve equations, find real zeros, and find points of intersection.
• Avoid rounding intermediate computations. Unless a question says otherwise, report decimal approximations accurate to three places after the decimal point. Storing values in the calculator instead of retyping rounded ones keeps your final answers precise.

Multiple choice by unit

Approximate ranges from the CED

• Unit 1, Polynomial and Rational Functions: 30 to 40 percent.
• Unit 2, Exponential and Logarithmic Functions: 25 to 40 percent.
• Unit 3, Trigonometric and Polar Functions: 30 to 35 percent.
• Unit 4, Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices: not assessed on the exam. Schools teach it based on local requirements.

By function type, the multiple choice section runs roughly: general non-analytical functions 15 to 25 percent, polynomial and rational 20 to 25 percent, exponential and logarithmic 20 to 30 percent, and trigonometric and polar 30 to 35 percent.

The three Mathematical Practices

What every question is really testing

• Practice 1, Procedural and Symbolic Fluency: 35 to 50 percent. Carrying out procedures and manipulating expressions accurately.
• Practice 2, Multiple Representations: 20 to 30 percent. Moving between graphical, numerical, analytical, and verbal forms of the same idea.
• Practice 3, Communication and Reasoning: 30 to 40 percent. Justifying conclusions and explaining why, not just computing what.