College Board AP Exam

The objectives of College Board AP Exam or Admissions Process Examination is to allow you to “Stand Out” in the College Admissions Process. With the College Board AP Exam, you can demonstrate your maturity and readiness for college and to show your willingness to push yourself to the limit. With a good exam results, it emphasize your commitment to academic excellence.

Calculator Policy

For students that are taking the AP Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics, or Statistics Examinations, you can use a calculator in designated sections of the exam.

Graphing Calculator Capabilities for the Exams

The committee develops exams based on the assumption that all students have access to four basic calculator capabilities used extensively in calculus. A graphing calculator appropriate for use on the exams is expected to have the built-in capability to:

• Plot the graph of a function within an arbitrary viewing window
• Find the zeros of functions (solve equations numerically)
• Numerically calculate the derivative of a function
• Numerically calculate the value of a definite integral

One or more of these capabilities should provide the sufficient computational tools for successful development of a solution to any exam question that requires the use of a calculator. Care is taken to ensure that the exam questions do not favor students who use graphing calculators with more extensive built-in features.

Calculus AB and Calculus BC - The use of a graphing calculator is considered an integral part of the AP Calculus course, and is permissible on parts of the AP Calculus Exams. Students should use this technology on a regular basis so that they become adept at using their graphing calculators. Students should also have experience with the basic paper-and-pencil techniques of calculus and be able to apply them when technological tools are unavailable or inappropriate.

Chemistry - Calculators are allowed on the free-response section for the first 40 minutes. During that time, students will work on one required problem plus one problem chosen from a pair of other problems. For the last 50 minutes, calculators must be put away as students work on the remaining free-response questions. For the first 40 minutes, any programmable or graphing calculator may be used, with a few exceptions, and students are not required to erase their calculator memories before and after the exam. Although most calculators are permitted on the free-response section, calculators may not be shared with other students and those with typewriter-style (qwerty) keyboards will not be permitted on any part of the exam. Calculators are not permitted on the multiple-choice section of the AP Chemistry Exam. This is due in part to the recent rapid expansion of scientific calculators’ capabilities, which now include not only programming and graphing functions but also stored equations and other data. For the section of the exam in which calculators are permitted, students should use the calculators with which they are familiar, with as few limitations as possible. Nevertheless, they should not have access to information in their calculators that is not available to other students, if that information is needed to answer the questions.

Physics B and Physics C - Scientific, programmable, or graphing calculators may be used except those with typewriter-style (QWERTY) keyboards. Students are not required to erase their calculator memories before and after the examination. Calculators may not be shared with other students. Calculators are not permitted on the multiple-choice section of the AP Physics Exams. The purpose of the multiple-choice sections is to assess the breadth of students’ knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts of physics. The multiple-choice questions emphasize conceptual understanding and qualitative applications.

Statistics - Each student is expected to bring to the exam a graphing calculator with statistical capabilities. The computational capabilities should include standard statistical univariate and bivariate summaries, through linear regression. The graphical capabilities should include common univariate and bivariate displays such as histograms, boxplots, and scatterplots.

2005-2006 List of Hewlett-Packard Calculators

• HP 9G
• HP 28 series *
• HP 48 series *
• HP 49 series *
• HP 38G *
• HP 39 series *
• HP 40G *

Graphing calculators having the expected built-in capabilities listed above are indicated with an asterisk (*). However, students may bring any calculator on the list to the exam.

Technology Restrictions on the Exams

Powerbooks and portable/handheld computers, pocket organizers, electronic writing pads or pen-input/stylus-driven devices (e.g., Palm, PDAs, Casio Class Pad 300), devices with QWERTY keyboards (e.g., TI-92 Plus, Voyage 200), and cell phone calculators are not permitted for use on the AP Calculus Exams.

About College Board AP

Through college-level AP (Admissions Process) courses, student enter a universe of knowledge that might otherwise remain unexplored in high school; through AP Exams, you have the opportunity to earn credit or advanced standing at most of the United States’s colleges and universities. With 35 courses and exams across 20 subject areas, AP offers something for everyone. What to Bring on Exam Day:

• Several sharpened No. 2 pencils (with erasers) for all multiple-choice answer sheets.
• Black or dark-blue ballpoint pens for free-response questions in most exams.
• Your school code. (If you are a homeschooled student, you will be given a code at the time of the exam.)
• A watch (in case your exam room does not have a clock that you can see easily).
• Your social security number for identification purposes. (If you provide it, the number will appear on your AP Grade Reports.)
• An AP-authorized calculator (see above) if you’re taking an AP Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics, or Statistics Exam.
• A ruler or straightedge if you’re taking an AP Physics Exam.
• A photo I.D. if you do not attend the school where you are taking the exam.