Calculus AB is designed to be taught over a full high school academic year. It is possible to spend some time on elementary functions and still cover the Calculus AB curriculum within a year. However, if students are to be adequately prepared for the Calculus AB examination, most of the year must be devoted to topics in differential and integral calculus. These topics are the focus of the AP Exam.

This one-semester course addresses the core topics and techniques of differential and integral calculus. Topics will be presented and applied in the areas of business, economics, management, and the social and life sciences. Discussion will focus on the following topics: functions, limits, derivatives, techniques of differentiation, maximum/minimum problems, exponential/logarithmic functions, integration, and integration by parts.