AP Calculus AB and BC

AP Calculus Calculator Policy: What Is Allowed and When

A graphing calculator is required on two of the four exam parts, Section I Part B and Section II Part A, and not allowed on the other two. The exam expects four skills: plot a function, find zeros and intersections, evaluate a derivative at a point, and evaluate a definite integral numerically.

Which parts allow a calculator

The AP Calculus exam, AB and BC alike, has two sections, and each section splits into two parts: one you work with a graphing calculator and one you work without. A graphing calculator is required on Section I Part B, part of the multiple-choice section, and on Section II Part A, part of the free-response section. It is not allowed on Section I Part A, the larger multiple-choice part, or on Section II Part B, the final free-response part.

The weighting favors pencil and paper

Taken together, the two no-calculator parts are about two-thirds (66.7%) of your total score. The calculator earns points on a minority of the exam, so most of your practice should be by hand, and the machine should stay a tool you reach for on purpose rather than a crutch you cannot do without.

BC follows the same calculator rules as AB. Both use the calculator on Section I Part B and Section II Part A and forbid it on the other two parts, so everything in this guide applies to either course.

The four things your calculator must do

The College Board expects fluency with four specific calculator operations, and every question on the calculator-active parts is written assuming you can perform them quickly. Anything beyond these four you should be able to handle by hand.

Plot the graph of a function in a viewing window you choose.
Find the zeros of a function (solve an equation numerically), which also locates where two graphs intersect: set one minus the other equal to zero and solve.
Evaluate the numerical value of a derivative at a given point.
Evaluate the numerical value of a definite integral.

Notice what is not on the list. The calculator is not expected to find antiderivatives symbolically, factor, or display algebra steps, and on the exam you should never lean on it to. Learn your own model's exact keystrokes for these four operations before exam day, because fumbling the syntax under time pressure is where calculator-active points leak away.

When to trust the calculator, when to do the algebra

On the calculator-active parts, the numbers are usually ugly on purpose. A definite integral with no clean antiderivative, an intersection that is not a whole number, a slope that refuses to simplify: these are signals that the question wants the machine. On the no-calculator parts the numbers are built to work out by hand, so if your algebra there is turning into a mess, suspect an error rather than hunting for an arithmetic trick.

Reach for the calculator when the task is compute-a-number: the total accumulated by a messy rate function, the point where two curves cross, the slope at a specific input. Do the algebra when the question says show, justify, or asks for an exact value. A calculator readout is never a justification, and a decimal is not an exact answer.

Write the setup, not just the number

On the free-response section, notation and communication are scored. A definite integral you evaluate on the calculator still has to appear on your paper as the integral, for example $\int_0^8 r(t)\,dt$ , before the numeric value. A bare number with no setup earns little even when it is correct, because the reader cannot see the reasoning behind it.

Radian mode and the mistakes that quietly cost points

A handful of calculator habits separate students who gain points on the calculator parts from students who lose them, and none of them are about being clever. They are about being disciplined.

Radian mode, every time

AP Calculus works in radians. If your calculator is in degree mode, every trig value, and every derivative or integral of a function containing $\sin$ , $\cos$ , or $\tan$ , comes out wrong. Set radian mode before the calculator section begins and confirm it, because a degree-mode slip can silently ruin an entire question.

Keep full precision inside the calculator and round only at the very end. Store an intermediate result to a variable, or use the answer (Ans) key, rather than copying a rounded value back in by hand. Rounding early compounds: using $3.14$ in place of the stored value of $\pi$ throws $\pi \cdot 25^2$ off from $1963.495$ to $1962.5$ , nearly a full unit of error (about $0.995$ ), which is more than enough to miss a three-decimal-place answer.

Report final answers to three decimal places unless a question says otherwise, the standard the AP free-response instructions ask for. AP accepts an answer that is either rounded or truncated to three decimal places, so the danger is not truncation itself but reporting fewer than three places, or letting early rounding corrupt the digits before you get there. Keep three decimals and the answer stays in range. And because two of the four parts have no calculator at all, drill those skills by hand: the machine will not be there for the parts worth two-thirds of your score.

Do not memorize an approved-model list

Which calculator models are permitted changes from year to year, and the only current, authoritative list is the one the College Board publishes. Check that official calculator policy before exam day rather than trusting a list copied elsewhere, this guide included. Naming specific approved models here would only go stale.

Confirm your specific model appears on the College Board's current list of permitted calculators.
Practice on the exact calculator you plan to bring, so the four required operations are automatic instead of a menu hunt on exam day.
Carry fresh or spare batteries; a dead calculator on a calculator-active part costs you those questions outright.
Learn your model's menu path for a numeric derivative and a numeric definite integral, since the keystrokes differ by brand.

Worked examples

Worked example

Calculator-active free response: total from a rate

Section II Part A, calculator required. Water is pumped into a tank at a rate of $r(t) = 20\sin\left(\frac{t^2}{35}\right)$ gallons per minute for $0 \le t \le 8$ minutes. Find the total number of gallons pumped into the tank over the 8 minutes, and present the answer in correct free-response form.

Read for the operation. A total amount from a rate over an interval is an accumulation, so the tool is a definite integral of the rate: total $= \int_0^8 r(t)\,dt$ . Because this is a calculator-active question and $r(t) = 20\sin\left(\frac{t^2}{35}\right)$ has no clean antiderivative, this is exactly the kind of integral the numerical integrator exists for.
Write the setup on paper first. Before touching the calculator, put the integral on your answer sheet: $\int_0^8 20\sin\left(\frac{t^2}{35}\right)\,dt$ . The reader scores this setup, and writing it also tells you precisely what to enter.
Confirm radian mode, then evaluate numerically. With the calculator in radian mode, evaluate the definite integral of $20\sin\left(\frac{t^2}{35}\right)$ from $0$ to $8$ using your model's numeric-integral command. Keep every digit the calculator returns and do not round yet.
Round once, at the end, to three decimal places. The integrator returns $76.5703\ldots$ , which rounds to $76.570$ .
State the answer with units, and pace it. Report that the tank receives $76.570$ gallons over the 8 minutes; the integral expression together with this value is a complete response, while a lone number is not. Part A is a short two-question calculator block, so split your time evenly between the questions and resist over-polishing: once the setup is written and the value rounded, move on.

The tank receives $76.570$ gallons of water over the 8 minutes, found as $\int_0^8 20\sin\left(\frac{t^2}{35}\right)\,dt \approx 76.570$ .

Frequently asked questions

Is a calculator required for the whole AP Calculus exam?

No. It is required on only two of the four parts, Section I Part B and Section II Part A. Section I Part A and Section II Part B are worked without a calculator, and together those no-calculator parts are about two-thirds of your score.

Does BC allow a calculator on different parts than AB?

No. AB and BC use the same calculator rules: a graphing calculator is required on Section I Part B and Section II Part A and is not allowed on the other two parts.

What is the single most common calculator mistake?

Being in degree mode. AP Calculus is done in radians, so a calculator left in degree mode returns wrong values for anything involving $\sin$ , $\cos$ , or $\tan$ , including numeric derivatives and integrals of those functions. Set and confirm radian mode before the calculator section.

Which calculator models are allowed?

The list of permitted models is set by the College Board and can change from year to year, so check their current calculator policy directly rather than any secondhand list. Practice on whatever permitted model you plan to bring so the four required operations are automatic.