AP Precalculus Drilling Guide: Calculator and No-Calculator Lines, Four FRQ Types, 12-Week Plan

TUTORZONE EXAM DRILL GUIDE · AP PRECALCULUS (POLYNOMIAL, EXPONENTIAL, TRIG, POLAR)

Built on the exam structure in the official course and exam description: 2 hours 55 minutes in total; Section I is 42 multiple-choice items (Part A 29 items in 65 minutes without a calculator, Part B 13 items in 40 minutes with a graphing calculator, about 63% together); Section II is 4 free-response questions in 70 minutes (Part A 2 questions, 35 minutes, calculator allowed; Part B 2 questions, 35 minutes, no calculator, about 37% together). This page is the drilling method only – how to keep the calculator and no-calculator lines apart, the order for the four free-response types, a 12-week timetable, pacing, the usual mark losses and the error log. For questions with worked answers use the original mock linked below.

AP Precalculus drilling technique: Unit 1 Polynomial and Rational Functions is 30-40% of the multiple choice, Unit 2 Exponential and Logarithmic 25-40%, Unit 3 Trigonometric and Polar 30-35%; Unit 4 is not assessed. Separate average from instantaneous rates of change, put log equations over a common base, and give every general solution for trigonometric equations. Each free-response question is 6 points – always explain what the model parameters mean.

Subject-specific weighting for this timetable: Three passes over 12 weeks. Weeks 1-4 are by topic only: one pass each over polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, and trigonometric and polar functions (10 multiple-choice items plus one free-response question inside 40 minutes), and every item is labelled calculator-allowed or no-calculator, with the two lines kept in separate books. Weeks 5-8 move to by year: one timed multiple-choice part (A or B), then one free-response question, self-marked point by point against the official scoring guidelines, checking that the modelling answer states what each parameter means. Weeks 9-12 are whole papers under time (2 hours 55 minutes run continuously), one a week, and from week 11 only the recurring errors in the log are redone plus whichever unit was skipped.

Three columns, never copied-out questions: calculator mode (angle unit, window, and whether the calculator was needed at all), parameters and units (what each constant in the model stands for, and whether its unit is written), direction of simplification (which trigonometric or logarithm law was used, and whether the answer came back to the shape the question asked for). Three entries in one column in a week means drill only that column next week; the parameters column is worth the most, because the free-response guidelines award the explanation and the assumptions as separate steps.

The first AP Precalculus exam ran in May 2024, so only three sessions of questions have been released and by-year drilling alone is not enough: work through all the released free-response questions (four a year, twelve in total), and use the official samples plus original mocks for the rest of the task types. Multiple-choice items are not released, so Section I is paced on original mocks and textbook banks – about 2 minutes 14 seconds an item in Part A and about 3 minutes in Part B are the targets.

Is this page a mock paper or a drilling guide?
This is the AP Precalculus drilling guide: assessment structure, drill order, a 12-week timetable, pacing, common mark losses and the error-log method. For questions with answers, use the AP Precalculus mock papers linked under Related.

By topic or by year first?
By topic. Eight to ten years of the same topic back to back is what exposes repeating errors; going straight to whole papers just repeats the same batch under time pressure.

How should the error log be written?
Do not copy out questions. Per error record four things: question reference, which step failed (concept, wording, calculation), what the mark scheme requires, and the correct action next time.

Should the calculator and no-calculator parts be drilled separately?
Yes, and in two separate books. The same topic is solved differently on each side: without a calculator you drill factorising, logarithm laws and trigonometric identities, and with one you drill window settings, intersections and reading parameters off a graph. Drill them together and you will reach for the calculator in Part A, where it is not allowed, and burn minutes out of the 65.

The unit weightings are ranges – how should study time be split?
The official weightings are ranges: polynomial and rational functions 30-40%, exponential and logarithmic 25-40%, trigonometric and polar 30-35%, so do not split time evenly down the middle. Sit one mock first, count the marks lost per unit, and give the weakest unit the top of its range (40% in the example) while the others get the bottom – the total is still 12 weeks.

Related: AP Precalculus original drilling mock with worked answers · practice area