When persuing a carrer in Chemistry, is it better to have a AP Calc. AB or BC as a background?

Question

Is Calculus a big deal in this field? I plan on taking all AP Science courses offered in my school, but I'd like to know if it would be okay if I took AP Calc. AB instead of BC.

Answer 1

I took AP Calculus BC a long time ago. In my honest opinion the classes are really similar and you learn the same things except the BC class covers a few more calculus topics. As far as a career in chemistry I think just basic calculus should do you well. However if you're looking to get out of you're math credits at the university level through AP credit (The BC test will give you more credits than the AB test) And you have the option of taking the AB test even though you took the BC Class. Right now it's all about how comfortable you are with math. I'm not sure what university you're looking at but don't hesitate to call that school find out how to prepare for the major that you are interested in. I'm majoring in biochemistry and the requirements are calculus 1 and calculus 2 which you can get credit for with the BC test at most schools.