I am almost giddy each year when the free response questions are released. I love seeing what the College Board comes up with to test students' understanding of Calculus concepts. Before the exam, I like to spend time talking with my students about what I think is "due" to show up on the exam, after analyzing the questions from the last several years. These predictions are of course just for fun; I have no insider information and I expect to be dead wrong on most of them. Nevertheless, the students hang on my every word and they're a little extra motivated to do a few more practice FRQs. It's a win-win.
**DISCLAIMER: We have absolutely no insider information for any of these predictions. Proceed with caution.**
After last year's exam with the infamous "spinning toy" problem, I think we can expect to see at least one FRQ that is unlike anything students have seen before, but can be solved by flexibly combining different skills from the course. My guess is that this will be one of the non-calculator questions, and in my predictions I placed it as question 4.
For more helpful information about tackling some of these FRQs, check out our videos on the most commonly seen free response questions and the verbs used on the AP Calc Exam (and what they mean)!
Other helpful resources:
Know Thy Exam (everything you need to know about the structure and format of the exam, plus test taking strategies to maximize your score!)
Things to Know Cold for the AP Calc Exam (what your students absolutely must know).