Passed Clep Precalculus Today with a 67.

[camjenks]

Wanted to post some details about this test because there doesn't seem to be a ton of information out there. This was pretty much 50% Trigonometry and 50% Algebra 2.5.

Takeaways:

• This one felt pretty hard going into it. There was a lot to cover and I never felt like I was really ready for everything they could throw at me, but it is not terrible, and as long as you have a decent understanding of the fundamental concepts you'll be fine. You need to be able to visualize the graphs, not find 23891 to the 27th power in your head.
  

• You DEFINITELY need to memorize the trig values for the common angles (pi/6, pi/3, etc.) and the trig identities for sin and cos (double angle, sum, pythagorean, law of sines, law of cosines, solving triangles with tan(x)). If you can't recall these from memory, you won't have enough time to derive them during the test.
  
• Make sure you're comfortable working with logs and exponent properties (sum, product, etc.). You do have to recognize what's equivalent and simplify expressions. If the log rules don't jump out at you you may have the solution but not recognize that you need it in a different format.
  
• Make sure you're familiar with the graphs of common functions and how they behave. There weren't many tricky calculations, but there were some questions that seemed vague and daunting until you realized you could eliminate most of the answers by thinking about how their graph would look or what the values would be as x increased/decreased. For example, if you're looking for a graph that decreases as x increases, would 1/x be a solution for x > 0? Can you visualize it without demos?
  
• DEFINITELY know the domain and range of the trig functions really well. And also for the common graphs (log, sqrt, parabola, etc.). You may be expected to find the range of a composite function that includes many of these, so you'll have to think about the domain of one and how its range feeds into another. 
  
• The test assumed some geometry knowledge (volume/area formulas for various shapes). The focus was on solving applying some algebra to a formula, but if you'd forgotten the geometry these questions would be tough. 
  
• Outside of a few questions where the calculator was available, there were no tricky calculations, and even the algebra wasn't really that complicated. Each question was really about whether or not you understood some concept or rule (e.g. recognizing log properties or identifying trig function domain/graph behavior, knowing how to distribute a negative or rationalize a fraction in the denominator). You have to understand the concepts, but you don't need to be a wizard for this.
  

Preperation:
I passed the Algebra Clep in 2017, but I had definitely forgotten some and had to brush up on Algebra I and Geometry. I primarily used Khan Academy's precalculus course to prepare, which basically covers everything in Algebra II and Trigonometry. This was pretty good, but there are definitely a few parts that Khan academy hammers to no end (hello phase shift) and there are parts that it doesn't spend enough time on IMO (like really working with sum/product trig identities). 

I also did the Modern States course, which was decent. The lectures are pretty good. The instructor's handwriting is hard to read at first but later he switches to a board which makes it better. I didn't do the readings but the lectures by themselves would not be enough. They're more of an overview. The practice questions are good though, and give you an idea of what the CLEP will be like if you're coming from khan academy style questions. 

While I waited for my Voucher, I found Organic Chemistry Tutor's "New Trigonometry Playlist" and watched about half of those. He works through a bunch of examples on solving triangles and a bunch of other trig topics that I still needed more work on and it helped a lot. Highly recommend that playlist if you're not confident about the trig yet. 

I also took some practice tests through my library at Learning Express/EBSCO (maybe the Peterson tests rebranded? not completely sure). These were rough. Many of the questions had errors. Some of the problems had typos compared to the provided solution, meaning the problem in the answer key was solvable/factorable but what was written in the problem was not, and some of the answers were just wrong. Quite a few of the problems were a lot more difficult than what's on the actual test, and despite the errors and frustation, I did benefit a lot from working through both practice test. Mostly I just took my time and made sure I understood how to solve it if I struggled on any. 

I also used Paul's Online Math notes (just the Algebra and Trig cheat sheets) extensively. Those sheets are amazing and have just about everything you need. Also, if you check out his Calculus I page, the first section is all a brief recap and is pretty relevant. I tried Professor Leonard as well but I really just needed to focus on the Trigonometry content and he didn't have that part of the course up yet. 


Planning to keep up the momentum and take on Calculus in a few weeks.

[Certainly]

Congratulations! Thank you for the study resources I'm prepping for Calc I and Calc II so I could really use the Pre Calculus refresher.

[Frankiesaysrelax]

Thank you for this. This is very helpful. I need a 61 to get the credits for this. It's my last class to graduate, so this post is extra helpful and at the right time.

[Maniac Craniac]

Excellent score! Congrats!