I am making the assumption that pre-calculus actually includes a fair amount of beginning Calculus. The last few chapters of DS's book is essentially beginning Calculus.
According to the AP Site.. AB is equivalent to one semester of calculus and BC is equivalent to the first two semesters. The AP does not tell a school how to implement this, just what is going to be on the test. A H.S. can obviously teach it where the first semester is done one year, and the second the next but the AP Board doesn't require it to be done that way.
I'm not happy with the way they do AP US in my school. The districts other H.S. do not do it this way, I am not sure why they started doing it this way. But I think they keep up because of tradition, and that it lines of with taking American Literature in 10th grade. But other high schools in my district, has kids take AP Language as a sophomore, and AP US & 'honors' American Lit as a junior.
Check to see how they lines up. According to the AP page, the official names of the Physics tests are now AP Physics I, AP Physics II, AP Physics C(Mechanics), AP Physics C(Electricity and Magnetism). Physics I & II are supposed to be one year cources. The two Physics C tests can be taken the same year, but are different tests so can be taught in one year or two.
