<p>I'm a rising senior, and plan on taking AP Calc, AP Chem, and AP Eng Lit. (This is all I have left for the AP's at my school). I'm going to be taking Honors Physics as well, but I want to know if it's possible (or if it's a good idea) to self-study AP Physics B. The only class I've self-studied before is AP bio, and I feel pretty confident with how I did.</p>
<p>I enjoyed Honors-Pre cal last year, and I ended with an A+ average. So any advice on doing this? Is it hard to self study AP Physics B?
I have no previous background with physics as well. </p>
<p>Also any recommended books would be great - basically any help/advice you can give me would be much appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Self studying AP Physics B is very doable with only an honors-level physics course. While most honors physics courses complete Newtonian mechanics first, some try to tackle on optics, waves, nuclear physics first. If yours is like most honors physics courses, you would really need to go learn many of the smaller topics on your own, since it’s highly unlikely your physics course will have covered them by May. Such topics include optics, thermophysics, nuclear physics, and waves. You should also focus a lot more on problem-based physics, especially with electricity and magnetism, which many honors courses tend to water down a bit. Going through past years open-ended problems will be your best friend in self-studying this particular AP, as open ended accounts for 50% of the entire exam. </p>
<p>As for review books, I would recommend the 5 Steps to a 5.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My friends that took AP Physics B last year used Princeton Review and told me it worked really well, so I plan on using it. I heard Barron’s was horrible. </p>
<p>It should be easy enough to self-study physics B with an honors level physics class if your class is truly an honors class. The honors class in my school didn’t go any farther than the general physics class at my school - work, energy, and power. So any student at my school would have been screwed. A typical honors class should be enough give you a good foundation though. You’ll probably have to teach yourself the stuff most classes cover at the end and go more in-depth on some topics frequently watered-down, but it should be fine if you stay focused and study!</p>