Hi guys! I’m a sophomore currently, about to be a junior.
These are the classes I want to take next school year:
-AP Calc 1
-HON U.S. History 2
-HON French 3
-AP Physics 1
-AP English
I have space for two more classes, and I’m debating if I should take AP Chem, doubling up with AP Physics.
My current chem teacher is also the AP chem teacher and she’s soo hard but I like chem, despite my best test grade is a low B.
I really don’t want to screw up my GPA, but I want to take as many AP’s as possible, but I also like chem.
AP Chem and Calc BC are the hardest at my school Every junior and senior say AP Chem is hellish or a breeze. My older friend, who was valedictorian, said AP Chem was often homework of a few problems a night, but those problems took hours if you don’t understand… Im taking Chem first
Personally, I found AP Chem to be pretty easy, and got a 5 on the AP Exam last year. However, my teacher was AWESOME, and I can definitely see how one who isn’t would make the class much more of a chore than it needs to be.
I’m taking both Physics C classes this year, and Mechanics isn’t too big of an issue, especially if you took a previous physics class. EM requires more adjusting. If you’re taking Physics 1 or 2 (I’m not quite familiar with how they do it), those should be a relative breeze.
Also, the collegeboard attempted to ratchet up the AP Chem exam difficulty last year, which led to a lot of questionable changes. I believe the grade for a 5 was a 72%, and there were a few questionable problems that a lot of kids lost credit on. The AP Physics Exam will probably be less strenuous.
Okay, whoever is telling you that “AP Chem is sooooooo easy” is feeding you lies. I promise you. It really depends on your teacher, but having a good teacher isn’t necessarily going to make the difficult content suddenly EASY. AP Chem is pretty vigorous and you have to “be one” with Chemistry to truly understand what’s going on. Even if you’re SLIGHTLY off the mark with chemistry, it could throw you off big time.
I enjoyed Honors Chem, never studied, and breezed through the class with over 100%. Then I got to AP Chem, and it destroyed my GPA and took my rank down with it. It’s way too late for me to switch out, and it’s known to be the most difficult class at my school, partly because my teacher is a complete a** and can’t teach for his life.
Take either AP Chem or AP Physics. Don’t take both at the same time. You HAVE to really love chemistry to do well in AP. I haven’t taken physics yet, but that’s a whole different story.
If you know your current Chem teacher is hard, I suggest you don’t take AP. It’ll only stress you out. Maybe take Environmental instead? It’s all up to you though.
You’ll be fine. I’m a current junior taking Chem + Physics 1, and it’s not bad at all, as long as you have a decent work ethic and like science in general. Physics took me a bit of adjusting, but once you get used to the way you have to think, it’s alright.
I’m not super smart or really interested in chemistry, but I’m glad I decided to double up on it. The AP honestly isn’t as bad as most people say it is, just make sure your basics are solid before you go into the class and be ready to actually read the textbook.
I don’t lie. If you have a good teacher who explains the content well and studied honors chem, it’s not an issue. The course itself is nowhere near as bad as you’re making it out to be, though I can understand if your teacher is.
@hungryteenager Yea sorry if it seemed like I was calling you out or something. You’re pretty fortunate to have a good teacher in AP Chem. Based on the discussions on CC, I expected Chem to be easy but it turned out to be way harder for me, mostly because of my crappy teacher. I just don’t want anyone else falling into the same kind of mindset.
I’m a sophomore taking both, and from empirical evidence, AP Physics 1 is probably the easiest AP class offered. Don’t let the common consensus make you think it’s difficult; it may be difficult for the majority, but that’s because a lot of less qualified people take AP Physics 1 compared to the caliber of the people in AP Chemistry.
It differs from school to school, but at my school it really depends on which teacher you get, and if you get the one who doesn’t teach, your’re pretty much screwed. People shouldn’t have to be in AP Calc BC and stuff to do well in AP Physics 1, which is supposed to be Algebra / Pre - Calc based, not Calculus based.
I’m currently in AP Chem and it’s pretty difficult but not impossible. If you do the work you get the grade. Expect to spend 1+ hours on homework every night and study your butt off for tests. It’s not a class you can slack off in and I’ve never met anyone who BS’ed it and got an A. On the bright side, some of the material is really interesting and once you understand the concepts it becomes a lot easier. At least this has been my experience.
AP Physics 1 is regarded as relatively easy.
Your schedule is already difficult so it’s really up to you whether you want to add that class. Personally, I would take an easier AP and put off AP chem until senior year, especially since you’re having a hard time in honors chem.
AP Physics, AP Chem, AP Calc, and AP English Language is a substantial homework load. It seems like a recipe for disaster. Unless you want to study a science at college, you do not need both of those science classes together. What will you take during your senior year?
Try taking a social studies course which is AP (Gov, Comp Gov, European History, World History). That would be a more balanced load which is still quite challenging. It will also make you look more well rounded.
@ac6803
As long as you’re prepared for Torque and don’t have an awful teacher, Physics C really isn’t too, too bad. The Chem and Calc loads vary from teacher to teacher. I was lucky in that my teachers were fantastic. However, my friends took the courses after me with much worse instructors, and it’s been an awful experience for them.
Please for the love of god, do not take AP physics 1. It is extremely difficult being a new curriculum and all and my teacher was not good and disorganized. I guess next year teachers will have a better hold of what to expect from the college board so if you think the teacher at your school is great and you are passionate about physics, then take it but if your just taking the class to get the weighted GPA don’t take it please.
I would suggest not doubling up on AP sciences. If you can do a science thats not AP or some other AP class, I’d say do that. . Whatit does to you:
My best friend of many years knew since middle school that she wanted to be a chemist. we joined chemistry club and loved it. The chemistry teacher is fun, and brings energy to her teaching, making her classes fun. We both took chemistry in sophomore year, which was the earliest we coukd take it. I wasnt the biggest fan, but my friend was. So she decided to take AP chem since she wanted to be a chemist. She didnt want to take any science her senior year so she took AP physics as well. Keep in mind that this was a perfect 4.0 student. Was.
About half a semester in, she found out that AP chem was really hard and she didnt like it as much as she thought. Her grade slipped and she continues to struggle with it. She hated this class so much that now she doesnt want to be a chemist anymore. Take this story however you want, but i would suggest not taking it, or if you really must, take it next year when you dont have another science to deal with.
I’d say it really depends on you and what you’re comfortable with. I know some people can just breeze through APs (i.e. my friend just took the AP Physics C, CompSci, and BC exams sophomore year without taking a single class in any of them… we were racing on the exams lol, think I lost 1-2).
Bragging aside, I think that if you feel comfortable with the hard sciences and didn’t find your previous physics/chemistry classes too difficult, then it definitely is possible. If you find yourself spending hours to figure out stoichiometry or Newton’s laws, then it would be a bad idea (as the APs are significantly more involved). Additionally, how much you enjoy the subject definitely matters - don’t take a class on something you’re not interested in.
Here’s also an idea of some of the harder topics covered in AP Chem:
acid/bases and buffer systems (those equilibrium equations omg)
electrochemistry (cells, potential, not sure if the Nernst equation is still included)
a pretty thorough knowledge of each element and how it would react, lots of ion memorization, etc.
It seems like your high school chemistry teacher goes very hard on his/her students. So I wouldn’t recommend taking AP Physics 1 and AP Chemistry both at the same time. If I were you, I would take AP Physics 1 and AP Biology at the same time because it looks like your chemistry teacher goes harder than does any other science teacher at your school.
And out of my whims, here are my personal ranking of the hardest AP Science exams.
AP Physics 2 > AP Physics C E & M > AP Chemistry > AP Physics C Mechanics > AP Biology > AP Physics 1 > AP Environmental Science > AP Psychology (I count psych as a science class).
Again, this is my personal idea in which AP Physics 1 was an easy exam for a passionate physics student I am.
I’d say it depends on your strengths and weaknesses as a student. I’m in AP Physics 1 right now and I find it pretty easy, but everyone else in my class thinks it’s really hard. I was the same way with honors chem last year. However, Honors US history was the hardest class I ever took, but most of my classmates thought it was easy. My point is if you know that you’re a strong math/ science person, then go ahead and do it. But if you’re not, then maybe you shouldn’t. AP Physics is pretty much just math, and I haven’t taken Chem yet so I can’t say. But judging from what you say about yourself in Honors Chemistry, I wouldn’t recommend you taking AP Chem next year, even though you like it.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
As this question was posed a year ago, I’d presume that the OP has already finalized the schedule and is not looking for additional responses. Closing.
Every junior and senior say AP Chem is hellish or a breeze. My older friend, who was valedictorian, said AP Chem was often homework of a few problems a night, but those problems took hours if you don’t understand… Im taking Chem first