My S planned to take AP chem in sophomore year. He has honors bio, honors chem, pre-cal, not no physics yet. is it doable?
defintitely doable. Physics is not a pre-req for Chem. The math is algebra-level.
D18 is in AP chem now as a sophomore. Seems to be ok so far. She also had honors bio, chem and precal.
Yes, AP chemistry after regular/honors high school chemistry should be doable.
He should plan to include physics before high school graduation, though. Physics in college (which will be required for any science or engineering major) often lists high school physics as a prerequisite.
S took AP Calc, AP Chem, and AP Physics senior year. He had previously taken honors chem and AP Bio. No problems at all.
Where I have seen issues at our school is with kids taking AP Chem as sophomores WITHOUT a regular chemistry class first. For those who have had the regular chemistry, it doesn’t matter what year in school they are. I agree with getting some physics in high school.
here is the quote from the honors chem teacher who disagreed to take ap chem . Here is what he said "Ap chem is usually a course for seniors – by then, the kids have knowledge of physics and the full year of additional problem solving experience. Sometimes it can be taken in the junior year if taken concurrently with physics. It is not recommended that students take ap chem before they take physics. "… “a more successful year in ap chem usually results when kids have completed physics ( a much better chance of success) or are taking it concurrently.”
Anyone know if physics is important to ap chem??
I took AP Chemistry as a sophomore without any calculus or regular chemistry beforehand and I got a 5. If your son is motivated enough and is interested in the subject, you should have no problem! 
General chemistry courses in college usually list high school chemistry as a prerequisite. Some list high school physics, but these typically are not ones that AP chemistry credit is allowed to substitute for.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/221776.html says that AP chemistry can be taught with or without other science prerequisites, though students should have algebra and geometry math skills.
It is possible that an AP chemistry teacher may go beyond the College Board syllabus and include some concepts that use physics.
Is there some problem with taking physics first? That is the usual sequence–why rush into AP level science when he hasn’t completed the basics? AP chem is probably going to be harder for him than physics, and physics is a good class to take along with calculus.
It’s not. However, if physics is a HS graduation requirement and/or a recommendation for the colleges he is targeting, I see nothing wrong with taking physics first, because I do agree with this part of the teacher’s comment.
Obviously each kid is different, and so is his maturity level. You and he know what would be best for your son.
It is perfectly possible to do AP Chem as a sophomore, if the AP Chem course does not have work or level overload, far beyond what the AP curriculum actually requires.
It’s natural proceed to Ap chem from honors chem.
No, it’s customary to take physics before AP chem, as the teachers in your school have told you. You haven’t explained why your son is so intent on taking AP chem first. Does it really matter so much? With either sequence he takes both classes, but physics first makes more sense to most people.
Not in our HS, it’s not. Indeed, it ain’t even “customary” in our whole district.
Do you have source for that claim?
No, prerequisite for AP chem in our district is honors chem. that’s it.
You should be asking what makes the most educational sense, not what is possible. Yes, I believe it is possible to take AP chem with no physics background. I just don’t understand why you would want to do it that way.
You want a source? OK, my daughter was in a somewhat similar situation to the OP’s kid. But she took both honors physics and AP chem as a junior. She took BC calc as a sophomore. Her comments about the science. 1. Physics is easy but I wish I had been in physics when I was taking calculus. Some of the calculus topics and problems were related to physics and I was the only one in calc who wasn’t in physics so I had to work extra hard on that. Now the physics class is boring. 2. AP chem is hard. (This from a kid who thought honors chem was very easy and won some award in the ACS first year chem competition). I was a bit surprised how much trouble she had with it and how hard she had to work at it. Yes, she got a 5 and an 800 but it didn’t come easily. If you think AP chem is just honors chem part 2, you may be wrong. It’s not in our school (though I personally didn’t think it was so hard when I took it in my own school).
I also completed calculus before taking any physics and had the same opinion. And I also think there is some value to being a more advanced student before tackling AP chem.
I remember taking AP chemistry (then a one semester course) at the same time as regular (PSSC) physics, the year after taking regular chemistry. Physics was not used in that AP chemistry course. Neither was especially hard, but this was way before the apparent trend of piling on much more work than needed to learn the material that seems to be discussed in various threads on these forums.
If the student does not want to take both courses simultaneously, they can be taken in either order. However, there is a slight advantage to taking physics first, to complete the three main sciences, and then choose whichever is most interesting or useful at the advanced or AP level in senior year (the student may decide at that time that AP biology or AP physics is more interesting than AP chemistry).
What about this sequence:
9- Honors chem
10- AP Bio
11- AP Physics
12- AP Chem
Would the long gap between freshman and senior year be problematic in chem?
I would recommend against taking AP Physics ahead of AP Chem, if the AP Physics course is the one that requires calculus. Otherwise, it’s probably okay.
You do not need physics for AP Chem. QMP took AP Chem as a sophomore, ahead of any physics, and it was fine.
I think my high school’s year of “college prep” chemistry (back when that was the highest track available) was actually plenty to score a 5 on the AP exam. It seems to me that schools that offer 2 years of chemistry (honors and AP) have spread the content of that old course over 2 years.
Then there is the issue of what to do if you are planning to embark on a course sequence the “school” does not like–hope that you have good relationships with all of the other teachers Or change plans?