AP environmental science or Physics

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>So, despite similar threads being posted, I cannot find an answer to my own situation. </p>

<p>I am a rising senior, top 10 in my class, and thinking about making a schedule change. I plan on being a systems engineer or something along those lines. BUT, I don't know if it is worth taking a physics class vs an easy AP class. </p>

<p>Keep in mind my current schedule for next year already involves 3 engineering tailored classes (ap comp sci and 2 other weighted/tough engineering courses), and the rest being standard APs. Every class is weighted on a 5.0 gpa. I need to make a decision on classes: </p>

<p>I am trying to decide whether to take:
A) AP Physics B+AP Calc BC, ---This will be very hard
B) AP Physics B+AP Calc AB, ---This won't be as hard
C) AP Environmental Sci+AP Calc BC, ---This is my current schedule set up for next year.
or D) regular physics+AP Calc BC. ---This would hurt my GPA slightly</p>

<p>Leaning toward choice B, but choice C will be easier and balance out the negative stigma of AP enviro sci being an easy class. Choice D is my most friends are doing. Choice A is shunned upon as being impossible.</p>

<p>I cannot decide and have been thinking about this far too long, and anyone's opinion or idea is really appreciated. I don't want to overwhelm myself, especially with applications during the year.
No, my school doesn't have honors physics. I'm going to an engineering college but haven't taken physics. How will engineering colleges look at me and what would you take? </p>

<p>AP environmental will boost my GPA and save me stress, but everyone claims one cannot leave high school without physics. Let me know. Thanks.</p>

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<p>For me, Honors Physics(but we used AP B curriculum) was quite hard, and this is from someone with an 800 on the SAT Math and an AIME qualification. I got an A in the class, but only because homework was worth about 60% of our grade. </p>

<p>Part of the problem might have been that we just went through the book’s Powerpoints and never le</p>

<p>For me atleast, and most in the class, the mathematical portion of physics is not hard. Most of the math questions on the tests are easy. The only hard part about the math for AP Physics is knowing which equation(s) to use and which variables stand for which things. Once you’ve got that, you’re good for the math.</p>

<p>Conceptuals destroyed me on tests though. I always found conceptual questions on our tests(from the Serway College Physics test bank) brutal. When I mean conceptual, I don’t mean “Are voltage and resistance directly or inversely proportional?” or something like that; I mean questions that can’t be answered just by knowing your formulas, units, and methods for solving the math problems.<br>
<a href=“http://www.planetholloway.com/files/AP-B-physicsfiles/AP%20B%20webrev%2022%20reflection.pdf[/url]”>http://www.planetholloway.com/files/AP-B-physicsfiles/AP%20B%20webrev%2022%20reflection.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Our tests looked something like this. The math was very easy, but the non-math ones were pretty tricky since we had no idea what was coming. The non-math questions often covered esoteric parts of the material or they really made you think quite a bit. This is especially true for 2nd semester. </p>

<p>We covered everything from kinematics to quantum, and here’s my opinion about the difficulty:
Easiest:
Introduction Chapter (units, dimensional analysis, area, etc. extremely easy)
Kinematics
Energy
Rotational Motion
DC Circuits (Kirchoff’s Laws are harder, but weren’t emphasized for us)
Forces [everything except Force Tension]
Medium:
Fluid forces
Momentum
Waves
Electric forces/Electric Fields
Capacitance
Nuclear
Hardest:
Forces<a href=“FORCE%20TENSION,%20ARGH!%20%20I%20hate%20drawing%20the%20free-body%20diagrams%20when%20cords%20are%20involved%20as%20I%20struggle%20figuring%20out%20which%20direction%20Ft%20is…Forces%20on%20a%20car%20at%20an%20incline%20or%20a%20sled%20on%20the%20other%20hand,%20are%20easy”>Force tension</a>
Optics (sign conventions + difficult conceptuals)
Quantum (conceptuals can be very difficult for this, though the math is easy</p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

<p>EDIT: As far as a recommendation goes, it depends on your strengths. AP Calc BC and Physics is better than AP Calc AB and AP Physics B and will save you your sanity IMO…Calculus is more straightforward than Physics and the textbook tends to be more helpful. Regular Physics is a complete breeze at my school though, but I’m not sure if that’s the case at yours. You almost certainly won’t cover the really tough stuff, like Force tension problems involving multiple objects with pullies, quantum, Kirchoff’s Laws, and a lot of the conceptual stuff. HOWEVER, if your rank will drop so much that you can’t afford to take regular physics, I would recommend taking AP B/Calc AB if you’re going into engineering (I think you really want a physics course before entering) or AP EnviroSci/BC otherwise. I think your best background overall is BC/regular physics, so, assuming rank isn’t going to drop drastically (IE bump you out of top 10%), then I’d do that.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the detailed input. People are generally taking the BC/reg physics route, like you suggested. I’m still on the fence about switching from enviro though, since I’m taking physics related classes with engineering courses next year as well. I’ll see what the ap physics teacher thinks tomorrow.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure how hard your school is (probably tougher than mine) but I would go with the AP Physics and BC Calc road. Frankly you probably won’t learn a lot from APES since it’s mostly stuff that you already know if you’re somewhat well informed. In the long run as an engineer (which also what I want to be!) taking AP Physics will be more beneficial, even if you take it in college. It also depends on how much you care about class rank/GPA.</p>

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<p>Cheerioswithmilk does have a good point; however, I would still recommend regular physics and here’s why. Honors physics is like a huge dumpster of information. If you struggle and fall behind, very little of that total dumpster will be learned. Regular physics is more like a trash can of information (I’m not implying that the information you learn in physics is garbage; it’s just the first example I came up with :P). If you take regular physics, you’ll almost certainly fill the whole trash can with knowledge. So, your potential knowledge acquired would be greater with AP Physics/Honors Physics, but the actual knowledge acquired may be greater with regular physics, especially if you’re taking a difficult course load as it is. </p>

<p>I would strongly recommend against dropping either a physics class or AP Calc BC in favor of EnviroSci unless your class rank absolutely depended on it(for example, if this would cause you to fall out of the crucial top 10%, top 20%, or top 50%) because Calculus/Physics are far more productive. </p>

<p>I see you’ll have some physics in your engineering courses, but I’d still recommend taking a dedicated physics class. I know someone who took a PLTW class who said the physics covered there was trivial compared to our Honors Physics stuff(he barely survived Honors Physics with a C and would be better served than regular). The PLTW Physics(or whatever your engineering physics classes are) probably aren’t enough to replace a high school physics course. </p>

<p>Since you said almost no one does AP B/Calc BC, that’s a huge red flag and a good reason to just do regular physics with BC. Don’t do AB to keep Physics C. BC credit is far more valuable than Physics B credit if you’re interested in being an engineer (only C credit is worth anything). </p>

<p>Just my .02.</p>

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<p>I like the dumpster metaphor! Thanks to the both of you tremendously. You were spot on with the PLTW courses. I am taking one this year and I will be taking principles of engineering, as well as civil engineering next year. Both are weighted :). I’m now convinced that physics is a must though. Unfortunately, my school doesn’t offer honors physics as that would be perfect (had it existed, I would have never posted this question in the first place!). I’m going to talk with the ap physics teacher tomorrow, but I am leaning toward going all out next year and taking calc bc and physics B while preparing over the summer with material from friends that took regular physics. </p>

<p>Traditionally, AP physics(along with ap chem and ap bio) is done in two blocks at my school. Next year, however, they are changing science APs into one block classes. For chemistry, this is okay, since the ap exam is going to change(less material), however, physics won’t be changing until the 2014-2015 school year.</p>

<p>The way I envision it… is that college intro courses are often semester sized anyway. So perhaps getting straight into AP physics wouldn’t be too bad given ample preparation first. It’s going to be a remarkably hard year coming ahead, but should definitely be worthwhile.</p>

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<p>Take option A. Do the impossible. Aim higher. Achieve greatness. Rise above the rest. Prove your worth.</p>

<p>Because true valor is acquired by doing what others have not been able to accomplish.</p>

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<p>With the summer preparation Calc BC + Physics B is a good choice. I know I would’ve found it easier if I did prepare over the summer.</p>

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<p>Drop other AP Classes that you have in order to take AP Physics and AP Calc BC. Honestly, I will do option A. I rather learn more things that worry about a grade.</p>

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<p>I would go with A! Colleges love to see that you took the most rigorous courses available! Also, if you’re in the top 10 then you must be a great student and you can most likely handle it!</p>