A thread for the up and coming AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based students. Please post anything that you believe that the incoming AP Physics 1 students could profit from. Thank you.
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@deeeznuts Nice nickname. Also, taking this class next year; currently done with AP Chem. Self-studying would probably be wise considering I don’t have a drop of knowledge of basic physics.
you got a 5 on physics B not physics 1. 2 very different courses, beware it is less mathy and more conceptual and problem solving. Probably about 1 or 2 straight forward questions on the exam this year. As far as the difficulty, it depends on your teacher. My teacher was horrible and didn’t care so I got A/A but I was completely unprepared the exam, but some teachers in my district are extremely rough and have very difficult classes.
I know it’s early to be thinking about the class; however I wanted to know if anyone has recommendations for review books to use for this class? In addition, how hard was the class for the people who took the new test last year?
I’m just going to warn you now, Barron’s covers a lot of Electrostatics and Gravitation and I probably saw 2 questions total over those respective topics. Can’t say it won’t appear on the exam next year, but Barron’s definitely over prepares, so don’t freak out if you don’t know the book front and back when you take the exam.
Edit: I took the AP Physics 1 exam this year, lol.
I heard 5 steps to a 5 was pretty good and gets straight to what you need to know for the test.
5 steps to a 5 was short and didn’t have much practice problems. No prep book can truly prepare you for the test. This test is conceptual (very little math that u need ur calculator for) and its up to your teacher to teach u correctly or provide you with the materials u need to self learn. The questions are very different from AP Physics B questions so be careful when using old tests to study.
I honestly was extremely surprised by the exam format. I took the class and received the highest grades (around 104%), but failed the AP exam. I studied quite hard throughout the year, using Barron’s, PR, and my (excellent) teacher’s notes, but I didn’t feel that anything really prepared me for the exam. It was nothing like the Physics B exam. Most of the multiple choice was conceptual, and I felt very uncomfortable with the FRQ style. I had gotten very accustomed to solving difficult maths questions, but many questions focused on the thought processes and explanations needed to arrive at the answers. I probably only used my calculator 3-4 times during the exam. I heard from others that 5 steps to a 5 was better prep, but overall, none of the prep books did a good job.
However, don’t let me scare you. You’ll probably be better prepared this year, but this was just a warning.
My experience with this class was pretty terrible this past year, but that was mainly because of my teacher. If you were going to my school I would tell you to drop the class, but hopefully you all have well prepared teachers who know the subject well.
I got a 3 on the test. I took the make up date, so my experience was slightly different than others’. My FRQs weren’t too hard, I probably guessed on half the multiple choice. But again, I didn’t learn much at all from my teacher and crammed the two days or so before the test (I’m happy with my 3, quite honestly).
If I were you, I’d take a ton of notes this year, whether they’re from your teacher or from a prep book. Ask your teacher what labs you’ll be doing for each unit and study up on the labs you won’t be doing.
As far as prep books go, I read the 5 Steps to a 5 version front to back the days before the test and got a 3. Maybe if I’d done all of the practice problems and spent more time in each section I would’ve done better. If you really use the book and get it and start going over it at least a month before the test, I think it will improve your score.
@coffeeaddicted I have to say the prep books from 2015 were bad. And honestly I think those companies sort of scammed numerous kids in a way. They knew they did not take as much effort as they should have. Many did not update to reflect the changes or new types of questions or copied and pasted from the older version.
PR was bad when I saw my friend’s copy and Barron’s I heard wasn’t so good either. I personally used 5 steps and still failed. But it was by far better than the other ones because it actually understood that the test is not math based anymore unlike the PR book.
Also for reference I want to say, don’t go by brand name. Even if Chem was bad for you for Barron’s it doesn’t mean another book by Barron’s won’t do the trick for another subject. I used 5 steps for Lang and it was good, but Physics wasn’t that great. I would look around at what everyone says by searching “best review book for (insert class here)”, read on here and on amazon, preview the book on amazon and yo u will be able to make a choice