AP Physics 1 or AP Biology For Junior Year

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I need help, and I need it fast.

My school is ending in a week and a half, and I am still adjusting it. I have realized that I must take a physics class in high school for my college apps (most of my schools appreciate seeing that).

Currently, my schedule is:
AP Calc AB, AP Psych, AP Euro, AP Bio, AP Lang, and Honors French IV

If I were to take AP Physics junior year, I would take AP Biology and AP Enviro (because I am interested) senior year.
If I took both AP Physics and AP Bio (idk if this is too difficult), I would probably drop to Honors Calc and have to take AP Psych senior year.

Can y’all comment what I should do, what the best option would be in this situation.

I have only ever took one AP both my freshman and sophomore year (Gov and Human)

I am also not very good at math, so I am wondering if I should take like honors physics?? Would it be too difficult??

2

I took both AP Physics 1 and AP Biology junior year, and AP Physics was definitely harder than Biology.

In my opinion, Physics is just conceptually harder than Biology and Chemistry, and the AP exam was honestly pretty difficult because our teacher taught it like a math class. It’s doable though, but only if you work hard. With Biology, I was able to memorize information/incorporate it into labs and get a good grade, but with Physics, you actually have to understand the scenario and use math and writing to explain what would happen.

Now, at my school, the normal/Honors Physics teaches AP Physics 1 and 2 content but at a lower level, so you get to learn magnetism, optics, and electromagnetic waves. Meanwhile, Physics 1 is completely just mechanics and a bit of electricity, so I would see what the curriculum for honors physics is. Perhaps honors physics would be more interesting for you.

All in all, it totally depends on your extracurriculars and the teachers at the school. At some schools, Physics 1 is a freshman course, while at my school, it’s one of the hardest classes available. Check with former students to see the workload and the skills required for success.