On the AP test schedule I see there is an AP Physics 1 one day, AP Physics 2 another day and AP Physics C another day. DS2’s School Loop denotes his course as AP Physics B. I’m confused. Anyone have the Rosetta Stone to unlock the mystery?
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/takingtheexam/ap-calendar
AP Physics B does not exist anymore. It was replaced in the Fall of 2014 with the two year sequence AP Physics 1 and 2. You need to contact your school and have them change their course description.
If your son’s class is algebra-based, he is taking AP Physics 1 (first year of the sequence) or AP Physics 2 (second year of sequence). If his class is calculus-based, he is taking AP Physics C.
@billchu2 Thanks. That’s clarifies it - the two year sequence aspect of 1 and 2. So it must be Physics 1 as I’m certain it’s not calc based.
Some schools also teach AP Physics 1 and 2 together in the same year (one semester each) and perhaps call it AP Physics B.
Slightly off topic, but it’s important to point out that while the above is true, Physics 1 and 2 is not simply Physics B split into 2 courses and teachers that teach that way are setting their students up for failure (63% of the students taking the AP Physics 1 exam last year failed, not all of which can be blamed on the teachers). Physics 1 and 2 is much more theoretical with less plug-n-chug mathematics.
Sounds like I better ping the teacher to be sure. Kiddo’s not sure either.
The old AP Physics B is only 1 year sequence. AP Physics 1 and 2 are 2 year sequence. A school cannot teach both AP Physics 1 and 2 in 1 year unless that school has a double block schedule (students take 3 and at most 4 classes per semester).
Sure it can. A school can structure a class however is pleases so long as it has been approved by the CB, and follow the AP syllabus. The College Board may prefer that the two be offered as 2 year-long courses, but they can’t make that a requirement. Some schools offer AP Physics C as a 2 year sequence, others as a one year. Same with Calc BC and a host of other examples.
Regardless of whether high schools call it B, the College Board does not recognize that nomenclature since AP Physics B does not exist anymore for their perspective. They offer three exams 1, 2, and C. @patertrium, your son has been in the class for half a year and does not know which class it is?
@billchu2 If the high school called it Physics B then my son and I would think he was in Physics B until it came time to look at collegeboard web site to check on the dates of the exams. Yes. He clarified with the teacher yesterday and in fact it is Physics 1.
@skieurope As an aside, AP Physics B had a 61% passing rate vs. AP Physics 1’s 37% passing rate, but nearly twice as many students took 1 vs. B because of the elimination of the regular/honors physics prerequisite. Thus, it’s likely that most of the increase in failure rate came from “new” students who previously would not have taken B and were likely taking their first physics course.
@patertrium Sorry. I wasn’t being critical. Did your teacher hand out a syllabus for the class at the beginning of the year and did it have AP Physics B on it? I tutor two students in AP Physics 1 and I asked for a detailed syllabus on the first day we met. The syllabus had AP Physics 1 on the top of the page. If they didn’t change the name of the course in the school system or course guide, that’s pretty bad.
Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around for the fiasco that happened here, but that’s a topic that has already been covered in a separate thread.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sciences/1791782-college-boards-transition-from-physics-b-ap-to-physics-1-2-ap-an-epic-failure.html
Which textbooks do the kids use?
@billchu2 I can’t see what was handed out. But parents and students have access to web site “school loop” which is supposed to give insight into all the due assignments, grades, pdf readings, teacher email contacts and … the course title. As I type here in the next tab is “AP Physics B”.
Now that that’s straightened out I see Collegeboard is charging $96 per AP test. Check for $384 coming up. Oh and don’t get me started on the silly SAT II.
The kids I’m tutoring in AP Physics 1 are using Walker AP Physics 4E (2010). Given that this book was published before AP Physics 1 was initiated, you can see that there is a disconnect between what the students are using to learn the material and what they are being tested on.
It looks like a good book according on online reviews.
The school in my area uses Giancoli’s Physics: Principles with Applications (less than1000 pages but the text is very dense).