AP Physics 1

Parents Forum
1

Hi - My daughter has to do her Course Selection for next year and she can double up on the Science courses for Sophomore year.
In Freshman year she had Honors Biology.
In Sophomore year, she has the option of Honors Chem + 1. Physics Honors 2. AP Physics 1 3. Honors Anatomy and Physiology 4. Honors Environmental Science
The school is not offering AP Biology for sophomores.

What do you think would be the best option to stay competitive? Is AP Physics 1 hard? (She will be doing Honors Pre Calculus in Sophomore year). Will Anatomy be a better option? I know AP will be better for her GPA over an Honors class but I don’t want her to be too overwhelmed in AP Physics.

Thanks so much for your inputs!

2

AP Physics 1 is not calculus-based so she would not be at a disadvantage. I only have my own kids’ opinions to go on, but they both thought it was easy.

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3

What are you trying to stay competitive for? T20 university? If so you pretty much want to take all the AP classes you can at your HS. That being said will she run out of AP classes by senior year that are offered by the HS?

How is the workload going for her this year? Does she have a sport or band that takes up time? Does she even want to take it? Hard to make the decisions for teenagers. They have to be committed.

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4

If the goal is to become a STEM major then AP Physics is no help really as it is not calculus based. Won’t count towards credit. One will need to move up to AP Physics C. If that is not offered in HS, would personally skip it and just do Physics H.
It is also a hard class for a sophomore. My son took it as a sophomore during COVID, got a B and then a 3 on the AP test. I look at it as a complete waste of a class.

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5

In our HS (public), AP Physics 1 is a prerequisite for AP Physics C so STEM kids have to take it. What’s Physics H?

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6

Same here.
Honors Physics.
Why not take Physics (H) and Calc BC and then dual enroll for Physics at a university as a senior?

7

This will depend on the school , the teaching, and the “typical “ choice of kids at that school who are aiming for top schools/most competitive. At ours, AP phys1 is the alternative to regular physics , there is no honors, so lots take it. It is very hard but not as hard as APPhysicsC(APPhys1 is a required prereq), and neither of those is as hard as APChem, based on % who secure A- or higher and hours of work outside class. Mine took APchem and APphysics1 in 10th and got As and 5 in both. YMMV . Talk to the teachers . Hers recommended this path to her at the end of 9th, and it was a great decision but a lot of work.

8

The rigor of AP Physics 1 will depend on your school and teacher — I would ask upperclassmen or other students who have taken the course before, if possible, to see what they have to say. At my high school it’s extremely difficult since the teacher isn’t great, but I wouldn’t have known without asking friends. Make sure to ask a few since some may have very differing opinions lol