Hello I need some advice. I am thinking about doubling up on Ap Physics 1 and Ap Chemistry. Would this be a good idea because I have heard that AP Chemistry is the hardest AP science class. Also my school has a bad AP Chemistry teacher so I am pretty reluctant on taking it.
I’m not a science person, and I am more of a humanities person, plus I am a ninth grader so this information may not be helpful. I hope this is a helpful response though.
As of what I have heard in my high school, AP Physics 1 is a tough course but is manageable if you work hard and study which is same for AP Chemistry. However, many people claim that the one you like more will be the one you will pay the most attention and work harder in. Do you have a preference between Chemistry or Physics?
I think it is worth taking both AP Physics 1 and AP Chemistry only if you want to become an engineer, a physician, chemist, or something related directly to the STEM field. Even if you are, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. In my school, AP Chemistry and AP Physics C are considered the hardest science courses, even in the top lists of some of the hardest AP courses available. Since AP Chemistry is one of the most work-educing and hardest courses, another hard Physics course which also has lots of work could be hard to deal with it, especially if you are taking other AP or honors courses alongside it such as AP English Language, AP US Government, AP Calculus AB, Pre-Calculus Honors, etc. In terms of whether you will find both challenging, it really depends on the person. I recommend that if you can, you go to the teacher of AP Chemistry and AP Physics 1 and talk to them about what is expected and see if they have a copy of the syllabus you can look at. They may have some.
If you’re kind of like me and have no interest in majoring in a STEM related area in college, it may be in your benefit to not take both classes in the same year and rather take one class this year, and the other class next year if you’re not a senior yet. Both classes are algebra-based, so if you were able to take Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 Honors with a good grade, you should be fine in terms of math.
Sorry if this is not a good answer as I am very inexperienced in AP Courses and STEM related subjects, but I hope this helped!
Have a good day and good luck!
Depends on your current grades. If you think you can handle the workload-- ie (if you want A’s) you currently have all A’s and whatnot-- go for it. I’m taking Physics C and Bio this year and it’s going okay, so I think Physics 1 and Chem will be manageable. But if you know you’re not a STEM person, why would you do that to yourself? LOL. but yeah. If you’re up for a challenge and u are genuinely interested, yea
It depends on how you do in science and math. For me, AP Chemistry is managable as long as you study, but I also have a good teacher. If you enjoy it, take it. All of my friends in AP Chemistry enjoy the class. It can be difficult, which is true, but it depends on your own capabilities and study habits. For physics, my school has AP Physics C: Mechanics which I don’t know if it’s the same thing or a higher level than physics 1, but I’ve heard that it’s much easier compared to ap chemistry, so if you’re good at science, it should be fine. For my friends in regular physics, they either really like the class or think it’s really boring so it depends on the person. I wouldn’t recommend doubling the two of them together. However, I don’t know you and do it if you are really good at both subjects.
@joyce1517 I wanted to let you know that AP Physics C courses are all considered more difficult than AP Physics 1 and 2 because it is calculus based and more content. Sorry if I brought this thread off topic!
Have a good day!
Agreed with @anthonytheboy.
AP Physics C is universally considered the most difficult AP course, not AP Chemistry. I do not know where you picked it up, but AP Chemistry is not challenging, although it may be considered some form of a hard AP course.
It depends on the student. Some calould handle it but many would struggle. In my opinion, physics is beautiful and chemistry is a b*tch, and a bad teacher would compound the difficulty.