<p>Hello everyone! Currently I am a sophomore and am planning on taking AP Physics C: Mechanics next year and I am stuck with the question of how to prepare for this. Let me explain. Next year, I will be in AP Calc AB and am aiming to take Physics C: Mechanics in order to pursue my love for physics. I have come to understand that I will be required to know some basic calculus in order to do well in physics c. In order to do this I plan on learning some calculus over the summer of 2013 to prepare myself. Now I am pretty much planning on taking physics c: mech at my school next year. However, I am questioning self studying physics c: e&m next year along with mech because my school doesn’t offer e&m. Is this a bad idea or not? If you think it is possible, let me know! I really want to do this but don;t know how to get started!</p>
<p>A lot of it depends on what everyone else in the course will know going in. I took both courses last year along with BC, but it worked at my school because the physics classes were taught assuming that we took calculus at the same time. The teachers taught us a few differentiation and integration rules as we needed them to derive formulae and solve problems, and we got a better understanding of what was going on once we got to the appropriate points in math.</p>
<p>As for E&M, it’s hard to say. The math can be more challenging, and the concepts are harder to grasp than those in Mechanics, but it’s still manageable (but I took it as a class).</p>
<p>My best advice would be to talk to the Mechanics teacher about what most people know going into the class. The math in mechanics is far easier than what you’ll face in AB.</p>
<p>Mechanics is basic calculus, while E&M requires a more fundamental knowledge of calculus as well as a better understanding of what happens in 3D space.</p>
<p>I would wait until after you finish calc to do E&M. The two Physics C’s are totally different, and you may even find that you love one and hate the other.</p>