I’m sure many of us are coming from the tragedy that is AP Physics 1 or 2. But believe it or not, I’m sure we are more prepared for Physics C than any other Physics course. Where Physics 1 and 2 are more conceptual and include algebra, Physics C: Mechanics and E&M are heavily mathematical and Calculus-based. Get ready to find rates of change and areas under a lot of curves, because Physics C is going to be so much fun! Let’s work hard to make sure we not only get 5’s on the exam(s) but also to have fun doing it!
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Self-studied for this exam after only taking the SAT subject test. Pretry sure I got a 5, if anyone was worried about self studying (this doesn’t account for personal love and skill at physics)
What prep books would you guys recommend for getting a head start on the class? I took AP Calc BC last year, but I haven’t ever taken a physics class (regular, honors, or AP).
I have been using Princeton Review Book to look over the mathematical and Calculus-based approach to AP Physics 1 topics. I will start using Barron’s 4th edition (just came out this February so it’s fresh) sometime later this Fall.
As for textbooks, I am using 10th Edition Fundamentals of Physics by Jearl Walker with the solutions guide. I would study parallel to the AP Physics C framework and look at the labs recommended by Collegeboard, since labs are a major part of the free response. And that’s all you need to even self-study AP Physics C. I have the solutions manual to the textbook described and 7 released Official Multiple Choice tests ranging from 1984 to 2009 that you could find online too.
If you’ve taken AP Physics 1, almost all of the concepts in Physics C: Mechanics will come clear to you. The only “new” things to me were Center of Mass, some Rotational Mechanics concepts, some Oscillation concepts, and the Laws of Gravitation. The Laws of Gravitation chapter in Princeton Review is the most confusing because, other than Newton’s Law of Gravitation, everything is so new and proof-based.
A thing that Princeton uses which I like A LOT is the fact that the solve the problems strictly by Algebra, and THEN they substitute values for answers. Don’t plug in answers immediately to solve a problem! It will become messy! For example, when finding the velocity of a sphere rolling down a slope, they would set up the equation for total energy and then isolate the translation velocity variable in terms of whatever is given in the problem.
Does anyone know if Barron’s is good? Also, how is the 2017 edition of Princeton? I have the 2016 edition and do not think they will make any more than a few revisions in content between editions. The Multiple Choice in Princeton is easy, but am I the only one who has A LOT of trouble with the free response? Most of the time, I’m staring at the paper trying to figure what to do, making mistakes almost all the time! Haha, I need some free response tips.
Daughter is taking AP Physics C having never had a physics course. She has taken AP Calc BC and scored a 5 on the exam (as a sophomore). Apparently the AP Phys C teacher does not do a great job. Will she survive if she has no physics background but does have calc background?
The difficulty is you tell us her teacher doesn’t do a great job.
Calculus is required for certain applications in AP Physics C but the actual physical concepts are separate from the math. Being firm with the calculus at least means she won’t be struggling with that specific issue which is helpful because some students do (particularly in the EM portion where the curriculum assumes students have, at this point, gained an understanding of surface integrals, and a few other things.)
Assuming it’s true the teacher doesn’t do a great job-- then it’s really hard to say if she can survive. Different teachers have different strengths and weaknesses and it’s hard to know how that will dovetail with your daughters stronger and weaker areas.
As a tutor, I’ve encountered students who struggle for different reasons. It sometimes does seem to be the teacher; it’s sometimes the student. If the teacher really is poor at getting students to grasp concepts, she will have a hard time. She may need to seek sources outside the class to better understand the concepts. No one would recommend one of the test prep books as “the” way to learn physics overall. But some of the prep books (like Barrons) are fairly good as a supplement because they do focus on the curriculum that is actually tested on the AP Physics C test without digressing into topics not covered on the test. (Precisely because the books have a laser like focus on the test, used alone, one can end up with a student with gaps, which is a problem if they do test out and then continue on in engineering or physics. But as a supplement for a student who finds it difficult to follow the teacher, they tend to be good.)
No matter which test prep book you get, used is just as good as new.
What’s your daughter currently covering? (Likely kinematics and projectile motion? Possibly Newton’s laws? )
@grandscheme I have a friend who took AP Physics C concurrently with AP Calc BC as a junior with no previous physics background. She did great on both calc and BC–all 5s, though she earned a B in physics (which is totally okay–for many schools physics C is the hardest course the school offers). I’d say your daughter should be fine if she puts in the work–having a bad teacher doesn’t mean she’s doomed for failure:)
I’d say see how she does in the first few weeks–if she’s struggling b/c of the bad teacher then she could get a review book to maybe help clear up the concepts or get help from a peer tutor at the school if those exist (my school had a special tutoring center where you could get help from either students or teachers knowledgeable in your subject). Plus the released frq’s and mc’s will definitely help if she takes her time to do them, especially if she tries to do them in the time limit allowed by the test itself (e.g. 3 frqs in 45min, so 1frq in ~15min). If you really want to do well a good goal is to get through all of the released frq’s and mc’s by the exam date and actually understand how to do each (not just do one, look up the answers, and forget about them). If you understand all of the questions, you should be good for the test! If all else fails, is there another physics teacher at the school who knows the C curriculum? Perhaps he/she could help explain concepts clearer or in a way your D understands more.
In any case, the whole not having any previous physics experience won’t matter when she gets to E&M if your school doesn’t offer ap physics 2, b/c then most if not all the students will come in to the semester without any previous experience in E&M. Plus she’ll already have an upper hand at the calc part of the tests as most students, at least at my school, take physics C concurrently w/ calculus BC. Especially if she’s studying multivar/dif eq/lin algebra now, she will be able to see the math and physics intertwine (in applications like harmonic oscillations or circuits for example) and some physics concepts could become clearer as she understands the math behind it.
Thanks,@drLucia . I believe they are working on vectors? Its all Greek to me. She typically earns the respect of and is able to work with even teachers that others have reported as difficult. I am hoping that is her experience here as well. She did reach out to her instructor and he was willing to meet with her which they did today. She felt good about how it went. Hopefully that continues to be her experience.
Thanks so much, @aykt4245 . It is comforting to hear from someone with first hand knowledge and experience that having no physics background is not a deal breaker. There aren’t any peer tutors available as it is typically seniors who take the class and they are now graduated. Our daughter is a junior but all the others are seniors in there now. The instructor was willing to meet with her outside of class. Hopefully they can continue to do that as necessary.
For what it’s worth, you may think vectors are greek to you.
But actually, you already sort of know what they are. You just don’t know the word for them.
If you asked me how to get to the store and I answered, “go 2 miles”, you’d know something was missing. You might look at me and say… “Uh… 2 miles in… what direction?” After all: you don’t need to take physics to know that your not going to get to the store if I don’t tell you the direction in addition to the distance.
Things that require a quantity (e.g. ‘two miles’) and a direction (e.g. ‘east’) to describe are called vectors.
There are some special mathematical rules for dealing with vectors. That’s what your daughter is doing.
Lots of stuff in Mechanics is sort of like this. Everyone kinda-sorta already know what the concepts are. But they need to be formalized, quantified and so on. This can be confusing. Obviously it helps to have a good teacher.
My Mechanics exam is on Thursday. Next week, we will be beginning Waves and Thermodyanamics. Then, in late-November we will begin Electricity & Magnetism. I want to have at least a month or two in by April in order to study Optics and Modern Physics (e.g. Elementary Particles, Nuclear, Relativity, Quantum).
Gauss’ Law is oddly really easy. Are there many vector-valued functions on the AP? My favorite problems to solve in Halliday tend to be when functions are provided, and it’s pretty clear but also fun to differentiate or integrate.
Hey guys, I’m sorta new on this website, but not in Physics lol.
I took AP Physics 1 last year and got a 5, but now I have to choose a physics exam this year, and I’m not sure whether to go for C or just AP Physics 2.
I’m slightly worried if I take C, I’m taking BC right now, and doing pretty well, but the problem is that the college I want to go to probably thinks that AP Physics 1 and 2 is the same. (The classes you get to skip are the same if you get a 5) I emailed an adviser, and she said it didn’t matter.
I want to go into Engineering though, so I don’t know whether to take the leap towards AP Physics C or just stick with AP Physics 2.
What’s more complicated is that I’m taking Physics HL 2 right now in IB, but I’m a junior, and taking the IB test senior year, so I get to take an AP test this year if I so choose.