AP Physics C? Need advice.

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

My D (currently a sophomore) is questioning what science course to take next year, and considering AP Physics C vs AP Biology.

Background:

D is in our school’s G&T Science/Math program. In 8th grade, she took gifted Bio and Physics (loved thermodynamics!). As a freshman, she took Honors Chem (all A’s). She is currently taking AP Chem as a sophomore with all A’s (at a large, very competitive HS). D now wants to major in chemical engineering at a top program, e.g. MIT or Caltech.

Most of her peers (on advanced STEM track) take AP Bio junior year and then AP Physics C senior year. However, D is considering taking AP Physics C junior year (and AP Bio senior year) instead because 1) she’s more interested in Physics than Bio - she heard AP Bio is just “lots of boring memorization and long-winded lab reports” 2) she thinks taking AP Physics C junior year will better prep her to submit a strong SAT Physics subject test in time for college apps.

However, she will not have taken Physics 1 or 2 before jumping into AP Physics C. Is this crazy? At our HS, AP Physics C only requires concurrent enrollment in AP Calc BC which she’ll take as a Junior. However, she plans on doing a summer Physics prep course in order to prepare.

She is a very strong math student. She is currently in pre-Calc/Calc AB as a sophomore with a high A. She has always been the top of her class in Science and Math. So since Chem and Calc come so easy to her, she thinks AP Physics C should be no problem. I’m not so sure about that.

Thoughts?

2

It sounds like she did have a Physics class previously and has started on calculus so she should be ok with Physics C.
However it will not help her with the subject test, which likely covers concepts from her earlier physics class - the subject test is purely algebra based although the topics may be similar, but the solutions are found through another process.

3

She’s wrong. As @MYOS1634 says, Physics C is calculus-based, but more importantly, only covers mechanics and E&M. The subject test is broader, also covering waves and optics, heat and thermodynamics, modern physics, and more. All AP science classes cover fewer topics than the corresponding Subject Test. The Subject Test only assumes a regular HS course in the subject; it seems a College Confidential phenomenon to hold the erroneous belief that an AP course is needed to score well on the Subject Test.

Then she has the background needed. She should be OK.

4

My son took AP Physics 1 as a junior and AP Physics C as a senior – he prepped for SAT Physics subject test over the summer bt junior and senior year and did very well. As others are reporting the topics, on the subject test are broader than the AP courses but some prep course or a tutor could help. Does she want to pursue physics in college? I would think since a prior AP physics is not required for Physics C the teacher will prepare the class assuming no major prior physics. You mentioned she’d take a summer course too. I tend to think she should be fine &should take what she thinks she’ll enjoy.

5

Thanks for the replies. The info on the content of the Physics C class and SAT subject test was very helpful. Schools in IL just converted from ACT to SAT testing last year, so SAT tests are new for us. It was difficult to even find SAT subject tutors/nearby test sites for my son last year. He had to drive over an hour to take a subject test - not sure if it’s like that in other parts of the country.

My D wants to study Chemical Engineering, and she thinks AP Physics C is better for engineering schools. Is it better to take AP Physics C or both AP Physics 1 and 2 as a prereq for engineering colleges?

D has also mentioned interest in the industries of energy and nuclear engineering - not really sure why she is drawn to those fields. She absolutely loves chemistry and I thought she might go into biochem or medicine. But she has the opinion that Bio is just boring memorization and lab reports. And she said she doesn’t like dissection. She is drawn more to math/complex equations, data/statistics, and hands-on/lab experimentation.

I’m sure she’d rather take more advanced chemistry, but our school does not offer anything beyond AP Chem. Maybe she could look into an extension college Chem course, but she still needs to complete her Physics and Bio courses.

She heard (from strong students) it’s nearly impossible to get an A in AP Bio (so far, she’s straight A’s) so maybe that’s another reason she wants to put Bio off until senior year. She also heard the Physics C teacher is very good.

I just looked at the AP Physics C course description and it reads “it’s a college level, year-long, two concurrent period course that covers mechanics, electromagnetics, after the review of basic principles.” So maybe if she takes AP Physics 1 over the summer (for non-credit, through Northwestern University Talent program), she will be fine for AP Physics C. She could then self-study AP Physics 2 and be prepared for the Physics SAT Subject test next summer before senior year?

Also, she would be taking AP Calc BC concurrently with AP Physics C next year. Would it be better to take a full year of Calc BC before attempting Physics C? As a senior, her “Senior Topics” math class will cover Linear Algebra/ Differential Equations/Multivariable Calc…

And is there any advantage to going straight from AP Chem (instead of Bio) into Physics C? I feel like she covered some physics concepts in AP Chem, but maybe they’re not applicable at all to AP Physics C.

As you can probably tell from my questions, I am not “a science person,” so advice from others here is welcome.