<p>Okay, so I'll be doing AP Physics B this year. If I get into it an decide I really like it, would it be very difficult to pick up AP Physics C (both of them) and learn them?</p>
<p>Do you have a calculus background?</p>
<p>I'll be in AP Calculus BC next year if that counts. (I haven't had AP Calculus AB... our AP Calculus BC teaches AB and BC in 1 year.) </p>
<p>How much calculus do I need to start it?</p>
<p>you need to know how to integrate, stuff like that...the test is more about knowing how to derive equations (getting specific numerical answers is not so important) which i think can be achieved by simply studying practice problems a lot. i took the c exams after taking b and calc the previous year and i felt b was very helpful for mechanics and decent for electricity. you will definitely have to study additional for c but almost any review book will point out what overlaps between b and what does not. it is definitely possible to accomplish</p>
<p>dude....just watch professor lewin on MIT opencourse and you will be set...i promise....i did that + had an AMAZING teacher....and double nickel for me</p>
<p>Okay thanks. So what review books do you guys suggest for AP Physics B and C? Do I need to buy a textbook for C?</p>
<p>the princeton one is really good, but again...just take notes while that MIT professor is teaching, copy everything he says down and review that...and DAM you will be smarter than about 95% of the people taking the test...</p>
<p>LOL Thank you. How did you do on your tests?</p>
<p>/\ he said earlier he got "double nickel," which i interpret as two fives.</p>
<p>would it be better to take both C's the same year?</p>
<p>I thought this was a difficult class and would not recommend self-studying it, but if you're good at math and problem solving you might be able to do it. I couldn't of though w/out constantly working on problems with my peers.</p>
<p>I personally would not self study, but if you already have a solid background in the Mechanics material, go for it. I would NOT recommend self studying E/M though...it's not as straightforward. Actually, Mechanics for me wasn't straightforward either (I got a 4 in it while getting a 5 in E/M), but I can see one being able to self study it.</p>
<p>I did the whole self-study thing this year for both physics C tests using only the princeton review book and got 4 on both :( but it didn't seem that hard, I wish I would have known about those MIT opencourse videos.</p>
<p>@anamai
It is better to take them both in the same year because there are several underlying concepts common to both like forces, work, and potential, which makes the integration on both tests pretty similar</p>
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/\ he said earlier he got "double nickel," which i interpret as two fives.
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I assume he got a 5 on B too... </p>
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I did the whole self-study thing this year for both physics C tests using only the princeton review book and got 4 on both but it didn't seem that hard, I wish I would have known about those MIT opencourse videos.
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4's aren't bad. Okay, I'm working on lecture 2 on MIT open courseware. I think my library might have the princeton AP Physics B and C's.</p>
<p>sounds like death.</p>
<p>i'm usually amazing at math and science... but yeah, i failed the final (literally). and curved, i got a 75%.</p>
<p>studied like maddd in april (doing like a billion practice problems, watching the MIT stuff on the areas i had difficulty with, etc.), and i got a 4 though :). crazyy.
but then again, when i was actually in physics, i hadn't had calc yet. my AP calc class was during the second half of the year, while physics was during the first half. i think learning calc really helped. they should probably make it a prerequisite instead of precalc, just because my teacher was always taking derivatives, and though i soon got the hang of it, i still didn't get the concept of what a derivative or integral WAS which caused a lot of problem-solving problems.</p>
<p>i thought it was really really hard though, and i was in the class, did a lot of labs to help understand concepts, etc. a lot of the concepts are hard to grasp or understand. i did a LOT of studying out of class (and i'm not usually a studier) and i found the book was hard to follow, even after i'd already learned the material in class. sometimes they skip steps, assuming you understand, when there's a good chance you don't. or sometimes i would know all the equations, swear i understood the concepts, and then a problems pops up like, 'you're driving in a car down a hill at angle x at velocity v and the car is mass m, and you throw a cat out the window in the opposite direction at velocity v2 and mass m2 and there's a drag force of d and the cat is tied to a rope that's on a pulley and if the cat happens to slip off the rope at a distance y from the car how long will it take him to roll down the hill if his rotational inertia is i?' etc. you get the point. the questions never seemed to make sense. but that's just me.</p>
<p>good luck, if you choose to go through with it. some people just get it, some people don't. but be warned, i think it'll be a lot work. depends on your calc/physics previous experience, of course. it was my first experience with calc or physics.</p>
<p>(note: i only took mechanics. at my school, taking both would be equivalent to two years of work, although i assume it varies school to school... not something i'd recommend self studying for.)</p>
<p>Answer: Definitely Doable</p>
<p>I took Physics C this past year and our teacher was one of those "go study/discover on your own" types who never gave lecture, tests, or any sort of real grades on the matter. Amazingly interesting teacher though, super bright, too bad he doesn't believe in lectures. Anyways, our class practically didn't study physics until the last month and pretty much self-studyed it.</p>
<p>I read through PR (amazing book) twice and took both tests. The curve was so high that I got 5's on both - even though I had no clue how to solve two of the three FRs for E&M and seriously considered cancelling it. (By the way, the right hand rule is probably the single most important thing to know for E&M). I also pretty much forgot all the calculus I had learned the year before. If you have any questions on how the test is, just message me.</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>agreed on the right hand rule. helped for mechanics also, a ton. if you go for it, learn that.</p>
<p>I am also planning on self-studying for both AP physics tests.Is there a certain textbook that anyone would recommend or would a review book like Princeton Review be suffice?</p>
<p>When I took Physics C, I wasn't actually in Calc at the time (i never follow prerequistes anyway - i just go and talk to the teachers to let me in their classes lol) so i was at a bit of a disadvantage at the beginning. But in order to keep up, I learned the basics of single variable calculus (which is all you need for the exam anyway) and it turned out good for me. Got me a double nickel too lol.</p>
<p>Hm I never used a review book for physics B or C, so I can't tell which is best. Although I did use Barrons just for practice tests for C at the very end and it is significantly harder than the actual test.</p>