<p>Is it worth taking this class in high school? My teacher today went through a whole chapter and i didnt understand 80%, mainly because im in calculus right now also and we only started on limits. I mean i could take the time to go home 4 hours a night and teach it all to myself but i dont see the logic in that being that i have 5 other ap classes to worry about. i wont make a bad grade either becuase the curves are ridiculous; i just dont want to have to deal with not understanding anything. i took ap chem last year and my teacher was terrible and i dont want to go through that again. what do yall think i should do? im thinking im going to drop the course and just take it at a university or community college after i graduate.</p>
<p>i'm in the same situation taking physics c and calc ab my junior year this year.. im planning to stick wih it. my shcool hasn't started yet. but now u've got me wondering.... our ap phys c teacher is amazing at our school ive heard... but i have no prior physics foundation</p>
<pre><code>will i be able to handle this workload and studyload when i haven't taken any physics and when i'll have basketball practice/ games everyday monday thru saturday? Is it just a given that when people take physics C with no physics knowledge that they will HAVE to spend 4+ hours every night to understand the foreign information thoroughly?
Please advise because i will not be on the varisty bball team or ne thing huge. and i have been told to quit bball and focus more on schoolwork. i just haven't listened because i love the sport
</code></pre>
<p>The curriculum for the Physics C exam is probably the most mentally challenging subject you'll take as a high school student. The confidence you'll get from being able to handle that stuff better than your peers is an added edge. It'll probably take longer if you're not naturally slick at math and abstract subjects, however.</p>
<p>BTW, almost nobody enters a HS physics class with prior experience to physics. Heck, many engineers at Columbia who I took freshman physics with didn't have the background of a physics C course. Take it if you want to, but it sure doesn't require any special background.</p>
<p>I took Calc ab and physics c soph year, and it was hell for the first few months. After a while, I got pretty good and it wasnt so bad, but it requires a lot of dedication and hard work.</p>
<p>It would definately help to look ahead in calc at basic derivatives and integrals---just what they mean (in an applied sense) and how to do the most basic (because that's all that's required for physics C). At least then you'd stay on top of things a little bit better before you get to them in calc. Your lack of (any?) physics background will be a big handicap. You won't know if you're good at it until the class gets into full swing, but either way you're going to have to deal with learning how to "think physics" while taking a class that's challenging for people who have already had a full year of regular physics. It's probably well worth it to stick with the class though, unless you really feel yourself floundering. Best of luck.</p>
<p>is it the type of course where you need hours of studying daily to get stuff. or is the difficult part of it not in learning the material but in using it to solve the tough physics problems (i realize that the application of knowledge can be something u work toward but is very different than simply learning information)</p>
<p>same question. there is no way ill be able to study 3 hours a night for this class and still live sensibly.</p>
<p>The difficulty lies is the application of the formulas, not in the memorization thereof. Physics is unique among the hard sciences in that there is very, very little, if any, rote memorization...you'll have to memorize the equations, the laws, the rules for using them, and the methods for using them. But that's it. Compared to the massive amount of "descriptive chemistry" information needed for the AP Chem exam (along with all the formulas, laws, etc) and the book full of facts for AP Bio or History, it's a very small amount.</p>
<p>That being said, you may still have to spend 3 hours a night trying to conceptualize the material. That's the hard part, and a bloody hard part it is.</p>
<p>some people are good at the type of analytical thinking required for physics and can just easily get it. However, most people are forced to painstakingly study and practice for hours everyday to master the material</p>
<p>What textbook should one is if he/she decides to self-study???</p>
<p>well mine for. classroom phys c not self study is. physics for scientists and engineers ..........Serway * Beichner</p>
<p>well i ended up dropping my ap physics class. hope it doesnt screw me over somehow, but i doubt it will be much worse later on after im finished will calculus and will have a cc teacher or prof teaching rather than a high school teach.</p>
<p>well that's something... the only reason im considering taking phys c right now is because our high school teacher is supposedly super great and a genius guy (at teaching not just in his subject)</p>