OP - My daughter had better admission results than students ranked higher than she was because of her course rigor. Val/sal means nothing for highly competitive colleges. Take the course that will help you succeed the most, not only college acceptances, but also to have exposure to material that will aid your success later.
I agree with those who say take Honors Physics or AP Physics 1.
You want a Physics class. At the same time, you already took AP Bio and AP Chem. Your other senior year classes will be time consuming. Don’t kill yourself with Physics C if the teacher is known for being notoriously difficult.
I believe the OP’s post about valedictorian was a response to my question in post #10. I’m sure he/she will be taking the good advice offered here.
I personally think it’s a silly reason to skip a class because a teacher is “notoriously difficult”. Half of your professors in college will be even more difficult. Yes, taking 6 APs is a difficult load but kids do do it. It would carry a lot more weight IMO to say in my essays that I took every single top class offered that was available than to be valedictorian.