<p>Max- No, sorry if my post was confusing. She took honors Bio last year and did very well and has honors Chem this year and is doing quite well.</p>
<p>Her math background is as follows: Algebra I at age 12 but she missed an A by less than a point so we had her take it over again to drop the B from her transcript. The following year she obviously did even better and had a high A. Following that she took Geometry and was the student of the year. This year she has Alg II/Trig and has the highest average of all her teacher’s classes. Next year she will be in pre-calc. So, she is obviously good in math, but not to the level where she would take calc as a Jr.</p>
<p>Edit: she is a Sophomore now and will be a Jr. next</p>
<p>TV, if she feels good with trig, she can do AP physics B. It does not require Cal.
If she takes AP physics next year, does she plan to take AP bio or AP chem in the senior year? Is she a science/STEM kid? </p>
<p>The reason I’m asking is that I attended a physics ed conference last summer. Research shows students who do two years of a certain science subject tend to really like it and get a solid grasp of it. They suggest that if schedule allows, have the students take honors one year and AP the next, in the same subject. (I don’t think two consecutive years is necessary. )</p>
<p>Back to your original question - I don’t think she will have trouble doing AP physics B with her current background.</p>
<p>She would probably take AP Chem or AP Bio her senior year, although she might take another medical elective like biotechnology, microbiology, forensic medicine, medicinal chemistry etc. That’s the hard part- too many great courses, and balancing college credits/APs with interesting and more specialized prep classes.</p>
<p>Another option would be to take AP Chem next year while it’s still fresh in her mind, and then AP Physics or AP Bio senior year.</p>
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<p>Definitely! Her favorite courses last year were Geometry and Health Science. This year they are Alg II/Trig, Anatomy, and Chem.</p>
<p>I know this is a couple weeks old, but id just like to say that succeeding in physics depends a lot on the teacher. This year my school’s science department decided to switch things up and redivide up the classes amongst teachers, so that teachers that normally teach regulars might be teaching honors, and honors might teach AP etc. So, to the outrage of many students, the teacher we thought we were going to have for honors (no AP physics at my school) physics no longer teaches the subject. And let me tell you, the entire class is majorly struggling for good grades. I cant even imagine trying to take AP with this guy, let alone take it without having taken regular physics first! But i have friends at other school in AP Physics who are taking it without prerequisites and are doing great. So i would have you D ask her friends who have taken the class what they think of it and if they think shed be okay in it.</p>
<p>Same here. AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Phys C in 10th, 11th and 12th grade respectively, with AP Calc AB or BC in 11th or 12th. This progression was standard for the top 10% or so of students at D’s large public HS.</p>
<p>My child started AP Physics B in 10th grade after meeting the prerequisites(above average math student, successful completion of Algebra 2) but ended up dropping it. Derivatives in the first week was enough for DC to question if it was the right class at the right time. The course sequence DC ended up doing is this…</p>
<p>9th: Biology, Alg. 2/Trig
10th: Pre-calculus, pre-AP Chem
11th: AP Calc AB, AP Chem
12: Undecided if it will be AP Calc BC or AP Stats and AP Bio or AP Physics B but the confidence is now in place to take AP Physics B. 10th grade was simply too early given the math background DC had at the time.</p>
<p>Having all three of biology, chemistry, and physics in high school is often favored in college admissions, and high school physics is often a listed prerequisite for college physics.</p>
<p>Taking AP Physics B without prior physics is no problem. Our high school eliminated honors physics in favor of Physics B only years ago. (The students in it have all had Algebra 1 and Geometry and are taking Algebra 2 concurrently.) Taking Physics C is not something I would recommend. More because it has a narrower focus and you’d miss a lot of physics topics than because it’s impossible to do.</p>
<p>Most of the kids in our high school who are taking Physics C are taking it concurrently with Calculus and don’t find it particularly an issue. They definitely aren’t all MIT or Caltech bound. A billion years ago I took college physics without any physics at all in high school and didn’t find it impossible until the very end of the year when they assumed chem knowledge I didn’t have.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: I recall asking for advice on that exact issue a few months back. Maybe you responded? It seems like my DC is leaning towards the physics for that very reason…exposure to all three sciences might be preferred by schools but someone else may have mentioned it’s not a deal breaker with college admissions.</p>
It seems like my DC is leaning towards the physics for that very reason…exposure to all three sciences might be preferred by schools but someone else may have mentioned it’s not a deal breaker with college admissions.</p>