Hello! I am a high school senior and I have to take school virtually next year so I wanted to ask… If you have taken AP Chemistry and/or AP Physics 1, which one do you think will be harder to comprehend if taught online? In other words, do you see one of them being easier to self-study for?
More background information that may be somewhat important:
According to my peers who took both of these classes, the AP Chemistry teacher is bad at teaching but it's easy to get an A. On the other hand, the AP Physics 1 teacher is a very engaging teacher but you'll have to work harder to get an A.
I want to do pre-med in college so I was leaning towards AP Chemistry since it's a bit more relevant.
I took AP Biology last year, regular Chemistry my sophomore year, and regular Biology my freshman year.
If you take AP chemistry, will you also take some kind of physics?
As a pre-med, you probably do not want your first experience with physics to be in a college course full of other pre-meds competing for scarce A grades.
The fact that an AP class with a fail rate bordering 50% is said to be easy is concerning, especially if you’re planning to spend upwards of $90 the test. (Though, I could be wrong and the pass rate for your Chem teacher could be higher)
Not that Physics is any easier, it actually has a lower passing rate, but I’m more confident that the class would prepare you for the Physics test since the class and the test are both said to be challenging.
With that being said, I took both classes/tests and Physics was FAR easier for me to learn. But I am a math-minded person so algebra based Physics was a dream come true, Khan Academy over the summer helped a lot as well
If you aren’t a math person, Chem could be more up your alley since it’s more memorization than application. Though, a huge part of AP Chem are the labs and that might pose a problem if you’re a hands-on learner.
No… I took AP Biology my sophomore year and IB SL Computer Science my junior year. I have to choose between AP Chemistry or AP Physics 1 for my senior year
What’s the highest level of math you’ve taken? And are you more comfortable with math or memorization?
Physics 1 is very heavily algebra 2/trigonometry based, at my school we had to take it either with or after precal. Chem uses basic math, if any at all, and it’s largely lab based with lots of memorization.
AP Calculus AB was the highest level of math I have taken… I am more of a “memorization” than “application” type of person which is why I like biology the most…
If you haven’t taken any Physics and have already taken an AP science, I’d strongly recommend the Physics course.
Colleges look for all three subjects, and you’ll be much better prepared for college Physics. In fact, I’d say an initial college Physics course would be very difficult as your first exposure, if it’s even permitted.
