<p>just got my AP scores back and i got a 3 in physics b, 4 in chem, and 5 in calc AB, and a 5 in bio from last year.</p>
<p>does my relatively weaker physics score indicate that im not cut out to be a biomedical engineer? i'm aware that physics b is supposed to be the easier physics AP course but i really think it was just magnetism, electricity, and optics and waves and those things that gave me trouble because (not trying to look for excuses) i think my teacher didnt do a very good job teaching them. She just said remember these formulas and use them and that was the end of those units more or less. </p>
<p>i plan on taking a full year of calculus based physics in college next year covering i think similar topics that were covered in physics b such as mechanics, heat, electricity, magnetism since i did pretty well in calc. </p>
<p>should i use how i do in the college physics course instead of the AP course to gauge my relative aptitude for success? because i'm going to be pre-med but if biomedical engineering is going to give me hell and kill my GPA because of my ineptitude in physics ill go with biochem/bio major.</p>
<p>biganthony, I was a straight A student in HS, but really struggled in college physics. I made a B one semester, and a C the other! I still ended up graduating with high honors. I wouldn’t worry about it!</p>
<p>No, it does not. It means that you probably should retake it, and will hopefully have a teacher that you connect with better. I base this on seeing the vast difference in scores on AP exams from school to school in our county. You can definately tell when there is a good teacher, and when there is not!</p>
<p>I am expecting 2’s on the ap physics c exams because my teacher was actually the worst teacher ever. Don’t worry, even the smartest kids in my grade who are going to schools like yale did terrible because of bad teaching.</p>
<p>@vlines
by retaking do you mean retaking the algebra based course?</p>
<p>im 100% not retaking the algebra based course. i’ve heard from many people that knowing the calculus actually makes understanding the physics slightly easier since physics and calculus almost go hand in hand and algebra makes things messier.</p>
<p>no, not the algebra based course. Take the physics course in college that is appropriate for your major. I have heard that the calc physics makes more sense to some students too. I am sure that you will do great.</p>
<p>In no way does one class or AP test in this case indicate the level of proficiency you’ll reach in engineering. If you enjoy those subjects, then the rest tends to go along with it. I’m currently a ChemE major with a 4.0, I did not like physics nor did I do exceptionally well in it. I got the 4 I needed on both the Physics C tests to get out of it in college and now the only time I use physics is to apply it to the engineering principles I’m learning.</p>
<p>Best of luck! Don’t let an AP test make such an important decision for you.</p>
<p>perfect, for a majority of physics b i was trying to figure out which equation do i plug the numbers into and i could never figure out how all the magnetism equations fit together</p>
<p>Like I said, read Richard Feynman’s books and lectures or even better, watch the videos of his interviews online. Those will certainly get your juices flowing and you will soon get the “aha” moment.</p>
<p>Funny story, I actually ended up taking calc ab the semester before I took honors physics at my school because I’m a huge math nerd. In that class, I understood basically everything taught early on on a much higher level then everyone else (it started to balance out though… kinematics is all calculus but then we got to electricity, magnetism, optics, etc and thats when I couldn’t understand anything haha). Some of the people in that class were geniuses, but because they hadn’t had calculus before, the kinematic equations were just formulas to memorize rather then truly understanding them. Physics is DEFINITELY easier after learning calculus.</p>