<p>Is it more conceptual or there are a lot of math related work?</p>
<p>i want to find out too!</p>
<p>It's much more conceptual than math-related. That's why no calculators are permitted on the exam. There is some math but it is not used extensively.</p>
<p>As for difficulty, the subject matter might be somewhat difficult compared to other tests, but the curve is definitely a good one.</p>
<p>I took it last year as a freshman and got an 800. To show that it's not too bad, that got me 94th percentile, which means that 6 or 7% got an 800. Several of my classmates did very well also, including 780, 760, and a couple 720's. If you're doing well in an honors or AP physics course then I reccomend taking the test.</p>
<p>yes I agree. It's conceptual about 40-50% is about electricity and magnetism. So definitely work on E&M. You can't use a calculator but you really don't need it. It's pretty easy in general. I recommend those who take regular or honors physics take the exam. The AP level is really unnecessary.</p>
<p>rcman13, which SAT II Physics preparation book did you use? How much time did you spend on the test preparation? Also did your freshman physics cover all the subjects?</p>
<p>In response to your post...</p>
<p>I was in an honors physics course during my freshman year. Since I'm in New York State, it covered all of the regents topics and then a lot of other topics (pretty much the additional SAT II ones). About halfway through the year, some of us were doing extremely well, especially since our teacher gave us tests almost identical to the tests for the AP B class. They decided to let some of us take the AP Physics B exam, which I took. So essentially, I took AP Physics B. For the few topics on the AP exam that were not covered in class, our teacher had some review sessions before and after school.</p>
<p>Since I stuided for the AP B, my studying for the SAT II was fairly limited. I will tell you that for the AP test, PrincetonReview was pretty effective. For the SAT II, the best thing to do is to take A LOT of practice tests.</p>
<p>One small book that has some good practice tests that I used the week before the test was the book by REA (Research + Education Association). Not very detailed, but good if you're looking for a brief review.</p>
<p>In terms of the amount I studied, it really is hard to tell because most of my studying was done in preparation for the AP. However, physics is the kind of subject where an understanding of the subject matter is more important than spending a ton of time memorizing information.</p>