I am having so much trouble with AP PHYSICS?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>hello,
i just feel so overwhelmed with AP Physics.
I am trying to figure out if its me or the teacher.
there are about 5-6 other students in my class who are totally lost (out of a total of 10-11).</p>

<p>The teacher confuses so many of us.
She would throw a problem on the board, try to solve it for us, write a whole mess that I can't really follow, erase it and say whoops thats not right, and then shes goes back and tries to solve it again--finally reaching an answer after a long time.
At the end, im like "huhhh??" and then she attempts to explain the problem and then she acts as if everyone knows what she's talking about.</p>

<p>The chapters are NOT actually reviewed--i dont really know whats even going on.
we walk in and if there's no lab, she's like "so what you want to do? work on some problems?" and then mess starts happening.</p>

<p>On top of that, there are different levels of people alll taking AP physics B--some are ap calculus seniors. I am, along with 5 others, a precal junior. She's sometimes starts talking about calculus stuff.</p>

<p>What to do??? i cant drop out.
I am taking 3 other AP classes--history and english and I am doing well.
Should I ignore her and just learn from a guy on youtube??? and just try to do the hw and labs?
how did you study AP physics? what programs helped?
please help!</p>

<p>also the course is dual enrollment.
do i HAVE to take the AP Physics exam at the end?</p>

2

<p>[Free</a> Online MIT Course Materials | Audio/Video Courses | MIT OpenCourseWare](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm#Physics]Free”>http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm#Physics)</p>

3

<p>Boy do I feel for you-- my daughter is senior who is taking physics now and says without calculus it would have been impossible-- let alone without it. </p>

<p>A few ideass–get your fellow confused classmates to all email the teacher and copy in the guidance counselors. Maybe it is the teacher and not you-- get other adults into that classroom to see what is up. My daughters ap chem teacher was fired after school officials observed the classroom situation.</p>

<p>Next, get a tutor now-- this is the most important year gradewise… I wish someone had advised you against taking this course this year.Four aps is way too much for a year with sats. I blame some of this on poor advising! Do not do this again next year!</p>

<p>Hire the physics teacher from a neighboring school who teaches the ap course successfully. It will be worth it. Beg your parents! Junior year is ridiculous as it is.</p>

<p>The other thought I want to put into your head is that you should consider the ACT with writing-- that counts equally to the sat and math/science kids do so much better on it.</p>

<p>Sounds like the teacher is the problem here-- I would not rule out dropping and explaining it with your applications next year. Better to explain than to get a C and screw up your transcript–hope something here helps-- a concerned mom</p>

4

<p>Thanks for that link
but its a bit too advanced for the stuff we’re covering.</p>

5

<p>Thanks concerned mom.
Yea this really sucks for me.
But i cannot drop it now.
I am taking 3 APs.</p>

<p>I am not even worrying about my grade. I got an A this first marking period.
And I am most likely getting an A this quarter too. I just dont understand it very well.</p>

6

<p>Then dont take the AP if you dont feel prepared!!! My daughter had an A in her AP Chem class -the one where the teacher got fired-- and the two people who actually took the AP got 2’s-- and had to have explanations sent with their applications to justify why they had such high marks in class and such low test results.</p>

<p>The grade isnt everything-- if you want to pursue science you want to understand it-- get the tutor–chip in with your other lost classmates! Or, I guess- take it again in college! Where are you thinking of applying?</p>

7

<p>Concerned Mom-- i didnt see your other post until now.
I am not interested in science field.
I want to apply to NYU or Georgetown–both my first choices. </p>

<p>I really do not want to take the AP Physics exam.
I’ll take US History and English this year,
and may be for a science, biology next year.
along with cal and engllish.</p>

<p>Thank you soo much. For some reason, Im feeling better. :)</p>

8

<p>I have the same problem! I manage A’s on all the homework and quizzes, but come test time, I completely blank. I almost failed a test.</p>

<p>My friend told me to get another textbook, but it doesn’t work at all.</p>

<p>If you figure out what you are going to do, or find a study guide, please tell me! I am barely holding onto my A. >.<</p>

9

<p>Twistedkiss-- yea i sure will tell you. And that is the same thing that happens to me too!</p>

<p>and ■■■■! that textbook I have–Serway or whatever–is in a foreign language! lmao</p>

10

<p>I was supposed to end up with a B in that class but ended up with an A because I told my teacher I wouldn’t return to America if I didn’t have an A in her class.</p>

<p>Other than that, reading the text book word by word helped me a lot. I couldn’t understand anything in class so I basically taught myself by reading the textbook.</p>

11

<p>The same exact thing is happening to me! I absolutely had to take college physics and I am having the hardest time with it. My teacher is a senile, old nun who frankly doesn’t know what she is doing (very harsh, but true) and our textbook is very uninformative. EVERYONE in the class is struggling. I tried to drop out, but they wouldn’t let me. We are not required to take the AP test, so I opted out of it. I mean, I am more of a humanities person and do not plan on pursuing science, so I thought that it would be better to not take the exam than to get a 1 or 2 on it. Plus, like you, I am just a pre-calc junior and I pretty much struggle at grasping the calculus needed for physics.</p>

<p>Here is how I am solving the problem: I recently hired a tutor who has many success stories under her belt. Our first meeting is on Monday, so I hope all goes well! Maybe you should try getting a tutor, too!</p>

12

<p>I feel like I’m in a similar trap. </p>

<p>Anybody have notes/homework problems/anything that could be helpful? </p>

<p>I’m assuming this is C?</p>

13

<p>I feel like I’m in a similar trap. </p>

<p>Anybody have notes/homework problems/anything that could be helpful? </p>

<p>I’m assuming this is C?</p>

14

<p>I feel for you. Both my AP Chem and AP Physics teacher were EXACTLY like that…they were both fired at the end of the year once the administration started to watch the classroom situation(they were there EVERYDAY for 2 weeks)</p>

15

<p>I felt the same way. Don’t worry about it kiddo. It doesn’t matter in the long run.</p>

16

<p>they let you into AP phys without calc? omg</p>

17

<p>Its physics B</p>

<p>and thanks everyone</p>

18

<p>You have no idea how similar my situation is. I HATE this subject. I don’t understand anything the teacher does. I hate how it’s always just example after example after example with no general structure to attack them. I have an A in my class because I read the Giancolli textbook the night before an exam, but I don’t understand anything. It’s so hard to retain anything after the tests! I seriously can’t wait till the class is over. We don’t have to take the exam if we don’t want to, thank God!</p>

19

<p>Physics requires a lot of focus. Going through a problem is like doing a proof.
When tackling a problem, make sure you know all conceptual information before trying out the formulas. Try to organize given information and see how many unknown variables you end up with.</p>

20

<p>Lol, at least you guys can get A’s, I’m going to get a B or C no matter what :(</p>