I got a 1 on Physics B

<p>I don't think UF would really care that much. And colleges should understand that not all AP teachers are that great, and they can't really expect you to learn everything on your own, or even know how prepared you are if your teachers aren't that great. Like, if your teacher is bad and you learn everything on your own, that's really great, but yea, don't worry about it.</p>

<p>why didn't you take some practice tests and realize their was stuff that hadn't been taught?</p>

<p>Also was this an AP course, or was it just a normal physics course that your teacher said covered enough to take the exam? An AP course, should by definition teach whats to exam and teach what is on it(not limited to just whats on it, going deeper than is needed, or doing other important related topics not on the test is great, as long as it covers everything or nearly everything on the test too), so if it was an AP physics B course your teacher kinda blew it.</p>

<p>Your teachers in college won't teach you everything that's going to be on the exams, either. Time to take the initiative and be in charge of your education.</p>

<p>^Thats a little different though because everyone taking those exams will generally has the same teacher or one a few teachers if its a dept wide test so you aren't competing against people who covered the material. Your advice is still good and valid though.</p>

<p>im in the same boat...so im in a physics honors class, not a.p. but my teacher decided half-way through the year that me and my friend have enough potential for the ap physics b test. ..... so with that, me and her learned only mechanics, and the week before the exam we started learning about mirrors.... on saturdays, we would go to the ap practice sessions, but having only 2 people taking the b test, and about 20 taking the c, the session only covered ap physics c problems.... our final was the2004 multiple choice questions in which we were allowed to do the final together, using our book, and any notes... we got a 4 on that, and when attempting the free-response, we just laughed and turned it in with a sad face on all the problems not having to do with mechanics</p>

<p>this year, the test was seriously mostly about electronics.... :(
i knew some from being a driver in robotics and building some of the electronic sections of the robot...</p>

<p>got a 1 in the exam</p>

<p>:) oh and, me and my friend are the first two people to ever take the ap physics b exam at my school... ever</p>

<p>You can easily self-study for the Physics B test.. it's basically the same as the SAT II Physics and I did pretty well on that with no prior knowledge of physics...</p>

<p>I didn't have the motivation to studyyyyyyyyyyyy. I hated physics. lulz</p>

<p>And there was so much stuff to remember, and my long term memory is ****.</p>

<p>I've gotten 4/5s on other exams. It shouldn't blow my chances by that much. :(</p>

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<p>That is probably part of the explanation.</p>

<p>Your AP scores are probably similar to those achieved by most of the admissions people who are reviewing your application (that's why they're in admissions, not nuclear physics).</p>

<p>Talking to people at UF about your scores is a best way to go. They will probably tell you not to worry about it. If they do, don't worry. Despite the claims of certain suspicious folks, admissions directors have no reason to lie to you about these things.</p>

<p>If 20 students are asked "which is the easiest AP?" they will probably select 21 different exam titles.</p>

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im in the same boat...so im in a physics honors class, not a.p. but my teacher decided half-way through the year that me and my friend have enough potential for the ap physics b test. ..... so with that, me and her learned only mechanics, and the week before the exam we started learning about mirrors.... on saturdays, we would go to the ap practice sessions, but having only 2 people taking the b test, and about 20 taking the c, the session only covered ap physics c problems.... our final was the2004 multiple choice questions in which we were allowed to do the final together, using our book, and any notes... we got a 4 on that, and when attempting the free-response, we just laughed and turned it in with a sad face on all the problems not having to do with mechanics

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<p>Am I correct in that the physics b test covers not only mechanics, and e&m, but also optics and wave stuff? Then why the hell did you spend the entire year on mechanics? Hell you probably could have done better taking the C Mechanics test, enough of it could be done without calculus that you could have gotten better than a 1, and you could have learned some very basic wrote rules for some calculus without actually understanding it to do some stuff, like derivative of position is velocity and some basic derivative rules, integral of velocity is position, and if their is a velocity graph then that means the area under it is the distance, just memorizing at that level.</p>

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do colleges even give credit for physics B? i thought it was the easiest of all the aps.</p>

<p>not to make you feel bad...

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<p>Oh, wow. <em>laughs</em> That's one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. um, how about AP Human Geography? AP Psychology? Or either of the English APs, even? Physics B is probably one of the hardest APs...or, at least, no lower than the middle of the scale.</p>

<p>That's hilarious...I'd love to see you get a 5.</p>

<p>EDIT: I got a 5, btw. So I'm not biased or anything.</p>

<p>Physicsgrl, your attitude isn't helping.</p>

<p>By the way, AP test difficulty is pretty much subjective. Some tests do have higher curves than others but a history junkie will find US History to be much easier than let's say Chemistry while a budding engineer will find math and physics to be easier than the subjects you listed. Some tests are easier to self study for like AP Psychology, so you are right in that sense.</p>

<p>I'll easily admit that I probably should not have taken AP Physics B. I had no prior experience with physics. I jumped into AP headfirst, and it didn't take very long for me to find out I didn't like physics. I certainly regret taking the class. If I could go back in time, I would not have take AP Physics or AP Macro and Microecon. They were mistakes. I did it to find out if I would enjoy either of those subjects. For all I knew, I would love physics or econ so much, I would want to pursue those subjects in college. I wanted to be exposed to them in case they really interested me, and in case I wanted to make a career out of them.</p>

<p>It's not like I'm terrible at physics or econ. I didn't find them too difficult, but a lot of fellow students did. Although, I think there is way too much material to cover in physics B and far too much to remember. It's just that I didn't enjoy either of them - I didn't want to put forth effort for studying for stuff I didn't like. Who would?</p>

<p>I don't like how AP scores are being used in college admissions. I REALLY don't. In my opinion, their sole purpose should be that of college credit and placement. I couldn't just drop either of those classes or choose to not take the exams. Florida pays for AP exams, and if you cancel, you have to pay the fee for the exam.</p>

<p>physicgrl: Ur not funny, u physics nerd. Please try to be a bit civil and try to not belittle other people. I know it's temptin for u to brag about ur "5" in AP Physics B but this is not the thread to do so.</p>

<p>Don't worry JMAN. It's all good. Colleges won't look down too hard on it so just relax and make sure u don't reiterate another "1" in ur AP tests. I know plenty of ppl with the worst AP grades possible yet are at top notch schools (UC Berkeley, UCLA, and even MIT).</p>

<p>actually physics girl, speaking about percentages of getting a 5 i think english lit is the second harshest exam.... language is up there too.</p>

<p>My D got into Northwestern, UCLA Honors, and Berkeley with only 2 AP scores by the time she applied. She noted the 4 from American History but never mentioned the 2 she got on the Biology test. Same thing.. teacher didn't prepare them and the class tried to self-study. You should mention the ones you did well on by score because they're going to see the classes on your transcript and assume you took the tests, but don't put too much emphasis on them. Once you're in, then have the test scores sent to the school for credit for those you got a 3 or better on.</p>

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actually physics girl, speaking about percentages of getting a 5 i think english lit is the second harshest exam.... language is up there too.

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<p>Percentages don't really mean anything. A higher percentage get 5's on the Calculus BC test than the Calculus AB test, but that doesn't mean that the former is easier.</p>

<p>I just found out that all the colleges I am applying to don't even have places to self report AP scores on their apps.</p>

<p>So I don't even need to worry about it anymore.</p>

<p>You're not using the common application for any of your colleges?</p>

<p>No. Two of them don't even accept the common app, I think.</p>

<p>I'm only applying to four schools.</p>

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Oh, wow. <em>laughs</em> That's one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. um, how about AP Human Geography? AP Psychology? Or either of the English APs, even? Physics B is probably one of the hardest APs...or, at least, no lower than the middle of the scale.

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<p>Hey now, hey now, I got 5s on both the English exams and for me personally it was easy, but that's because it's my strength. But I'm sitting here with a 3 on my Calc AB because it was really hard for me, even though for pretty much everyone else around me it was much easier- some sophomores and juniors even get 5s on the AB test, and you only have to get a 60%, is what I've heard. But these same people sometimes don't do as well as I did on English. </p>

<p>Different strokes for different folks.</p>