<p>Two weeks left, and I have a 88.4 B+. Had I not failed the last quiz, I would have an A-. However, that was not the first quiz failure (he doesnt give tests except for the final, only quizzes). Ever since the start of the year, I have never received above a B+ on his quizzes (except one time). My quiz grades are fraught with Bs and Cs, and one F recently that dropped my grade. The only way to raise my grade now to an A- is to get full score on the next quiz (highly unlikely) AND get a 90% or higher on the final (again, highly unlikely). </p>
<p>The fact that I have not received A's on ANY of his quizzes disturbs me. I study hard, do all the homework! I also review all his god damn lecture notes that he copies from the book! And yet, this failure of quizes still plagues me and my grade... What am I doing wrong? (I need this advice fast, because the quiz is next next wednesday, and the final is the week after). </p>
<p>Cheating is a viable option. I have in possession plenty of men who would be willing to rob his AP Physics test cabinet afterschool. However, it goes against society’s moral code.</p>
<p>1 goldfish, 2 Siamese cats, 3 Golden Retrievers, 4 Bulbasaurs, 5.2 Mudkipz, and 10.5 Snivies die every time someone on this forum makes a thread to complain about AP Physics.</p>
<p>All those poor things will go extinct soon.</p>
<p>I’m having the same difficulty as you. Last year I got A+ in physics for basicall sleeping through the class. It just made sense and was a piece of cake. Now in AP, I’m working my ass off and still can’t get A’s. Today, actually, I got my very first one.</p>
<p>The advice I can give you is to try and read through the textbook. I find it’s much clearer than a teacher trying to explain it to you or reading through notes. Also that way if a teacher skipped over something or only mentioned it in passing, it’s there. It may be just me, but at first i woudl just go by his lecture and read through my notes, and I’ve noticed a significant improvement since I start reading through the text on my own.</p>
<p>Finally, don’t fret about a B+. I got an 89.0 last quarter. Meanwhile I have a 98 in calculus. Physics is just difficult, a B+ in AP Physics is good. And if you’re really THAT upset about a B+, work a bit harder. You’re so close to that A-, you just gotta increase your efforts until you get over that hump, then just maintain it.</p>
<p>Sorry; what else would you recommend besides reading the textbook? I actually do that a lot; I did that for AP Bio and AP Chem, and I received As in those classes. However, I can’t seem to do that for AP physics B… Also, the primary problem I’m having on tests is that the problems that show up on quizzes are COMPLETELY different than the practice problems he has us do and the home work he gives us… Yeah. I’m pretty sure if i found a way to tackle these “random” problems on quizzes, I would score higher on his quizzes.</p>
<p>Is he a nice teacher? If possible, take your quizzes to him and ask him to go over them for you. Teachers most likely have one format in which they issue tests/quizzes. Get familar with his format, be it a few written questions and a lot of MC, or a lot of word problems, or whatever. </p>
<p>Ask if its possible for him to give you additional review.</p>
<p>Hm, I suppose this would depend on the teacher, but I’d also recommend you focus a lot on CONCEPTS. Yes, it’s very mathy, but at least for us we need to kind of know what’s actually going on. Even conceptually understand the equation: what happens to the volume when you double the mass and density stays the same, stuff like that.</p>
<p>You say the quizzes are “random.” Do they at least have a patter in and of themselves. For example, are homework problems similiar, quiz problems similar, yet just the quiz and homework problems compeletely different? If that’s the case, I’d suggest try going back and look at previous quizzes. Study those problems, get a feel for the type they are. Then you can find practice problems similar to them, or at least know what to expect.</p>
<p>I took Physics B as a sophomore and found that the Princeton Review Cracking the AP book was pretty helpful during the year, just in terms of highlighting the most important concepts and showing some likely applications. Does your teacher use old AP exam questions for the quizzes/exam? If so, getting any AP review book will really help. If your textbook is anything like the one we used (Giancoli), then the problems you get in the chapter aren’t necessarily the most useful practice.</p>