<p>Right, so here's my situation. I self-studied most of physics over the summer for the SAT IIs, and plan to finish off all the tests in my school's physics curriculum <em>soon</em>. After that, I want to spend my course time doing AP physics C. </p>
<p>So, since my school doesn't offer AP courses, nobody has any idea what to do (by nobody, I mean, physics teacher, guidance counselor). They know where to order the course from - Princeton, NJ apparently - but have no idea what they would actually be getting. </p>
<p>So, I'm wondering. What are some good textbooks for Physics C? What would be the chapters that the AP curriculum covers? What about the lab component? If the school takes too long or fails in getting the AP thing arranged, I want to be able to just get a textbook and use that.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Physics C you may want to investigate taking it online through Stanford's EPGY program. You buy the textbook that they recommend and take classes on your schedule along with the associated homework assignments and quizzes.</p>
<p>I am still investigating other ways for my son to accomplish this because it is a bit expensive, over $1000. The Thinkwell's software prepares a student for the Physics B exam, not the C. I too would be interested in any other thoughts that people have on this topic.</p>
<p>The textbook we used in class was Halliday, Resnick, Walker's Fundamentals of Physics. It was pretty good, and if you actually take the time to read and try to understand it (unlike me), you should do fine on the AP test. As far as the chapters covered on the test, I think it was something like 1-15, skipped a few, and 20s+. Anyways, the curriculum should be on collegeboard. Good luck! I plan on retaking it (the AP test) this year and will probably use the same book.</p>