<p>I am currently a senior in high school and have been taking physics. This class has been the best class Ive taken because of the logic and applications to real scenarios. MY question is, how different is a major in physics from the AP physics class? Obviously the classes would go into more detail but is the spark still there? Thanks</p>
<p>I really liked classical mechanics but I lost my interest in physics when I started learning about advanced electromagnetism, optics and quantum mechanics. Mechanics was really interesting because I could apply everything to things I could see - in the real world, on a daily basis. The classes I didn’t like were classes where the concepts could only be observed in a special lab setting, if at all. Unfortunately, there are way too many of these as you take more advanced classes.</p>
<p>A physics major would probably have a different perspective.</p>
<p>I also enjoyed AP Physics, as well as my lower-division physics classes, but upper-division physics was a lot more challenging to me, especially quantum mechanics. In fact, the only upper-divison class that I really liked was classical mechanics, for the similar reasons as b@r!um mentioned. If you continue to really enjoy physics in college, I would go for it.</p>
<p>I started physics for Classical Mechanics, but soon discovered that the rest of it was interesting too. Quantum Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Statistical Mechanics turned out to be really cool. If anything, the lab courses weren’t much fun.</p>
<p>Being a physics major is a little different from the AP classes in the sense that, at higher levels, the focus shifts from finding answers to deriving and manipulating expressions. Sure, you’ll still have to find some closed-form answers, but for the most part this is an afterthought once you’ve found the expression you need. It’s a shift in focus rather than a brand new focus. It’s hard to explain and this explanation isn’t perfect.</p>
<p>If you like the raw problem-solving aspect of your AP class… that’s more the bread and butter of engineering majors. Going with engineering also has the advantage of allowing you to stick to mechanics if you’re sure that’s all you want to do. If, rather, you like learning the fundamental concepts, and possibly taking those concepts and some math and being able to say this new, other thing is true (not sure how much this happens in AP), then Physics is for you.</p>
<p>I’m the opposite. I’m not that interested in AP Physics mechanics but I’m taking it because i might wanna major in physics. I’m really interested in quantum mechanics and relativity and string theory and all that. Can someone tell me how upper level courses are? Are they unbelievably difficult or what?</p>
<p>They are unbelievably difficulty, at least compared to other courses I’m taking (the only courses in CS that have rivaled my Physics courses are Algorithms and Formal Languages). However, they are also unbelievably interesting and rewarding. Figuring out how it all works - not to mention solving the assigned problems - is its own reward.</p>
<p>Upper level physics classes are very difficult, at least in my experience, but not impossible. If you’re willing to put in extraordinary amounts of time (like problems that can take over two hours to solve), you can succeed. It’s difficult when you have to balance it with other courses.</p>
<p>AP Physics was dissimilar to my physics courses at college. You’ll find that most schools take topics that are enough to make you suicidal (advanced e&m, quantum, etc) and make three or four different progression classes out of them (e&m 1, e&m 2, …). The upper level can be extremely intense and competitive.</p>
<p>Is it hard to double major Math and Physics?</p>
<p>There is already a lot of math involved in being a physics major to begin with. Math is probably most common secondary major for physics students – usually it only means a few more “pure” math courses. Of course, this changes from school to school. There are schools that offer a Math and Physics major.</p>
<p>In terms of difficulty – physics is a lot of work. I would argue that it is the most difficult major in the sciences (although there are others who would dispute this). Adding a second major will be difficult logistically, but not impossible. Be prepared to spend a majority of your week on these two.</p>
<p>
Doable but inconvenient. Math and physics share 4 classes at my college (Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra). For a double major, you would need 11 physics classes and 9 math classes on top of that. I personally know only two students who double-majored. One of them tested out of half of the gen eds and took all of here remaining classes in math and physics; the other one had to stay an extra semester to finish all of the requirements.</p>
<p>So I am done with Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and the first 3 semesters of Calculus based physics. I am currently a Senior in high school. I have a bunch of AP credits that should cover some of my GE’s. Now is it more doable?</p>
<p>I want to do pure math/ theoretical physics, but it seems that only applied math goes along with theoretical physics. So does pure math have a lot in common with theoretical physics?</p>