Questions about AP Physics C

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<pre><code>Hope you all are having a good summer. Anyway, I'll be a junior when school starts, and I signed up for AP Physics C: Mechanics and E/M, though I am considering dropping E/M. I really enjoy physics, and when my friends asked me about my classes and discovered that I was taking AP Physics, I got a large amount of flak, because I will be taking Calc AB concurrently. For the most part, I'm an extremely good math student, I did well in competitions such as Mathcounts, got all A grades in Math class, etc.

I have a calculus background, I know a lot of differentiation, and I just need to brush up some integration (u-substitution, etc). I have PR's review book(for Calc and AP Physics C) to help me learn calculus along with stuff like Khan Academy, etc.

So, is it doable? Is it possible to succeed in AP Physics C while taking Calc AB concurrently? Also, do I need to take Calc III concurrently or have it finished for E/M, or will just an AB background suffice?
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<p>I think I can pull off mechanics, I've heard from some it requires basic diff/integration, which I know, but E/M can get tough. </p>

<p>Or is it a question of work ethic as well? If I just study hard, look through my review books, etc, I'll do well?</p>

<p>So, just give a reply, and comment on whether I should drop E/M or not, comment If one can succesfully do Calc AB and Mechanics concurrently(with my background in mind). If I drop it though, my senior year I'll be taking the second half of AP Chem and AP Physics E/M at the same time of second semester senior year, which might be bad; though I might drop it because I might not have the math ready to learn E/M. </p>

<p>Thanks! </p>

<p>P.S, if I can get replies from people in my boat, or people who took AP Physics, that would make my day. Reply nonetheless!</p>

2

<p>Concurrent AB is sufficient for both mechanics and E&M. AP Physics C is a difficult class; I can’t sugarcoat it. If you have the time management skills and work at it, you can do well. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Thanks! I’ll be Taking Calc AB/BC along with it, not yearlong AB, so would that help any amount? </p>

4

<p>It won’t hurt. but the level of calculus used is not that sophisticated.</p>

5

<p>ok + bump, any more replies?</p>

6

<p>I got 5s on both exams this year, but our teacher was quite easy. Our tests were AP scaled and 5 equals 100 percent PLUS homework was fifty percent of our grade, pure completion. </p>

<p>What you said tells me you can definitely know enough to get 5s on the exams, but the class itself may be much harder than the exam. Thus, you should ask students how hard the class is.</p>

<p>Calc is pretty basic for physics. The concepts are the tricky part.</p>

<p>EDIT If you have any questions about the material, I can answer them.</p>

7

<p>What level of physics have you taken so far? That will probably determine how much work it will be to learn the concepts.</p>

8

<p>I’ve taken ABP (Algebra Based Physics) as a freshman, with the same AP Physics teacher. So, from what you guys are saying, its just a matter of understanding concepts? I see where you guys are getting at; can anyone recommend any online resources/books that can help me understand the concepts if I have trouble? Anyway, Thanks to all for the feedback! I was scared about my decision at first but now I’m more confident. </p>

9

<p>AP Central AP Physics C is very useful for learning how to do FRQs. Princeton Review is decent. If you have any questions, PM me and I can send you a study guide.</p>

10

<p>Advice is simply to just do a bunch of practice problems, conceptual and mathematical!
In my opinion, Physics C (Mechanics) isn’t a huge step ahead of Physics B, just that you will be applying Calculus when you solve problems using the same concepts in Physics B and you add rotational dynamics into the topics.
E/M it gets a little more tricky as Calculus gives it a lot more conceptual flavor. Some advice for E/M is to understand the SI units of things such as electric field / flux / magnetic field / voltage, etc. </p>

11

<p>As others have said, E&M only requires Calc I (AB) level knowledge. Most of the Calc you use is easy, particularly for mech. The one thing that you may have trouble with if you are taking AB concurrently is setting up single-variable equations that can be integrated to solve for various things (only comes up in E&M I believe). Personally, the concept of an integral being the sum of an infinite number of infinitesimally small parts was not explored until Calc III. You’ll also sometimes be asked to set up differential equations, which I found was not covered as thoroughly in calc. You’ll probably be fine though- many students take AB concurrently with Physics C, and you have an advantage if you already have a grasp of basic differentiation and integration. </p>

<p>Also, E&M is significantly harder than Mech, just so you’re aware.</p>

<p>Good luck :)</p>

12

<p>Based on my son’s experience, I think you will be fine. </p>

13

<p>Yeah, I’ve heard the rumors about E&M. Well thanks for the feedback everyone, I think that I’m going to really enjoy physics (I’ve got an awesome teacher who’s also my track coach). I’ll try to learn as much Calculus over summer to try to get as much of an advantage, and work hard in E/M. Thanks!</p>