<p>My brother took honor level physics, biology, and chemistry and he got all As. Without any AP level science courses, which one is easier to prepare for SAT II? He is aiming at 700+ and need advice from you kind CC people.</p>
<p>doesn't matter if you take AP level courses. All you have to do is understand the material. This may sound easy but its not. In fact, throughout high school, I've gotten A's but never really understood the info. once u "get it" everything is a piece of cake</p>
<p>I think he should take the SAT II of the science course he just completed. I just finished a regular honors physics course and with a little prep managed an 800, though I don't know how. (my practice tests scores were 720, 740, 690- in that order!)</p>
<p>Biology and Chemistry have remarkably similar curves and percentiles. Physics has the "easiest" curve and is probally the easiest to get a 750+ if you know the material pretty well.</p>
<p>Does he want to memorize or understand concepts?
If the former, then bio.
If the latter, then physics.
If a combination, then chemistry.
Also, which does he enjoy most? I took bio and did horribly simply because I hated bio and therefore did not study enough.</p>
<p>I second the advice to take the test for the class your brother most recently had (unless it's somethign he absolutely hates). In terms of "easiness", the physics test is known to have the most lienant curve of the three science tests. Have your brother go to the bookstore or library and look through sample tests in the Real SAT II's book and in prep books. He will be able to tell what he is most comfortable with. Personally, I stayed away from the Chem test because of the T/F/CE questions and the properties of elements questions (flame test color, states of matter etc)</p>
<p>Chem really isn't that bad. It's all in the mind that ppl fear the T/F/CE questions. Just keep repeating to yourself something like "I'm gonna rip this motha f***er apart" or something. The confidence boost definitely helps. It sure helped me.</p>
<p>chem was really fun. :) i just love nomenclature don't ya? :P</p>
<p>bio was a major pain. :S Physics was just godawful. I probably got a 1 on the AP physics exam</p>
<p>He's a concept person so chem and physics came easy for him. There are areas not taught in the honor courses but will be on the subject tests. Do you need calculus for physics? Which subject will be easier to self study for?</p>
<p>The physics test is all algebra based, with some trig. If he is a concept person, then I would say physics. Physics has a lenient curve. Chem has a bunch of random stuff to memorize like flame tests, descriptive chemistry, organic chemistry, lab utensils, etc.
I haven't taken physics, but I may. I have taken bio and chem.</p>
<p>There is no calculus on the Physics nor is there any complicated math. That's why you can't use a calculator. I live in NY and my honors physics course basically was a regents curriculum. I had to teach myself optics and thermal physics which only took an hour or two.</p>