<p>So, I'm a senior and am currently have the "hardest courseload" our school offers, but with 7 classes a day, I only have 6 "real" ones (calc, english, etc.) I have one class open and I'm currently in Earth Science which consists of kids who I only see every other day since they skip class the days in between. The school's short on books, so the teacher took mine and said I wouldn't need it to get an A. More importantly, I was talking to my former physics teacher/assistant tennis coach about this, and he said that he'd let me take an "advanced project" with him and prepare me for the AP Physics C: Mechanics test so I could drop Earth Science. </p>
<p>So after reading all that useless nonsense, is it a good idea to basically self-study this particular AP? My teacher won't be able to help me a lot since he has a regular physics class that hour, and I am currently enrolled in AP Calculus AB. Will the concepts be too difficult without the calculus backgroud? And if I do take it, I have to get my own textbook to study out of, any suggestions? This would be a year long "class" so I hope to get through an entire textbook if I decide to go through with this.</p>
<p>Any comment/suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>yes, it is very hard. only do it if you have a very qualified teacher, or you've taken a good physics class beforehand. i took it with a first year teacher and without any physics experience......it was hell. i ended up doing ok on the two APs, but it was a mistake to take it.</p>
<p>oh, and the calculus is not that hard for it. if you take calculus as well, you'll be fine. i had no calc experience, and i learned all the calc i needed to know in thanksgiving break.</p>
<p>I'm considering self-studying the AP Physics C tests too... but I'll see how much I like AP Physics B first. :)</p>
<p>Since you're doing only mechanics over a full year, I say go for it even if you don't have a physics background. The subject ties in very well with AP Calculus: the first several chapters assume hardly any calculus knowledge and often explain real basic topics you already learned in calc, and it gets progressively more difficult as the course continues. It perfectly suits taking Calc AB concurrently: e.g., my textbook took I believe 12-14 chapters or so to cover mechanics, and it had almost no calculus (other than very basic concepts) up until chapter 8 or so when it was finally assumed that you were relatively familiar with it.</p>
<p>If you have a physics background it will help, but don't fret if you don't: I self-studied Mechanics with no background and got a 4, and that was without putting all the effort I know I could have. If you stay dedicated I'm sure you can get a 5. My best advice: don't fret if the course makes you feel utterly stupid. That's normal. Physics was the most difficult subject I'd ever studied, and it's a fantastic feeling when you keep at it and start to get a better feel for it. Learning that it doesn't come easy to any other normal person (from sites like <a href="http://www.physicsforums.com%5B/url%5D">www.physicsforums.com</a>) helped me enjoy it a lot more.</p>
<p>I used Serway's Physics for Scientists and Engineers along with the Princeton Review AP Physics book.</p>
<p>I don't know how qualified I'd consider my teacher since this will only be his third year teaching. I took the regular physics course last year with him, and it was basically terrible. I don't know if it was because he was a bad teacher like everyone else said, or if it was just because physics is hard. </p>
<p>And I was only planning on taking the mechanics part, but should I just go all the way and take both?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone! Any more book suggestions?</p>
<p>Taking both might be a bit too hard if you don't already have a good idea of what EM is about. Just taking mechanics is a lot more manageable.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that if you do both, you'll have to devote most of your time to EM since it's harder, and will probably end up doing worse in mechanics because of that.</p>
<p>But if you like it that much, or will get college credit for a 3, then by all means do it.</p>
<p>I'm a math/science guy all the way, but lemme tell you......there is absolutely NO way I could have gotten a good grade on E/M by self-studying. It's very difficult. Mechanics is probably manageable, I say go for it. You'll get an AP review book and just glancing at the E/M part is intimidating, trust me.</p>
<p>It's true: E&M was intimidating. I spent only a little bit of time on it doing a couple of chapters (ended up with a 2, above my expected 1) and I regret not just spending more time for a 5 in Mechanics. I think I could've done well on E&M with more time, but it really is more difficult. If you truly believe you can dedicate your time to it (definitely more time than Mechanics), go for both: it'd be worth it even if you only managed a 3 on E&M as the exposure would come in handy.</p>