<p>Chemistry
Pros: 2 close friends will be taking it in their first few semesters of college and have offered to help out if need be</p>
<p>Cons: will be taught be a brand-new teacher, as the former one will be out all year on family leave</p>
<p>Physics C: Mechanics</p>
<p>Pros: will be taken directly after a year of Honors Physics and AB Calc and concurrently with BC Calc; seniors-only class</p>
<p>Cons: will be taught by the man who formerly taught on-grade-level chemistry classes; he has the certification to teach Bio, Chem, and Physics but has only ever actually taught Chem</p>
<p>I am more a humanities student than a math-science one, but I loved AP Biology. Any and all suggestions are welcome, and I really am sorry to post another one of these annoying threads! Our guidance department is- as many are- quite useless, and the decision is due soon. Also, are any of you taking one of these classes next year?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>physics - more fun</p>
<p>however… don’t you have to take Physics B before Physics C?</p>
<p>AP Chemistry, it is a great class and very exciting if you get into it and are interested by the kind of reactions and such.</p>
<p>If you are not really a math person, then definitely take AP Chem. AP Physics is for hardcore math people. And Chem is more related to Bio than Physics.</p>
<p>^
Biology and Chemistry are not similar AT ALL.</p>
<p>^ True, but chemistry is closer to biology than physics is, and that was the point he was making.</p>
<p>travelbug: why not do both?</p>
<p>bobtheboy: You don’t have to. In fact, many don’t.</p>
<p>I took AP Physics B this year. Even though it was difficult at times and the teacher was certainly not my favorite, I really liked all the content. I never took AP Chem since my school eliminated it, but I hated honors chem.</p>
<p>@BindersOpen- I doubled on sciences as a sophomore (I’ll have 5 total science classes on my transcript already) and will likely be be going into a humanities major, so I’d rather save room in my schedule.</p>
<p>Physics B and C are related, from what I understand, but B covers more breadth, whereas C goes further in depth with fewer subject areas and integrates calculus. So no, B is not a requirement for C.</p>
<p>Also, @ elau0493 and Saugus, I have already taken a year of Honors Chemistry as well. I tend to agree with elau that there is some overlap between Bio and Chem (those are actually the subjects that I took concurrently sophomore year). </p>
<p>AP Chem isn’t a lot of math, then? Physics C is? (Having a year of Calc AB under my belt should help, though, shouldn’t it…?) It would be better for a humanities thinker to take Chem, even if the prereq course and the AP course are not taken in subsequent years?</p>
<p>Thanks for responding so far!</p>
<p>Here’s the thing about the relationship between applied mathematics and the sciences in a high school setting. </p>
<p>For chem, you’ll be required to know how to solve for second-degree polynomials and other basic algebraic problems. </p>
<p>For physics C, you’ll need an understanding of derivatives and integrals, as well as trigonometry and of course your basic algebra. The extent to which you’ll need to understand calculus will be determined by your teacher; the actual course material can be considered pretty advanced with line and surface integrals and creating (but rarely solving) differential equations, but most teachers will simplify it (in my case, my teacher oversimplified things, and I ended up spending more time than I wanted to with my textbook).</p>
<p>I took both concurrently and didn’t have a problem with either one. I thought physics was more interesting, but my chem teacher did a better job of preparing the class. AP chem is a lot more different from regular chem in terms of content, and certainly much more interesting imo. But I love physics, so I always personally recommend that class over everything else.</p>
<p>Thank you, AeroEngineer! It’s very helpful to hear from someone who took both classes, and thanks for clarifying the mathematical skill needed for each course. I’ve been leaning toward Physics because, oddly, I’m more confident with Calc than Algebra II (which was actually a bit of a detriment in Calc!), and your post certainly helps solidify that decision.</p>