Should DS take AP Chem as a soph?

Parents Corner
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<p>My youngest DS is in 9th grade. He just finished Chem A and received an "A" with out any effort. He has the same teacher this semester for Chem B. He is the only 9th grader in his class, most are jrs and seniors. He is on the frast track in math, completed Honors Alg I in 8th grade and is currently taking Honors Geom (received A first semester). He is getting ready to schedule for next years classes. Our HS offers AP Chem to sophs. as long as they take Honors Alg II at the same time. My two older boys took AP Chem their Junior (1) and Senior (1) year and had no problems. Middle son does not think it is a wise choice because of the extensive math required in AP Chem. The teacher believes youngest son could handle the work. Youngest son admits he does well without doing much homework or review. He is not driven like the middle son. DS says he just pays attention in all his classes yet takes Adderall XR for Hyperactiveness vs. Attention Deficit. </p>

<p>During the first day of class in Chem B, the teacher was asking lots of review questions. None of the other students were raising their hands. Since my DS had just completed Chem A, the material was fresh in his mind. DS was the only student that answered the questions. Midway through the period the teacher was called out in the hall by another teacher. Some girl sitting in the back of the classroom spoke out and said "Hey you in the front (DS), what grade are you in?" My DS is only 5" tall and wrestles @ 103#. DS does not fit the stereotype of a nerd. He quickly replied that he was in 9th grade. Someone else blurted out, "What are you, some kind of Einstein kid?" My DS quickly replied in a light hearted manner...."No, that would be my brother (current senior at HS)." Some one asked who his brother was. DS said his brother's name. It was rather funny when he heard a bunch of "Ohhhhh Him!" Middle son is 2nd/406 in his class. Thank goodness my boys love each other and have a love for learning. We have always tried to focus on each of their individual strengths. We had a good laugh at the dinner table that night.</p>

<p>Back to the original question. Has your 10th grader done well in AP Chem?</p>

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<p>I don't know if this will help any, but I took AP Calc as a sophomore, and while it was incredibly hard for some of my senior friends, it wasn't too hard for me.
Now I can tutor people in calculus, which is a really valuable skill, as your son could probably do for chemistry in his junior/senior year.</p>

<p>However, he says he does well without much homework/review. This is definitely not the experience of AP Chem kids. It's a lot of homework, very little review, a lot of pressure.</p>

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<p>moved to parents forum</p>

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<p>If the teacher thinks it makes sense, go for it. My son is a sophomore in AP chemistry. He likes his math and computer science courses best, but he keeps up with the chemistry.</p>