I just received my schedule for this upcoming school year. I am a math person, who is pretty good at science as well. I am really torn between keeping IB Bio or switching it for AP Physics.
Here’s the details:
I know that I want to have a science/math major when I go to college, so I may want to go into engineering or medicine. I have taken Physics 1 Honors and Biology 1 Honors before. I got a B one semester of Physics, but other than that, all A’s for my entire school career so far. Anyways, the most common AP Physics 1 teacher is notorious for being a time-waster and story-teller who doesn’t teach the material. The less common AP Physics 1 teacher is known for his “killer” tests and it’s almost impossible to achieve A’s in his class. I currently have IB Biology in my schedule with a pretty good teacher, but I don’t know if I really want to pursue a major concerning biology because I am weak at chemistry, which is closely linked with biology in real world careers and such.
I do not really want to take two sciences at the same time junior year because IB is very hard and I don’t want to struggle to badly. Plus, I’m already taking IB Film as my sixth subject. (You can take an extra science as your sixth subject.)
Chemistry is linked to all the sciences, not just biology. Have you had a chemistry course yet? You should take all three main sciences before taking an advanced course in one of them. You also can’t go into medicine without a thorough understanding of chemistry. If the idea of an IB Biology class intimidates you, don’t even think of going into medicine.
If you have already had chemistry, then just choose whichever subject you most want between the IB Biology and AP Physics – taking into account any potential differences in IB vs. AP may have on your GPA and ease of getting college credit for the course later. I wouldn’t base the entire decision on the reputation of teachers. My daughter often thrived under the teachers with the worst reputations, so just because someone else found a class boring or difficult does not mean that you will.
AP Physics uses a lot of algebra and a little bit of calculus. Did you do well on those subjects? If so, you will be able to handle physics. It can be confusing because it is not as clear-cut as traditional math, and there is a thinking process you will learn to solve physics problems. It might take some effort to get the hang of it at first, but just get help as needed and you should be fine.
I have taken all 3 sciences (Bio, Chem, and Physics) before. I think Bio is easy, Chem is somewhat hard, and Physics is somewhat hard but I like that math is involved.