Studying for AP Physics 1 in the summer

I will be taking AP Physics 1 this fall as a sophomore, and I want to prepare for the class and test well. I heard it’s a very difficult class and I want to get a 5, especially since that seniors at my school told me the AP Physics teacher is terrible at teaching. What do you recommend doing to be well prepared? Prep book? Textbook? I don’t know what to do…I’m worried.

Hi! I just graduated from high school and also took AP Physics 1 as a sophomore. I usually just browse but I want to help other students get into a top school (Cornell) like I did. After looking at your other posts, I think I went to the same high school as you because I took the same classes (except for math) in my sophomore year and I also took AP HUG in my freshman year. The counselor from my school is also on leave. I don’t have time to answer this question right now but private message me because if you go to BHS then I can give you a plethora of information on all of your classes and extracurriculars.

@moam4104 I would suggest signing up for a MOOC and working through some of the units over the summer. I looked at the course on edX (www.edx.org) by Rice University and it seems pretty good (four separate course units). During the summer, the course will be archived, not live, but you can still watch the videos and do some of the assignments.

@moam4104 I tutor two students (juniors) who are taking AP Physics 1 this year and you are correct that this is a difficult class as reflected by the scores on the AP Exam. Part of it is that for a lot of students this is their first exposure to physics, plus it is one of their first AP science classes. You should treat all AP classes like college classes and NEVER EVER show up to class without having read the textbook sections that your teacher plans to cover that day. In other words…READ AHEAD!