<p>Meant to make the title AP Physics C*
So the way my HS deals with science is we take a intro to science freshman year, biology sophomore year, chem junior year, then physics, ap chem, ap bio, or anat and phys senior year. Usually, if one takes ap chem, they also take physics, and if they take ap bio, they take anat. It is not possible to take the ap before before taking the honors course so therefore you cannot take ap physics at my school. Likewise, my school’s math department only leads up to AP Calculus AB senior. However, having a passion for math, I took Trig over the summer going into junior year, and currently doing very well in AP Calc AB(wasn’t allowed to take BC, although i know i could have). Next year I’m taking Calc BC for the first semester and either Linear lag or diff equations second semester. Summing that all up, math isn’t a problem for me and it comes very easily.</p>
<p>Now to the main point of this post… Assuming I have no prior knowledge of physics other than the fact that the derivative of the position function is velocity and the derivative of that is acceleration, would it be advisable to not take the “honors” physics class and just self study mechanics or E/M (also which one or both should i take)? Also i might add, the physics class thats offered at my high school assumes no knowledge of calculus. So how should i go about my little situation? </p>
<p>My main concern is that if I only take AP physics C, when i go to college, I won’t have the fundamental knowledge that you gain from that initial honors course, only mechanics/ e/m.
Can anyone let me know if thats actually what the honors course would entail, or are they(mechanics/e/m) topics that branch off “basic” physics. Obviously you wouldn’t know whats included in my particular physics course, but just used a typical hs class. I might add that taking some sort of intro physics class over the summer is not out of the question and I’m open to suggestions</p>
<p>The only actual prerequisite for the AP Physics C exams is knowledge of calculus.
You don’t need any prior physics knowledge, as Physics C will bring in everything over again. In that sense, you don’t need any prior knowledge of physics. But having prior knowledge in physics may make things easier, as you will see material you already know, except that in Physics C, that material will be expressed in the knowledge of calculus.</p>
<p>For example, if you don’t know what a force is, it may cause problems learning mechanics. And it’s not the kind of concept you can grasp in a single day. It takes months of exposure to physics to really understand what a force is and how they are applied to solve problems in physics. On the other hand, if your mathematics is good and you have an analytical mind and can consume the material in a systematic fashion, it shouldn’t be very difficult.</p>
<p>Another thing is that the AP Physics C tests extensive knowledge of how basic principles are derived. For example, in regular physics, you learn the formula for the period of a pendulum. In Physics C problems, you may be asked to prove the formula (derive using laws of mechanics).</p>
<p>The AP Physics C exam contains some new concepts which you will probably not see in your honors course or AP Physics B course and I will list those concepts, though the list is by no means exhaustive:</p>
<ul>
<li>Solving differential equations involving a falling object under the influence of air resistance</li>
<li>Using calculus to find velocity/acceleration/distance from each other (overlap with AP Calculus)</li>
<li>Angular momentum and its relation to torque and other angular quantities</li>
<li>Rolling motion and the kinetic energy of rolling</li>
<li>Using integration to calculate the mass of objects knowing linear/surface mass density.</li>
<li>Using integration to calculate the moment of intertia of simple objects given their mass density.</li>
<li>Using integration to find the center of mass of a 1D/2D object knowing the mass density.</li>
<li>Using calculus to analyze potential energy diagrams (usually of a spring).</li>
<li>Understand the calculus-based relation between conservative forces and potential energy.</li>
<li>Be able to solve the Hooke’s Law differential equation to find the displacement/velocity/acceleration of a spring as a function of time.</li>
</ul>
<p>I think that’s pretty much it. It all depends on your knowledge of calculus, not really prior physics. Prior physics is only a bonus. The main thing is that you know your calculus. You need to be fast with differentiation, integration, and solving the basic DEs that you learned in Calc AB. If your math is good, it does not really matter what you know of “prior” physics.</p>
<p>NP</p>