<p>Hi guys (i think this should be the right section lol),</p>
<p>I have a question for all you Usaphoers: what books should i get? I am going to take ap physics c in the fall, should that be enough to make semis? I'm also aware that usapho releases their tests online, unlike the usabo, so i will check those tests out. Anything else I should do to prep for it?</p>
<p>Any responses are appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>For me, AP Physics C and practicing the given tests were enough to make semifinals. I doubt it would be enough to make it further, since AP Physics C doesn’t cover some of the topics, but it is definitely good enough for semifinals. My best advice is to practice. That’s literally the only thing I did (I already had AP Physics C material down pat). I would go over all the practice test questions, ask on forums questions I didn’t understand, and just do the tests over and over until I could do all the questions in one run without any outside assistance.</p>
<p>It seems like you have taken the pre-requisite courses to enroll in AP Physics C. Assuming those classes were fairly rigorous at your school (my honors physics teacher in 10th grade gave us AP Physics B problems on tests and seldom some non-calculus based AP Physics C questions as well to keep us to up to par) you should be well prepared for the topics included on the F=ma exam for USPho. From experience and being a US Physics Team Semi-Finalist, taking past tests help A LOT. Those are really the only way you can “study” for USPho. If you make it to the next round, the Semi-Final exam, which hopefully you will, AP Physics C (& AP Chem in some cases) will play a role on it since they do expect you to be fluent in calculus and calculus based physics in order to be on the team. The same goes for that, take practice exams. </p>
<p>Hopefully I cleared some issues and helped you out, and good luck!</p>
<p>hey thanks for the responses guys.
Also just curious, would studying calculus before studying physics help at all? Or should i just go with the physics textbook (like learning the calculus provided within that book)?</p>
<p>@darkinvader: my school (one of the top public in nation) is very notorious for having hard ap physics c classes, so im kinda worried about that =o. Also, sophomores dont take honors physics (unless they are already in calc), that happens junior year (where you choose ap vs regular), so i dont have any pre-requisite background in physics, the only prequisite is that you must attend atlast ap bc calculus in the fall. You cleared up some of my questions though, thanks a lot! goodluck to you too, if your taking it again!</p>
<p>How do you access the past tests?</p>