Hello CC,
This is my first time starting a thread(despite lurking for years) so I apologize if I posted in the wrong forum.
I was reading a lot of old threads about AP science classes and I was wondering how you managed to fit in multiple science APs before graduation. I’ve heard about doubling up on science courses and I was wondering which classes would be easiest to take together.
If you want to post your science sequence please do so.
My school is really strict with core classes, so I got stuck in set classes till Junior Year. Here’s what I ended up with:
Freshmen year: Enr. Earth Science
Sophomore year: Enr. Chemistry
Junior Year: AP Physics B (finally allowed to choose a science!!), couldn’t double up on sciences Junior year because of - again - my schools stupid curriculum lol
Senior Year: AP Biology
This year was the only year I could’ve doubled up on science classes, but the only other available AP science class at my school for Seniors is APES, which really wasn’t of interest to me.
9th: Living Environment
10th: Chemistry or Physics or Earth Science
11th: Chemistry or Physics or Earth Science or APES
12th: The same thing. Lots of choice in my school
9th - Biology HN
10th - Chemistry HN
11th - probably AP Chemistry
12th - probably AP Environmental
I’m not that sciency of a person. My sister took Physics, Geosystems, and Human Anatomy eleventh grade though, and Geospatial Analaysis (some college couse) senior year (her 9th and 10th grade were the same as mine).
What I’m planning on taking, at least (I’m a sophomore at the moment):
9th: Honors Biology (req.)
10th: Honors Chemistry (req.)
11th: APES & AP Physics 1 (other options: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Anatomy/Physiology, Physics)
12th: AP Chem & AP Physics C (other options: AP Physics 1 (if not already taken), AP Physics 2 (if you’ve taken AP Physics 1), AP Biology, APES, Anatomy/Physiology, Physics)
I might switch around AP Chem and APES, but I’m probably going to stick with APES. You can double–even triple–up on sciences at my school, although not many people double and nobody triples unless the third science is Anatomy (it would literally be suicide unless you’re taking regular English [which at times is harder than Honors], regular history [you might end up in the class with the APUSH teacher, who teaches all his classes the same], regular math [really no point if you want to go into STEM], and easy electives).
Average Students:
9th: Earth Science or Earth Science Honors
10th: Biology or Biology Honors
11th: Chemistry or Chemistry Honors
12th: Physics/Physical Science or AP Physics or AP Bio or AP Chem or no science class (usually not APs)
Higher Students (including me):
9th: Biology Honors
10th: Chemistry Honors
11th: APES or Earth Science Honors (mandatory for our school)
12th: AP Physics or AP Bio or AP Chem or no science class (I’m choosing no science LOL)
You can double up on science whenever, though it’s generally not done.
freshman: AP Bio and optionally, APES
sophmore: honors chem
Junior: AP Chem and AP Physics
senior: I actually don’t know lol, probably like AP Physica of you didn’t take it junior year, or anatomy
Freshman: Biology or Pre AP Bio
Sophomore: Chemistry Or Pre AP Chemistry
Junior: Physics or Pre AP Physics
Senior: AP Physics, AP Chem. AP Bio, APES or Astronomy
My school had block scheduling when I went there, so we had different classes every semester and that made it easy to take more than one science class in a year.
Freshman (Spring) - Physical Science
Sophomore (Fall) - Honors Chemistry
Sophomore (Spring) - Biology
Junior (Fall) - AP Biology, Physics (tested out)
Junior (Spring) - Chemistry II, AP Chemistry
This is what I did/ will do
Freshman- Biology (everyone)
Sophomore- Chemistry (everyone)
Junior- probably AP Physics 1
Senior- Probably AP Phsyics 2 and AP bio
This is what I did
Freshman: Honors Biology
Sophomore: Honors Chem
Junior: AP Chem & AP Physics 1
Senior: AP Physics C & AP Biology
9th: Biology
10th: AP Chemistry
11th: AP Biology + Physics Honors
12th: AP Physics (1&2)
Here’s what I’m doing:
9th- Chemistry
10th- AP Chemistry
11th- AP Biology
12th- AP Physics
But everyone at my school is different. Some do Marine Biology, or maybe Earth Science, or Chemistry in 11th grade, or AP Bio in 10th, or maybe regular physics, or AP Chem and AP Physics in 11th, or pre-AP Bio in 10th…the science track at my school is very flexible.
Here’s what I’m planning to do, which is not at all “normal”…
Freshman: Pre-AP Physics
Sophomore: AP Physics C and AP Bio
Junior: (plan on becoming full time running start student and getting my first 2 years of college free) chemistry (equivalent to AP I guess), Physics 2, and Physics 4 (all quarter classes). (Physics 1 and 3 were equivalent to AP Physics C E+M and Mechanics)
My plan
9th - Earth Science Honors
10th - Biology Honors and Chemistry Honors (Doubled up)
11th - AP Physics 1
12 0 AP Physics 2
9: Honors Biology
10: Honors Chemistry
11: Honors Physics, AP Chemistry
12: AP Physics C (both Mech and EM)
This is what I’m doing
9: Honors Chem
10: Honors Biology & Honors Physics (but it’s waaaaaaaaay above honors -.-)
11: AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Physics C: E&M
12: Probably AP Chem
9th- Honors physical science (1/2 basic physics, 1/2 basic chemistry)
10th- Honors biology (AP was also an option)
11th- AP Chemistry
12th- AP Physics C: Mechanics (many people also take E&M and honors engineering)
I am going to take:
Freshman: PIB Biology & Honors Chemistry
Sophomore: AP Chemistry
Summer before Junior: CTY Fast Paced High School Physics and maybe another physics course
Junior: AP Physics C
Senior: AP Biology
I am also going to be taking the PLTW engineering course sequence with:
Freshman: Principles of Engineering
Sophomore: Digital Electronics
Junior: Aerospace Engineering
Senior: Engineering Design & Development
My high school had a complex science sequence.
9th- Everyone takes honors biology, depending on math level, you could petition to also do AP physics C (Calc BC co-req), but that is very rare.
10th- Everyone takes honors chem, unless you take it over the summer (but summer chem has a low pass rate). If you take it over the summer, you can take AP chem in its place. You also have the choice of taking AP physics C (rare) and/or AP bio, but you must take chem.
11th- AP physics C or honors physics, unless you have already taken it (again rare). Also can take AP bio and/or AP chem in addition.
12- everyone takes geosystems honors. You can take AP bio, AP chem, and/or AP physics C in addition.
since it is a STEM magnet school, there also were other classes that fit in the sequence, depending on what senior lab you were doing. Here are some examples, its not exhaustive.
After AP bio: neurobiology, DNA 1 and 2 (technically only prereq is chem honors), bionanotechnology (technically only prereq is chem honors)
After AP Physics C: Optics, Quantum mechanics
After AP Chem: organic chemistry
I wimped out and just took the basic sequence in science:
bio honors, chem honors, physics honors, geosystems honors