Which college classes would be equivalent to AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2

Test Preparation AP Sciences
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1

I saw on the College Board website’s list of AP Courses that AP Physics 1 is equivalent to a first-semester college course in introductory physics and AP Physics 2 is equivalent to a second-semester college course. Is this really the case? If I wanted to take a college course to prepare for AP Physics 1 and 2, would these both only take half a year for each of AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2?

Also, is a first-semester college course fully equivalent to an AP Physics 1 course, and is a second-semester college course fully equivalent to an AP Physics 2 course?

2

It totally depends upon the college, but in general, colleges will offer a sequence for natural sciences/engineering that is similar to AP Physics C and another sequence for life sciences and anyone else interested in physics that’s similar to AP Physics 1/2. In both cases, the college versions may go beyond the AP versions by including topics not included in AP or covering the topics in more depth. And yes, again in general, the college version of AP Physics 1 is a semester course.

Don’t. It’s duplicative. You need to ensure you have the math level for the course, but you do not need prior physics, and certainly not prior college physics.

3

What do you mean by “duplicative”? Also, I have the math level for the course. My school doesn’t offer any AP science course on-campus, so I want to take the college course.

4

OK, so your earlier statement was unclear. So what you;re really asking is about taking the college course to prepare for AP Physics 1/2 exams, not to prepare for the AP Physics 1/2 courses. Then yes, that is doable. But without seeing the college syllabus, I can’t tell you if the topics will align exactly. You should still review the a prep book before the AP exams.

5

AP physics 1 and 2 attempt to emulate a non-calculus-based introductory physics sequence (two semesters or three quarters) suitable for biology majors. Many colleges do not consider it to be equivalent of their own physics for biology majors courses, because some colleges do use some calculus in those courses, and some colleges do not offer such a course.

If you want to be pre-med, note that medical schools commonly do not accept AP credit for pre-med requirements, preferring instead that you take the actual college course.

6

Thank you. Do you have a book recommendation?