<p>"You take physics for two years? Here, you go straight into AP physics...maybe that's why people are having trouble with it."</p>
<p>I went straight into AP Physics- when I was a junior, I took AP Physics B, and as a senior, I'm taking AP Physics C. A lot of the students in my school have to take regents Physics before going into AP Physics B, though. </p>
<p>I can't believe all this stuff about Physics being harder than Calculus. I love both subjects, but damn if calc isn't a pain in my rear! Before calc, I'd never gotten below a 94 on my report card- now I'd be ecstatic if I could pull off a B+ in the class. Oy vey. But I've always had an A+ in all my physics courses. Very strange, I wonder how I'll look to admissions boards.</p>
<p>well okay, calc you have to be like, 100% right about the answer. its got to be mathematically sound, using calculus, right?</p>
<p>physics, you can be much more theoretical about answers and still be right. of course it must be scientifically sound, but there are def easy and hard ways to go about answering questions, and most often the calculus way of anwering them is muuuuch harder than the a) algebraic or b) theoretical way.</p>
<p>ps: after calc it gets much more theoretical. in my differential class to answer q's with proofs we'd be like 'we know that blah blah blah=this, and because C=F..............[insert answer here]' meaning we would ACTUALLY use elipses in our answers, because at that level everyone understands.</p>
<p>its the beauty of higher math and science. everyone understands, or you dont stay in the class.</p>
<p>In Physics C, the only way to solve the problems is the calculus way, that's why it's the harder level of physics. :P Also, a lot of the algebraic solutions aren't accurate- if the acceleration varies, for example, you have to use calculus. </p>
<p>I've been asked for a written answer in my two years of physics- it's pretty much all been math. Even the labs we do involve taking measurements, problem solving, etc, and then using that data in various equations and suchlike.</p>
<p>I think the biggest reason I do better in Physics is because we have a double period every other day, while in calc we only have one period. That extra time is extremely useful.</p>