How important is physics?
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Anonymous
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DD, current HS sophomore, thinks she will hate physics (likely true). She’s considering not taking jr year and taking either AP Bio or AP Env Science and either taking regular physics at year, or not taking it at all and taking the other of those AP sciences sr year.
She’s a good but not stellar student (mix of A and B grades) at a top FCPS public, likely targeting schools like Wisconsin, Indiana and Syracuse, with Michigan maybe her reach. How important is physics? |
Anonymous
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Physics in high school is mostly applied high school math with very basic calculus application. A high school physics course will give her practice with these skills before college.
I’d be thinking more about what would prepare her best, not impressing admissions people. Getting in and bailing is worse than not getting into your target school. |
Anonymous
| Do you need Calc before taking Physics then? |
Anonymous
| Lot of kids in our HS don't take physics junior year. If they like Bio or Chem, they'll take the AP version junior year. The benefit is that those topics were studied more recently and the AP class gets factored into their GPA/transcript going to college. Mine chose one of those AP classes and will likely be taking regular physics senior year since it takes 2 periods and they have other classes to take. The reason I suggest taking it is a lot of schools have said they want to see 3 different sciences. I think APES is more like an extra once the 3 main ones are taken. If she's not going into STEM, maybe physics can be skipped for APES, but I'd definitely make sure there are 3 different subjects. |
Anonymous
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My DS didn't take physics - he was a non-science kid that took bio, chem and APES and then didn't take science senior year.
Currently at a T50 school in humanities major and had a lot of good college options. |
Anonymous
| I think it is strange to go through high school and not take a basic course of bio, Chem, and physics. But people seem to be forgoing physics more and more. My kids’ school requires physics. And I’m happy about it. It’s the most fundamental of all sciences. An educated citizen should know a little bit about it. |
Anonymous
| This is PP. for what it’s worth, my dad also thought she’d hate physics. But she loves it. We are all surprised. |
Anonymous
| Thinking STEM major in college? |
Anonymous
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My kid was similarly worried about taking physics but decided to take AP Physics 1 junior year…and loved it, so much so that they decided to take AP Physics C senior year. This is not a kid who is particularly strong in math or a lover of science. It helped that the teacher is fantastic; the experience would have been completely different with a less engaging teacher.
It’s been so fun to hear my kid talk about physics and its applications; I never ever would have predicted it. If the physics teachers at your school are good, I would encourage your daughter to consider it. (Also, there are some colleges that prefer to see biology, chemistry, and physics on applicants’ transcripts. So definitely do the research to see if any of her target schools are in that camp.) |
Anonymous
I've actually heard physics is the most fun science class (assuming non-AP). |
Anonymous
If there's any chance she'll need to take physics in college, then she should take it in high school. I wouldn't want to take a college class without the high school level understanding. Understanding basic physics principles is something that's expected of educated adults. It's background knowledge that affects how you see and understand the world. |
Anonymous
+100 |
Anonymous
| Physics is required at my kids’ private high schools as well. I don’t think it’s required but likely better than not. |
Anonymous
No. PP was mistaken. HS Physics 1 is Algebra based, not Calculus based. |
Anonymous
In college, yes, Calc 1 was required before taking Phys 1 as an engineering major. |