Physics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at the websites of the schools you are considering? I cannot find even one school that does not detail their high school science curriculum and courses.

Let’s normalize looking for answers we can find ourselves for the schools we are thinking about!

I did. For Sidwell, for example, I can't find much more detailed course descriptions. But maybe they are hidden somewhere in a course catalogue.

https://www.sidwell.edu/academics/upper-school/science

For Holton Arms, it seems just Physics and Honor Physics.

GDS seems to offer more advanced physics topics.

Still, it seems all over the place, and two years are already super minimal to learn physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at the websites of the schools you are considering? I cannot find even one school that does not detail their high school science curriculum and courses.

Let’s normalize looking for answers we can find ourselves for the schools we are thinking about!

I did. For Sidwell, for example, I can't find much more detailed course descriptions. But maybe they are hidden somewhere in a course catalogue.

https://www.sidwell.edu/academics/upper-school/science

For Holton Arms, it seems just Physics and Honor Physics.

GDS seems to offer more advanced physics topics.

Still, it seems all over the place, and two years are already super minimal to learn physics.

It's high school. No one expects high school to provide an exhaustive education in any subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Standard as a Freshman in my son’s school. It’s also his worst class for what it’s worth. After some work, he got to a C+

Lots of students found physics hard. I think it is because they only started the real physics in high school. We started to learn how to use math to solve physics problems in 7th grade. Many subjects, such as those in classical mechanics, optics, and basic electric circuits, do not require complicated math. But they are so good at training the problem-solving skills.

[Anonymous]

My kid's path was Physics, Biology, Chemistry, AP Physics. When I was a kid, mine was Biology, Chemistry, AP Chemistry and AP Bio. Both very well regarded DC area schools, which I will not be naming so as to avoid setting off the typical DCUM sh!tstorm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exceptions exist for everything in HS, so not "everyone".

A very common path is to take Physics, Chemistry, and also Biology at some point in HS. The sequence varies from school to school.

For a student planning to go into engineering or Physics in college, then it is common to take multiple years of Physics, but exceptions will exist as with everything else in HS.

If a school does not offer AP Physics, then colleges do not expect one to have taken it.

Same applies for Honors Physics -- if school does not offer Honors Physics then colleges do not expect one to take it.

My question is in a good independent school, can a typical student (independent of majors) take two years of physics? Are there more than two Physics courses offered?

Yes. As noted, the typical sequence is physics 9th grade, chemistry 10th grade, bio 11th grade, leaving 12th grade open for an advanced science class. Most privates offer advanced physics, advanced bio and other options that year.

How do the kids with AP Bio, AP Chem, and AP Physics C fit all three in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of school have flipped from the old standard bio-chem-phys order to phys-chem-bio.

At DC’s school, students must take all three (there are some levels available depending on math ability and honors placement, but all students must take non-AP of all three), phys-chem-bio. Students can double up and take a second science in 11th and one or two sciences in 12th, with a variety of options including AP Physics I or C, AP Chem, and AP Bio as well as APES, AP Psych, and non-AP electives like Food Chemistry, Forensics, or Marine Bio.

So your school's kids can never take more than two science APs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of school have flipped from the old standard bio-chem-phys order to phys-chem-bio.

At DC’s school, students must take all three (there are some levels available depending on math ability and honors placement, but all students must take non-AP of all three), phys-chem-bio. Students can double up and take a second science in 11th and one or two sciences in 12th, with a variety of options including AP Physics I or C, AP Chem, and AP Bio as well as APES, AP Psych, and non-AP electives like Food Chemistry, Forensics, or Marine Bio.

So your school's kids can never take more than two science APs?

They can take three if they double up on science in both 11 and 12. They would take biology (standard or honors) and and AP (likely Chem, but could be Phys) in 11 and then two APs (Bio — since they can’t take that until 12 because they have to get a certain grade in 11th grade bio to be allowed to take the AP) and either Phys (1 or C) or Chem, whichever they didn’t take in 11th. Or they could substitute APES or AP Psych for one of the three core AP sciences.

I doubt kids often (if ever) take two core APs (bio/chem/phys) *and* AP Psych or APES in 12th (they’d have to get a waiver for the stated max of 3 APs in senior year, because anyone that STEMy is likely also in AP Calc, to start with). But I suppose it’s possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does everyone take Physics in private HS? How many years do they take it? What is Honor Physics? Is it only one year? What about the school which doesn't offer AP Physics?

I asked this is I know some students might never take a physics class in their lives. This is scary for me.

I never took physics and am a successful attorney who probably earns much more than the average physicist or engineer.

Not taking physics is not scary- it’s just a different path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does everyone take Physics in private HS? How many years do they take it? What is Honor Physics? Is it only one year? What about the school which doesn't offer AP Physics?

I asked this is I know some students might never take a physics class in their lives. This is scary for me.

I never took physics and am a successful attorney who probably earns much more than the average physicist or engineer.

Not taking physics is not scary- it’s just a different path.

Of course you we’ve a lawyer and successful. And of course we have plenty of those here.

But maybe one took physics, one would have been a more interesting person or a have a more cool idea to look at the ordinary things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does everyone take Physics in private HS? How many years do they take it? What is Honor Physics? Is it only one year? What about the school which doesn't offer AP Physics?

I asked this is I know some students might never take a physics class in their lives. This is scary for me.

I never took physics and am a successful attorney who probably earns much more than the average physicist or engineer.

Not taking physics is not scary- it’s just a different path.

Physics is so fun! Not taking is is missing out in life. Hope your kids would take it! Eveything would be more illuminated , not just making money and being so called successful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at the websites of the schools you are considering? I cannot find even one school that does not detail their high school science curriculum and courses.

Let’s normalize looking for answers we can find ourselves for the schools we are thinking about!

I did. For Sidwell, for example, I can't find much more detailed course descriptions. But maybe they are hidden somewhere in a course catalogue.

https://www.sidwell.edu/academics/upper-school/science

For Holton Arms, it seems just Physics and Honor Physics.

GDS seems to offer more advanced physics topics.

Still, it seems all over the place, and two years are already super minimal to learn physics.

Holton has Advanced Physics as well.