AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Physics 1 has replaced honors high school physics at many high schools and can serve as a first course in physics.

AP Physics C should be taken after a first course in physics, that is, after either a high school physics course or AP Physics 1, and ideally after calculus, though some students take AP Physics C concurrently with calculus.

Not many high schools offer AP Physics 2.

So this is like the new AP precalc? AP Physics 1 should have just stayed honors physics because that is what it is. It isn’t a college level class

[Anonymous]

Our school (magnet center) requires all 11th graders to take honors physics. AP physics C is the only AP physics offered and must be taken after honors physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Physics 1 has replaced honors high school physics at many high schools and can serve as a first course in physics.

AP Physics C should be taken after a first course in physics, that is, after either a high school physics course or AP Physics 1, and ideally after calculus, though some students take AP Physics C concurrently with calculus.

Not many high schools offer AP Physics 2.

So this is like the new AP precalc? AP Physics 1 should have just stayed honors physics because that is what it is. It isn’t a college level class

Agree true college physics (not physics for poets) requires calculus. But that wouldn’t make as much money for the college board.

[Anonymous]

Colleges offer non calculus-based physics. It’s commonly taken to fulfill pre med requirements.

[Anonymous]

My DS had never taken Physics prior to taking AP Physics C. He got an A, but I can’t remember whether he took the AP exam.
He said at the beginning of AP Physics C, some people with a weaker calculus background were really struggling. DS had taken Calculus BC the previous year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Physics 1 has replaced honors high school physics at many high schools and can serve as a first course in physics.

AP Physics C should be taken after a first course in physics, that is, after either a high school physics course or AP Physics 1, and ideally after calculus, though some students take AP Physics C concurrently with calculus.

Not many high schools offer AP Physics 2.

So this is like the new AP precalc? AP Physics 1 should have just stayed honors physics because that is what it is. It isn’t a college level class

DP. Agreed, but this is not new. AP Physics 1 has been around for a long time, replacing honors physics maybe 8 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Interesting to read others' responses. My older kid would have done Honors Physics, but his school doesn't offer it, so he jumped into AP Physics 1 as a junior and had a terrible experience. Not fully understanding the concepts, struggled for the B, scored a 2. It was at least partly due to a horrible teacher, unfortunately, so that's important to look into when deciding. (He was in Calc AB at the time, so a somewhat advanced math student but it doesn't come intuitively to him) My younger student will skip physics and take a different advanced science instead, unless perhaps a new teacher comes along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which AP Physics do you mean? There are several.

My daughter was forced by her public school to take Honors Physics before AP Physics C, even thought it's not a College Board requirement. Students need calculus, because AP Physics C is calculus-based.

DD told me that Honors Physics did not in any way prepare her for AP Physics C. The level of complexity is on another level entirely, and one doesn't logically lead to the other.

Does College Board ever set prerequisite requirements for high schools? I am a HS teacher and I have never heard of this. It’s not their role

[Anonymous]

Yes, AP Physics 1 is like AP Pre Calc, the "lite" version and having a ton of APs including these doesn't necessarily impress with out the follow up rigorous AP Calc BC and AP Physics C. This is what many parents not understanding why their kid didn't get into Ivy, these mediocre APs don't count.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Extremely helpful everyone. I didn’t know any of this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No prior physics needed for AP Physics 1. You should take another physics class before AP Physics C (or its two component semesters, if that’s how your school does them).

This is the answer.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, AP Physics 1 is like AP Pre Calc, the "lite" version and having a ton of APs including these doesn't necessarily impress with out the follow up rigorous AP Calc BC and AP Physics C. This is what many parents not understanding why their kid didn't get into Ivy, these mediocre APs don't count.

Or even UVA. Rigor matters. AP physics 1 is not rigorous. Almost half of our private school takes it, 10 or 11th. Fewer than 1/3 of them take AP physics C the following year, and even fewer also get in another AP sci plus every other "most difficult" course across subjects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to read others' responses. My older kid would have done Honors Physics, but his school doesn't offer it, so he jumped into AP Physics 1 as a junior and had a terrible experience. Not fully understanding the concepts, struggled for the B, scored a 2. It was at least partly due to a horrible teacher, unfortunately, so that's important to look into when deciding. (He was in Calc AB at the time, so a somewhat advanced math student but it doesn't come intuitively to him) My younger student will skip physics and take a different advanced science instead, unless perhaps a new teacher comes along.

Skipping physics altogether is a recipe for not getting in to any T75 or better. Even JMU likes to see it if offered at the high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to read others' responses. My older kid would have done Honors Physics, but his school doesn't offer it, so he jumped into AP Physics 1 as a junior and had a terrible experience. Not fully understanding the concepts, struggled for the B, scored a 2. It was at least partly due to a horrible teacher, unfortunately, so that's important to look into when deciding. (He was in Calc AB at the time, so a somewhat advanced math student but it doesn't come intuitively to him) My younger student will skip physics and take a different advanced science instead, unless perhaps a new teacher comes along.

Skipping physics altogether is a recipe for not getting in to any T75 or better. Even JMU likes to see it if offered at the high school.

I so agree with this, need all 3 core sciences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, AP Physics 1 is like AP Pre Calc, the "lite" version and having a ton of APs including these doesn't necessarily impress with out the follow up rigorous AP Calc BC and AP Physics C. This is what many parents not understanding why their kid didn't get into Ivy, these mediocre APs don't count.

Or even UVA. Rigor matters. AP physics 1 is not rigorous. Almost half of our private school takes it, 10 or 11th. Fewer than 1/3 of them take AP physics C the following year, and even fewer also get in another AP sci plus every other "most difficult" course across subjects.

This!