AP physics as a freshman at Blair?

[Anonymous]

Back in the dark ages, before my high school started an AP program, I took Physics concurrently with Algebra 2. It was a disaster because that course relied heavily on Trig. We spent months on mechanics/vectors. Then we went into EM radiation and optics. I remember going home and trying to look up "sign waves" in the World Book encyclopedia because I wasn't aware a sine function existed. I would futilely try to punch the numbers of a problem into my calculator in various combinations, hoping that I would somehow stumble on a combination that would give me something approximating the correct answer (answers to the odd questions were at the back of the book). Occasionally the teacher would have a brief digression to explain something to the students who were in Calculus, but thankfully, we weren't held responsible for those.

The teacher was a very kind man who had promised us that as long as we tried we would make it through the class. He must have realized I was desperately trying, because I made it through with a B, but I would have gotten so much more out of the class if I had waited and taken it the following year when I had Trig.

The AP version probably has a different scope than my HS class did, but Mechanics was the foundation for the rest of my course. How do you teach physics without Trig? Do they teach the basic Trig functions as part of the Physics course?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if the county just had a more rigorous Honors physics class, but they don't. At least if your kid takes this as a freshman, colleges won't expect very high scores.

You absolutely have no idea but just had to spout nonsense, right?

My child took Honors Physics first and had a lot of fun, getting A's. Then he took AP Physics 1. He said that Honors Physics did not prepare him well for AP Physics, despite being a really solid math student. He is usually a reliable reporter. Perhaps Honors Physics is taught in a more rigorous manner at other schools, but I thought that the county had a standardized curriculum.

Also, when I was in high school, the Honors level science classes were sufficient preparation to do well on the SAT Achievement Tests (now called SAT Subject Tests) without any extra study. That does not seem to be the case at my DS's MCPS school.

At my kid’s high school, no class alone is “sufficient preparation” for AP or SAT subject tests. They require a lot of out of class preparation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the dark ages, before my high school started an AP program, I took Physics concurrently with Algebra 2. It was a disaster because that course relied heavily on Trig. We spent months on mechanics/vectors. Then we went into EM radiation and optics. I remember going home and trying to look up "sign waves" in the World Book encyclopedia because I wasn't aware a sine function existed. I would futilely try to punch the numbers of a problem into my calculator in various combinations, hoping that I would somehow stumble on a combination that would give me something approximating the correct answer (answers to the odd questions were at the back of the book). Occasionally the teacher would have a brief digression to explain something to the students who were in Calculus, but thankfully, we weren't held responsible for those.

The teacher was a very kind man who had promised us that as long as we tried we would make it through the class. He must have realized I was desperately trying, because I made it through with a B, but I would have gotten so much more out of the class if I had waited and taken it the following year when I had Trig.

The AP version probably has a different scope than my HS class did, but Mechanics was the foundation for the rest of my course. How do you teach physics without Trig? Do they teach the basic Trig functions as part of the Physics course?

I don’t know if this is different but I took Honors chem concurrently with Geometry, Honors Bio concurrently with Alg 1, and AP Chem concurrently with honors Alg 2 and I had no issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP physics 1 and 2 are part of the lower tier AP curriculum. AP Physics C is the real deal.

It’s pretty silly to call these APs, but I guess they make money for the College Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know if this is different but I took Honors chem concurrently with Geometry, Honors Bio concurrently with Alg 1, and AP Chem concurrently with honors Alg 2 and I had no issues.

Biio/chem don’t require much math at this level.

[Anonymous]

My child took AP Physics last year at Blair and it was a mess.

Almost the entire class struggled and the instruction was not very helpful in trying to help the kids with understanding the material. Some kids had to get tutors to help them out.

It was my understanding that this was an experimental trial and I am surprised that they are trying it again. With distance learning, no less.

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear AP Physics 1 isn't an "easier" course than AP Physics C. Just look at the pass rates. It may "only" be algebra based, but in reality there is very little mathematical problem solving. Instead it is conceptual analysis of complex situations. Students really have to understand the underlying physics concepts in order to do well. AP Physics C is more focused on problem solving, and students who make it to Calculus tend to be more analytical in their thinking and better suited to physics thinking in general.

But back to OP's question - AP Physics 1 pairs well with students who are in Honors Precalculus. They will have already had the trigonometry from Algebra 2, and if the teacher delays circular motion until January, the Honors Precalculus class will have covered the math part in December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear AP Physics 1 isn't an "easier" course than AP Physics C. Just look at the pass rates. It may "only" be algebra based, but in reality there is very little mathematical problem solving. Instead it is conceptual analysis of complex situations. Students really have to understand the underlying physics concepts in order to do well. AP Physics C is more focused on problem solving, and students who make it to Calculus tend to be more analytical in their thinking and better suited to physics thinking in general.

But back to OP's question - AP Physics 1 pairs well with students who are in Honors Precalculus. They will have already had the trigonometry from Algebra 2, and if the teacher delays circular motion until January, the Honors Precalculus class will have covered the math part in December.

The pass rates say nothing about the difficulty of the exam in this case; they reflect the amount of self-selection driving each exam pool.

[Anonymous]

Times have changed, I guess (my kid is only in ES, so this is new to me). I went to the magnet at Blair and we all took Physics our Freshman year, but it was more like Honors+, not AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone have a kid who took this? It is recommended for freshman at Blair who are taking Algebra 2 and we are unsure of whether or not to have our child try it. I've heard mixed reviews...

My two cents - don't do it - very bad decision for my child - he's very good at Math but was not well-served having this very difficult class on top of a rigorous schedule in 9th grade. I thought they'd decided to discontinue this experiment, and imho they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the benefit of this. If DC is taking Algebra 2, then he isn’t taking the Physics C exams.

This sounds like taking APs for the sake of taking APs.

What are the Physics C exams?

They require calculus. There is also an easier physics AP which OP is presumably referring to.

Yes - This is the algebra-based Physics A/B - and regardless - it's still Physics and difficult for kids to grasp. The teacher recognized this, and she did her best to support them, but I just don't think it's a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Times have changed, I guess (my kid is only in ES, so this is new to me). I went to the magnet at Blair and we all took Physics our Freshman year, but it was more like Honors+, not AP.

That is still how it is. I am assuming this kid is not in the magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child took AP Physics last year at Blair and it was a mess.

Almost the entire class struggled and the instruction was not very helpful in trying to help the kids with understanding the material. Some kids had to get tutors to help them out.

It was my understanding that this was an experimental trial and I am surprised that they are trying it again. With distance learning, no less.

Very helpful! Thanks for sharing your experience

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would do this if u was the parent of a student who was ready for it. Why are you asking people who don’t know anything about your own kid. Ask his previous science teacher or something. Or ask him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear AP Physics 1 isn't an "easier" course than AP Physics C. Just look at the pass rates. It may "only" be algebra based, but in reality there is very little mathematical problem solving. Instead it is conceptual analysis of complex situations. Students really have to understand the underlying physics concepts in order to do well. AP Physics C is more focused on problem solving, and students who make it to Calculus tend to be more analytical in their thinking and better suited to physics thinking in general.

But back to OP's question - AP Physics 1 pairs well with students who are in Honors Precalculus. They will have already had the trigonometry from Algebra 2, and if the teacher delays circular motion until January, the Honors Precalculus class will have covered the math part in December.

This pp knows what they're talking about. Exactly what my DS did.