How important is physics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - not a STEM major. If there was a chance of that, yes of course she should have physics. I have an older child who took AP physics so I’m not unfamiliar with the subject or its relevance. DD just really doesn’t want to take it.

Possible majors are business or something media related, think some combo of marketing, communications, etc depending on the school. She’s probably targeting good schools (Indiana, WI) that she should have the grades and test scores for, but not the most competitive schools.

Why OOS for this?

Because we can afford it and in state VA schools may not be an ideal fit. She likely won’t get into UVA, WM may not appeal, Tech is a possibility but also may not appeal, and she might consider JMU but I think Wisconsin, Syracuse, Indiana have more name recognition than JMU in the job market. This is all early days so she’s got time to do visits and change her mind but just asked the question with the current set of parameters.

OP, I think you’re fine! What I would do is ask your school’s college counselor what science classes admitted students generally take? They will have the intel relevant to your high school. Wisconsin is getting a little more competitive so definitely investigate that one. Indiana will be fine. Syracuse should be ok too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - not a STEM major. If there was a chance of that, yes of course she should have physics. I have an older child who took AP physics so I’m not unfamiliar with the subject or its relevance. DD just really doesn’t want to take it.

Possible majors are business or something media related, think some combo of marketing, communications, etc depending on the school. She’s probably targeting good schools (Indiana, WI) that she should have the grades and test scores for, but not the most competitive schools.

Why OOS for this?

Because we can afford it and in state VA schools may not be an ideal fit. She likely won’t get into UVA, WM may not appeal, Tech is a possibility but also may not appeal, and she might consider JMU but I think Wisconsin, Syracuse, Indiana have more name recognition than JMU in the job market. This is all early days so she’s got time to do visits and change her mind but just asked the question with the current set of parameters.

OP, I think you’re fine! What I would do is ask your school’s college counselor what science classes admitted students generally take? They will have the intel relevant to your high school. Wisconsin is getting a little more competitive so definitely investigate that one. Indiana will be fine. Syracuse should be ok too!

PP. agreed. My kid has only 1 semester of survey physics. Admitted to Indiana and MSU honors college. MSU is known for its advertising program, btw.

I hear good things about Syracuse from people who have visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

My honors high school physics course was badly done and boring. I retained nothing from it. I was exposed to physics but a lot more content stuck from Earth Science, Biology, and Chemistry. In college, for my science distribution requirements, I chose a Genetics elective for science majors and Chemistry and Public Policy (easy class but great teacher and fascinating course material....sort of like studying global warming wouid be today).

I have 2 male PhD physicists in my immediate family, btw. We have a gender split on this interest.

My senior only had the minimum Physics required (1 out of 4 semesters of 9th grade "expose to all sciences" survey course). He took AP Environmental Science. Was going to take AP Bio but due to schedule changes could not get that and is taking AP Stats and AP Calc AB.

I would recommend Physics for pre-med, science, Comp Sci, and Engineering majors. I doubt it matters for many others. At the high school level, it seems mainly to be a check-the-box class for the quantitatively adept to continue demonstrating their A-getting capabilities. (Mini-weed-out class for straight-A students).

Wow. Way to insult kids who take a single year of what is the most fundamental of all sciences. Maybe they just want a well rounded education in all the basic sciences. Jeez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

My honors high school physics course was badly done and boring. I retained nothing from it. I was exposed to physics but a lot more content stuck from Earth Science, Biology, and Chemistry. In college, for my science distribution requirements, I chose a Genetics elective for science majors and Chemistry and Public Policy (easy class but great teacher and fascinating course material....sort of like studying global warming wouid be today).

I have 2 male PhD physicists in my immediate family, btw. We have a gender split on this interest.

My senior only had the minimum Physics required (1 out of 4 semesters of 9th grade "expose to all sciences" survey course). He took AP Environmental Science. Was going to take AP Bio but due to schedule changes could not get that and is taking AP Stats and AP Calc AB.

I would recommend Physics for pre-med, science, Comp Sci, and Engineering majors. I doubt it matters for many others. At the high school level, it seems mainly to be a check-the-box class for the quantitatively adept to continue demonstrating their A-getting capabilities. (Mini-weed-out class for straight-A students).

Wow. Way to insult kids who take a single year of what is the most fundamental of all sciences. Maybe they just want a well rounded education in all the basic sciences. Jeez.

Exactly. What a weird, passive-aggressive post. Physics is fun and important!

[Anonymous]

Slightly off topic, but any intel on AP Physics 1? DC is considering taking it next year. How hard is it for someone who is good at algebra?

[Anonymous]

My science-focused kid with excellent grades will have taken Bio, Chem, AP Chem, and either AP Bio or Organic Chem, and is also taking a three-year research seminar. I could be wrong, but I doubt she will be dinged for not taking Physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My science-focused kid with excellent grades will have taken Bio, Chem, AP Chem, and either AP Bio or Organic Chem, and is also taking a three-year research seminar. I could be wrong, but I doubt she will be dinged for not taking Physics.

Depends on the school. Some (the one I know of is Wesleyan, since my kid is applying there) say they prefer to see one year each of biology, chemistry, and physics. So it’s worth confirming as your kid is making their school list (and preference isn’t the same as requirement, of course).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This. I dont think people understand how fundamental physics is to everything in the modern world, and indeed, in the development of what we consider to be "science". Not for college or anything else, but consider asking your kid, even if they are not a STEM type, to at least see something about physics. I mean they are not going to be giving up their computers, their phones, their GPS, their automation, their sensors, their vehicles, etc any time soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

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.

How many adults actually have even a basic understanding of physics? Not many I imagine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My science-focused kid with excellent grades will have taken Bio, Chem, AP Chem, and either AP Bio or Organic Chem, and is also taking a three-year research seminar. I could be wrong, but I doubt she will be dinged for not taking Physics.

Not saying she’ll get dinged. But I think it’s weird from a curricular perspective w that kids aren’t taking basic physics before or at least along with all these APs in Bio and Chem. It used to be we all had to take a little physics in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you need Calc before taking Physics then?

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physics is very important! Without gravity we’d all fall off the planet.

Best response

How can anyone go about their day without a basic understanding of Newton’s 3 laws of motion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Slightly off topic, but any intel on AP Physics 1? DC is considering taking it next year. How hard is it for someone who is good at algebra?

Hard to say. Some kids find it pretty easy but many others find it difficult.
It has one of the lowest AP pass rates so I don’t think it is very basic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

My honors high school physics course was badly done and boring. I retained nothing from it. I was exposed to physics but a lot more content stuck from Earth Science, Biology, and Chemistry. In college, for my science distribution requirements, I chose a Genetics elective for science majors and Chemistry and Public Policy (easy class but great teacher and fascinating course material....sort of like studying global warming wouid be today).

I have 2 male PhD physicists in my immediate family, btw. We have a gender split on this interest.

My senior only had the minimum Physics required (1 out of 4 semesters of 9th grade "expose to all sciences" survey course). He took AP Environmental Science. Was going to take AP Bio but due to schedule changes could not get that and is taking AP Stats and AP Calc AB.

I would recommend Physics for pre-med, science, Comp Sci, and Engineering majors. I doubt it matters for many others. At the high school level, it seems mainly to be a check-the-box class for the quantitatively adept to continue demonstrating their A-getting capabilities. (Mini-weed-out class for straight-A students).

Wow. Way to insult kids who take a single year of what is the most fundamental of all sciences. Maybe they just want a well rounded education in all the basic sciences. Jeez.

PP. Didn't insult anyone. "Matters" here is in the OP's context of "Will it hurt my DD's chances for admission if she doesn't take physics". Don't worry, the entire discipline of physics will not be harmed by my perception of whether it's useful or fun to take in high school. My husband enjoyed it in college. And I have physicists in my family...so I'm very, very used to hearing about how wonderful it is.

It's impossible to study everything in high school. I prefer curriculums to have a wide range of electives. I would rather have had organic chemistry than physics senior year but I thought taking physics was the right thing to do because it was the default senior science class at my school. I reject that kind of unquestioning attitude now. I would have been better off reading a book or watching a science docuseries about physics, even though I got As.

This kind of protective reaction towards physics is exactly what the OP is worried about. That her child will be disadvantaged in the admissions process or not be able to live a normal UMC life because DC was not exposed to high school physics.

Physics thanks you for your defense of its importance!

[Anonymous]

Who doesn’t remember doing the egg drop project in their HS physics class? That was so fun. I forget the physics behind it though - something similar to how airbags work in collisions