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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Mine took 2 freshman year (comp sci principals and AP gov) and is signed up for 4 his sophomore year (Econ, U.S. hist, physics, comp sci java).  He’s planning on taking at least five more but it might be more like 8 more.  (Two more Gov, 2-3 more science, calculus, at least one English, AP art history, and maybe something like psych or human geography as an elective).  
Physics is weirdly like three different tests now, which is not how it was when I took it a million years ago.  
He’s not doing this to pad his resume or anything — he’s just looking for classes that might be interesting and that his friends are taking.  [/quote]

Many schools just have kids take regular physics/honors physics rather than AP Physics 1&2.  Then once in calculus you move to AP Physics C (Mechanics then E&M).  1&2 are pointless AP courses, just like AP HUG. If you actually need physics for the future, you need C.    So I guess that is how many get to 12-15 courses.  WH, Hug, Physics 1&2, etc.  courses that do not really count for college credit. Same material can be learned in a regular course, perhaps more as the teacher does NOT have to teach to an AP test
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1&2 are definitely not useless exams- they’re harder than the C exams for crying out loud! 2 has content that E&M is entirely missing, and 1 is, in my perspective, the best physics exam, because it is fully conceptual and asks realistic tough questions that you’d be asked in a college physics Exam. The C exams are plug and chug and just affirmations that you can open the exam book cover and glare over the equations. [/quote]

Sigh. 1&2 are not harder than C, except in the sense that they test for regurgitating incantations in English not math, because they don't actually define and explain the phenomena logically, so they are hard for people like high school students and also professional physicists who don't understand what the goofy questions are trying to ask.

1&2 are taken (obviously) by far less capable student (often freshmen) than students who take C, and the curriculum is poor, so the pass rate is lower. [/quote]
Can you talk about the issue professional physicists have with the exam? You’re speaking to a physics grad, so I’m interested in where you get this perception. I got many more physics 1 style questions than C in my first year- it’s cool that students can do calculus (and eigenvalues for baby quantum), but plug and chug is not what a physics exam should be. I’ve never seen a physics 1 question that’s difficult to understand- difficult to set up without the easy calculus way, maybe, but never difficult to grasp. Most 1&2 students are juniors, not freshman.[/quote]

Professional physicist here :).

Calculus is fundamental to physics which essentially is how things change over time or how they depend on other things.

If we compare Physics 1 with C Mechanics, the algebra based version, is more of a plug and chug and it relies more on memorization. The calculus based class will give a more complete picture and explain how things flow from each other.

For example all mechanics is derived from Newtonian principles, but in Algebra 1 you can’t really use equations of motions because often they involve solving differential equations. Instead you’ll have to rely on conservation laws, and a lot of other tricks without knowing the why and how.

Calculus physics also builds a better intuition for relationships and phenomena. There’s a reason why Algebra physics is not accepted as a physics degree requirement at any university.[/quote]

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