Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 13:04     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:59     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.


Our public let our son's friend take AP Physics C without taking a Physics. He spent a few weeks learning the material ahead of the semester.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:49     Subject: Re:AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
Anonymous wrote:No. It’s explicitly not required according to College Board (unlike AP Bio and AP Chem).


AP Physics C is more difficult than AP Bio and AP Chem though.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:46     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
DD took AP Physics 1 junior year with no prior experience. She was in pre-calc at the time and is/was not a STEM kid. Got a 4 on the exam. Not her favorite class but it was fine.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:44     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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).
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:43     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
Anonymous wrote:
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.


That's absolutely the bizarre and calls for further explanation.


To the contrary this is the traditional approach. I took honors physics before AP Physics C at a New England boarding school in the 1990s.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:40     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.


That's absolutely the bizarre and calls for further explanation.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:40     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:36     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
There are four different AP Physics courses.

Two (AP Physics 1 and 2) are algebra based and are commonly allowed without a prerequisite.

The other two (AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism) are calculus based and commonly require a prior physics course as a prerequisite.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:35     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.


This was our experience, but at private, needed honors physics first, then C, and calculus, and very different classes (liked both though).
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:32     Subject: Re:AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
No. It’s explicitly not required according to College Board (unlike AP Bio and AP Chem).
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:32     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
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.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:29     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
My senior is in AP Physics now and never took a prior physics class. She’s not a big math/science kid, but she’s doing well in the class. I sort of doubt she’ll do as well on the AP exam, but at that point, she doesn’t really care. Will not major in STEM.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:28     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
Regular AP Physics in high school? No, it is an alternative to honors or regular physics. No pre-reqs.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 12:27     Subject: AP Physics/Prior physics class needed?
If your student took AP Physics, did he/she take a physics class prior to this?

My DD school is insisting it is necessary. She is a strong student. While I obviously see the point that it would be good, it would be hard to fit one in given other courses unless she took over the summer.

What have people seen/experienced?

Thanks!