Ap physics anyone?

Question

ok, so im thinking about my senior year curriculum.

i dont know whether to take ap physycs or regular physics.

i kno it requires a lot of math and im good at math but i also dont want to take a class i might fail and not let me graduate.

regualr or ap physyics?

Answer 1

gotta agree with everyone else on this, AP physics is a pretty tough course but unlike some other AP courses like Biology, physics requires you to think and apply your knowledge much more. Being good in math indeed can help you do well in AP physics but it mostly comes down to your skills to understand Physics itself (not just memorize stuff). It also helps if you have a good teacher (which i sadly did not).

Answer 2

i agree with the first person. ap physics is hard, and i took it as a junior. the only reason i had an A average the whole year in that class was because the teacher gave so much extra credit. it is a hard class, but if you study hard enough, you should do fine. but if science is not your favorite thing, take regular physics.

also, if you like knowing how EVERY thing in the world works, from a baseball to a ferris wheel to circuitry, you'll love physics.

Answer 3

I took AP Physics and it was, no joke, the hardest class I've ever taken. I, like you, am good at math, and I thought that would help, but for me it didn't.

Actually, the math is the easy part, it's the concepts that are hard. There are countless equations that you need to memorize, however just remembering them isn't enough. You need to know how to apply them to different situations, and you need to know how they work. It's just confusing.

My physics teacher even told us that when we take the AP test, even if we know all the equations, we are not supposed to get every question completely right. In fact, most of us won't get any of them completely right.

I guess that the only way to describe the difference between AP and regular physics is that, from what I've heard, in the regular class you pretty much just learn equations and then plug 'n chug. You are told when to use them and just do very subject-specific problems. However, in AP, you are constantly building your "physics repertoire", and the problems get so long and intricate that they are nearly impossible to get correct.

Bottom line, take AP if you are a science lover, otherwise, I don't recommend it.