Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums High School Cons of AP Physics C before AP Chem?

Can anyone think of any reasons why a student should not take AP Physics C before AP Chemistry if they haven't had a full high school level course in either?

It is my recollection/experience that you don't need to know chemistry to learn physics at either the high school or college level. My suspicions are that Chemistry usually precede physics because it is not as intellectually challenging for most people plus obviously you need a lot less math (only up to Algebra 2 vs. Calculus) at the AP level.

Prerequisites. AP physics in our school is needed before taking either

None that I’m aware of- math is the limiting factor here, which is why most kids opt for chem earlier (our school makes it nearly impossible to accelerate so unless you have transferred from elsewhere during early high school you are usually stuck in the district sequence). But there are some kids every year who do take physics first, mailnly those who are considering it for a major. Here, physics C is done at the same time as regular AP physics, all in one course for those who choose that class.

Though we're homeschooling, and not really checking ourselves against AP syllabi, I will note that one of ours, who is much better in math than in language arts, is on track to doing the high school science sequence basically backwards: physics, chemistry, biology. Currently, physics is in parallel with alg II/trig, for that one. And if we're still in high school by then, and need/want another science course, there might be more physics after the first year of calculus.

Based on our recent experience, I would say there is little overlap between AP Physics C and AP Chem, and I doubt that the order in which they are taken would make much difference. My twins are both hs seniors, currently taking AP Chem.

They did not actually take AP Physics C (not offered at their school) but self-studied and took the tests last spring (and got 5s). It should be noted that there are two separate AP Physics C (C is for Calculus) tests - Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism. (Both twins had completed Calc 3 before studying for the tests, and had already taken 1 and 2 years, respectively, of hs Physics. Preparing for the Mechanics exam was a breeze, but self-studying E&M was painful.)

They also had one year of non-honors intro hs Chem as sophomores, i.e., before taking AP Chem. They both find AP Chem pretty easy, and at our parent-teacher conference last week, the Chem teacher said they are having an easy time b/c of their *strong math foundation* and didn't mention physics at all as a factor. That said, note that there is no calculus in AP Chem.

They did do a unit on physical chemistry, but I think that is easily managed without taking AP Physics C.

@amylou Did your twins take AP Bio yet? My son plans to take AP Chem, AP Bio and AP World History next year. I have read somewhere that Bio and Chem together would be difficult but this year he is taking AP Calc BC, AP Comp Sci A and AP Physics 1 and is not having any problems at all. He is quite strong in math. Thanks

Hi @ruazkaz - No, they have not done AP Bio yet, BUT one is taking second semester AP Bio in spring semester, along with AP Chem (AND honors Physics at the nearby state flagship). I didn't even know one could take the second semester of AP Bio without the first....

Science is popular at our house....

Ruazkaz, I suspect that would work out fine, though it really depends on the workload of your particular courses, Matieral-wise I don’t think any of them are super-tough. Here, the lab requirements would make scheduling both sciences tough, but we know a kid who took AP chem and AP world and self-studied AP bio last year, and it went fine. Also a consideration, here AP world is a considerable amount of work time-wise (a lot of required writing assignments, research, etc that one cant get out of, so a huge time-suck-) but that seems to be teacher/school dependent.

In our local high school, there is a very practical reason not to take AP Physics before 12th grade. AP Physics requires a number of group projects, and the vast majority of students in the class are seniors. They stop caring about school after 1st semester.

Any junior taking the class would likely see poor grades on group projects, affecting his/her GPA during a critical year.

I can't think of any reason - the two subjects have very little overlap, if any. Calculus at least concurrent with Physics is about the only limiting thing I can think of. Calc isn't needed for AP Chem, which may be why most folks take it first.