Help with AP science sequence

[mjbucks1]

Hopefully someone has some insight and can help me. Ds, 9th grade, is currently taking AP Chemistry with PA Homeschoolers and loves it. Because he is accelerated in his studies (and we decided to hold him back due to a late Sptember birthday), he took high school biology and chemistry in middle school. Next year he was going to take AP Biology, followed by AP Physics B in 11th, and AP Physics C in 12th. He is planning on majoring in computer science/computer engineering in college.

 

Because he took high school biology in 7th, I thought it would look better to have a biology course taken in high school. He loves biology and was excited about taking AP biology next year. But now I am wondering about physics, since after the 2013-2014 school year they will be splitting Physics B into a two year course. If he waits until 11th grade to take AP physics, he will not have an opportunity to take calculus based physics. (BTW he is accelerated in math, so that will not be an issue). But, he will have a deeper understanding of algebra based physics. He is NOT planning on using any of his AP science/math credit in college. We are using AP classes to demonstrate rigor of classes and make sure he is well prepared for college level studies.

 

Also, I wonder how colleges will look at these new re-designed courses. Does anyone have any ideas?

[mommamagistra]

I really wonder how College Board imagines everyone is going to get in all this science.

[snowbeltmom]

But now I am wondering about physics, since after the 2013-2014 school year they will be splitting Physics B into a two year course. waits until 11th grade to take AP physics, he will not have an opportunity to take calculus based physics. .

 

Also, I wonder how colleges will look at these new re-designed courses. Does anyone have any ideas?

I have not looked closely at the changes and scope of the new exams yet, but I will be in the same boat as you with my middle son. One option I am considering is to take both B exams in the same year. If many topics have been added, that plan may not be practical. In that case, I might take a year and study physics following the SAT II scope and sequence and take the SAT II exam and skip the B exams.

 

Like you, we are using the AP exams solely to provide outside validation.

 

I do not think there are any colleges that award credit for the B exam to a STEM student. I do not think that policy will change for the new B exams.

[Trilliums]

Have you considered having your child skip AP Physics B and go directly to AP Physics C Junior year?

 

DS currently is taking AP Physics C Mechanics at the public high school. He is concurrently enrolled in pre-calculus. The instructor spent a few days with students who needed to be caught up on calculus concepts. The high school only offers regular physics and AP Physics C. It seems common for advanced student to go directly into the C class without taking the regular physics class first.

 

This is his first formal physics class and he has not struggled with the work although DS does plan on studying physics and has read/listened to/watched a significant amount of material on physics topics.

 

I do not know anything about the upcoming changes for the exams.

[Luckymama]

Ds went directly into physics c as a junior. He had no physics background except science Olympiad events. He took mechanics concurrently w calc ab and scored a 5 on both. As a senior he took e&m and scored a 5. (Private school)

 

On phone, please excuse any errors

[AngieW in Texas]

He could take AP Physics I and AP Physics II (the two-year sequence that is replacing AP Physics B) in 11th and 12th grades and not take calculus-based physics.

 

He could take a high school (regular or honors) level Physics course in 11th grade and then AP Physics C in 12th grade.

 

Nobody awards credit for both AP Physics B and AP Physics C. I think it is completely unnecessary to do AP in physics at two different levels.

 

My understanding of what the college board is doing with the two-year split of physics is to keep the number of topics exactly the same as it is now, but go deeper into the topics. AP Physics B has a LOT of topics and you have to really fly through them to get the entire course finished by early April so you can spend April preparing for the AP test and then take the test the 1st week of May.

 

Physics C has fewer topics than AP Physics B.

 

I'll bet that many high school continue to offer a course that looks just like AP Physics B, but adds in relativity to prepare for the SAT subject test and they'll call it honors.

[mjbucks1]

Thank you all for your replies. I never thought about him going directly to AP Physics C, but now I might! Because we had the time, I thought it would be great to take the AP Physics B course first and get a nice foundation. The AP Physics C course in senior year would prepare him for college work. Again, he is not looking at getting credit for any AP classes. You have all given me some options to ponder.

[openmind421]

mjbucks1 - Where is your child planning to take AP Physics C? Is that at a local high school or online? I had the same idea you did about doing AP Physics B for a foundation, then taking a community college calculus-based physics the following year. But I'm wondering if he is indeed ready to just go into the calc-based physics.....*sigh* so many decisions!

[mjbucks1]

I really think it is a good idea to have algebra based physics first, so next year he is going to take AP Physics B online through PA Homeschoolers. The following year he will study calculus based physics (either self-study AP Physics C, or take calc based physics at OSU).

[Musicmom]

After my ds's experience, I don't think it's a good idea to do both AP Physics B and AP Physics C in high school, especially if you are not going to use the AP credit from Physics C for college.

 

The problem is that the topics are the same in both courses (and will probably be even more so once B splits into two courses like C.) The only difference is in the math used, and it's not huge. My ds did the equivalent of Physics B in 11th grade using Apologia, and loved it. He enjoys physics and he aced the SAT II. So naturally I thought AP Physics C would be the next step, not for credit, but to show rigor and as good prep for college physics. So he did EPGY's AP Physics C Mechanics in his senior year... Well, he was bored to death and said it was all the same stuff he'd already learned, just with some calculus. And when he found out he'd have to take calc-based physics all over again in college if he went into engineering, he nearly cried. (I can still hear his voice: "HOW MANY TIMES do I have to take physics??!!!) So when he went to college, and the prospect of physics loomed, we strongly encouraged him to find out if there was a physics placement test could take. But as it turned out, he became a comp sci major instead, so a repeat of physics became a non-issue. For his required lab course, he instead took Experimental Physics, which he enjoyed immensely.

 

Anyway, all of that to say, I would suggest picking either B or C for high school, depending on the child's math level. Then if your dc is going to go on with physics, I'd suggest following it with university level calc-based physics, either waiting until after the dc is actually in college and taking it then, or via dual enrollment if he is still in high school--but make sure it's a course where the credit will count. That way even though the topics are the same, the adjustment to university level will be the new part, the rigor and credit will be there and your dc will not get burned out having to do essentially the same course 3 times. You don't want to kill their love of physics.

 

Hope this makes sense!

 

ETA: Just looked back at the original post and wanted to add that I think it's a great idea to do the AP Biology. Both my dc did biology in 8th grade, so I had them do an advanced biology in high school (ds did MIT OCW, dd did Thinkwell), for the same reasons you mention. Looking back, I think it was a good decision--both for their transcripts and educationally as well.

[serendipitous journey]

I'm following this thread. I have nothing to address the OP (!) but I noticed the mention of taking APs for the sole reason of validation. This had been my own thinking about APs until quite recently, when DH pointed out that he found the actual credit he got from his AP classes to be very helpful in freeing up course-space in college (he was at Carleton, and then did graduate school at MIT). His AP credits allowed him to skip over some courses and move classes around so that he took a semester away from Carleton doing a project of his own. So he sees them as potentially very valuable, even if one is not trying to shorten the actual college years or save money -- they can allow the student an extra margin of freedom.

 

Just a thought I wanted to share. -- and I am very glad to have read about the AP Physics split in advance of our encountering it!