A less taxing AP Physics C Course (hopefully accredited, but that's not an absolute must)

[Fatherof2]

My older daughter took AP Physics C through PA Homeschoolers. They’re very rigorous, and that’s great.

However, my younger is taking several other AP and DE courses at the same time that she'll be taking AP Physics C. So, I'm looking for a less taxing course. 

She plans on being an Econ. major. So, she doesn't need a high score on the AP Exam. However, I would like for her to get the flavor of AP Physics C. I think it will do a great job of reinforcing the concepts of calculus that she'll be taking at the same time. (And a mastery of Calculus would be helpful for an Econ. major.)

So, does anyone know of a less-taxing AP Physics C? As mentioned in the title, accreditation would be nice, but isn't a "must."

Thanks

 

 

[EKS]

I can't recommend a specific course, but in general, if a year long course just does mechanics, that would be less taxing than doing both mechanics and E&M.

[freesia]

One of the PA homeschoolers teachers offers paid access to his course through his website for less money.  You pace yourself.  https://www.physics-prep.com/index.php/how-these-courses-work

[Farrar]

UC Scout is accredited and has it. It's likely less intensive overall compared to PAH. 

[Roadrunner]

37 minutes ago, Farrar said:

UC Scout is accredited and has it. It's likely less intensive overall compared to PAH. 

Have you seen any reviews? I haven’t heard anything positive about UC Scout. Some negative, but mostly silence. 
Also their teacher supported courses aren’t cheap at all. 
I also wonder if they include test prep or just teach the material. It’s hard to tell with Scout. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Roadrunner

[Farrar]

17 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Have you seen any reviews? I haven’t heard anything positive about UC Scout. Some negative, but mostly silence. 
Also their teacher supported courses aren’t cheap at all. 
I also wonder if they include test prep or just teach the material. It’s hard to tell with Scout. 

Not of physics C specifically. But in a general sense, yes. I've heard about a number of positive experiences and I've recommend them to certain clients for certain things. I've heard about some mediocre experiences too. The negative ones I've heard about were either not the teacher supported or seemed like the kid wasn't motivated. It's like an independent study with a teacher and they're going to support, but they're not going to chase you down. They do include test prep. Basically it's decent materials and the teachers are pretty available. I've heard some students develop a good rapport with their assigned teacher. But it's a bit of luck of the draw. I would say it's a bad fit for a student who needs the support of a live class with really strict due dates in the first place.

[Roadrunner]

50 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Not of physics C specifically. But in a general sense, yes. I've heard about a number of positive experiences and I've recommend them to certain clients for certain things. I've heard about some mediocre experiences too. The negative ones I've heard about were either not the teacher supported or seemed like the kid wasn't motivated. It's like an independent study with a teacher and they're going to support, but they're not going to chase you down. They do include test prep. Basically it's decent materials and the teachers are pretty available. I've heard some students develop a good rapport with their assigned teacher. But it's a bit of luck of the draw. I would say it's a bad fit for a student who needs the support of a live class with really strict due dates in the first place.

This is what I hear. 

I would personally take PAH for most courses over UC Scout for my kids if option exists. The latter reminds me more of a platform (like edgenuity) than a class. It’s hard for me to nail that distinction, but PAH seems more like a homeschool helper (well thought out materials, not stuck on a computer, solid textbooks....) than a platform (click, click...). I don’t know. I look at them every year and opt against.

 

To the OP, I would do just mechanics stretched over the year. 

[Farrar]

1 minute ago, Roadrunner said:

This is what I hear. 

I would personally take PAH for most courses over UC Scout for my kids if option exists. The latter reminds me more of a platform (like edgenuity) than a class. It’s hard for me to nail that distinction, but PAH seems more like a homeschool helper (well thought out materials, not stuck on a computer, solid textbooks....) than a platform (click, click...). I don’t know. I look at them every year and opt against.

 

To the OP, I would do just mechanics stretched over the year. 

I would also suggest PAH (or, for more common courses, the options at Blue Tent, at Aim, at some of the Christian providers like Potter's if that's one's bent) over UC Scout for nearly everything. But sometimes there's a kid who needs self-pacing for a course and sometimes PAH is just a bad fit. Like, we weren't comfortable with any of the Microecon options. The Geography course is infamously terrible. Things like that.

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, Farrar said:

I would also suggest PAH (or, for more common courses, the options at Blue Tent, at Aim, at some of the Christian providers like Potter's if that's one's bent) over UC Scout for nearly everything. But sometimes there's a kid who needs self-pacing for a course and sometimes PAH is just a bad fit. Like, we weren't comfortable with any of the Microecon options. The Geography course is infamously terrible. Things like that.

Oh yes, geography and computer science also.

I keep waiting for people to start posting more personal experiences with UC Scout (AP French anybody? 😋). 

 

 

[Farrar]

17 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Oh yes, geography and computer science also.

I keep waiting for people to start posting more personal experiences with UC Scout (AP French anybody? 😋). 

If you're willing to wade into the morass that is California homeschool facebook groups, people have definitely used them and probably for AP French... But if you're not, I feel ya.

[regentrude]

Why does it have to be AP C? For an econ major, she won't be required to have calculus based physics. 
If you want her to have some gentle exposure to calculus in physics, why not use a textbook and any of the many free resources available online? I can direct you to some fabulous lecture videos for calc based physics.

[stripe]

Also I thought AP classes are supposed to be hard so students can pass the exam. It seems like an easy AP physics C class would not lead to an impressive AP score. It is my suspicion that the reason AP Physics C has such a high pass rate is because the group of students who take it is already strong. Otherwise why would a higher percentage of students get a 5 on Physics C than Physics 1? 

[SDMomof3]

SpringLight Education and Areteem Institute both offer AP Physics C. They have live and self pace classes. The self pace class are less taxing and she can go at her own pace.

Edited April 9, 2021 by SDMomof3

[stripe]

Areteem  also has summer school APs. 

[Arcadia]

On 4/6/2021 at 1:39 PM, Fatherof2 said:

My older daughter took AP Physics C through PA Homeschoolers. They’re very rigorous, and that’s great.

However, my younger is taking several other AP and DE courses at the same time that she'll be taking AP Physics C. So, I'm looking for a less taxing course. 

She plans on being an Econ. major. So, she doesn't need a high score on the AP Exam. However, I would like for her to get the flavor of AP Physics C.

Your daughter could take just AP Physics C Mechanics as a year long course instead of as a one semester course.

On 4/7/2021 at 6:14 PM, stripe said:

Also I thought AP classes are supposed to be hard so students can pass the exam. It seems like an easy AP physics C class would not lead to an impressive AP score.

It is possible to cover the content reasonably without being hard or having too much busy work. It also depends on the student's strengths and interest.