u/ErekwithaD1

Edit: Just because flair is EM does not necessarily mean answers are E&M exclusive

What does λ represent in AP Physics:

A. Wavelength

B. Linear mass density

C. Linear charge density

D. Decay constant

What does k represent in AP Physics:

A. Coulomb's constant

B. Boltzmann's constant

C. Spring Constant

D. Thermal Conductivity

E. Linear Drag Coefficient

What does Φ represent in AP Physics:

A. Work Function

B. Phase Angle

C. Magnetic Flux

D. Electric Flux

Since I am basically done with all the main content of AP Physics C:E&M, I have been studying AC Systems and Phasors. I have been thinking this is relatively easy. Should AP add AC analysis, I mean almost everything around us uses AC. But I want to hear the opinions of AP Physics teachers first and to the students who took the equivalent physics at the universities, did they have AC analysis or not.

Sometimes, while I am on this sub, I hear the rumor that college admissions officers don't like it when students self study an AP. I just wonder where this rumor comes from, because I find it way more impressive that a students managed to dedicate their own time and effort into passing a college level examination rather than getting their hand held by a teacher.

Idk, can someone explain why colleges might view this as not impressive

I go to a stem charter school with a specific emphasize on Engineering. My Physics teacher managed to convince the school to finally offer this course after a poll showed high demand for this course. But what I wonder was why there was such low demand for ap physics courses, because during the first day the teacher told us that he only had only 2 ap physics classes: ap physics 1 and now ap physics c:mech. This means the rest of his 5 classes he teaches is Concurrent Enrollment Physics for non majors and therefore we have to combine AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism and AP Physics 2 into C:Mech through self study.

I just wonder why we have so much people sign up for a Physics class that does not help with any STEM subjects at all. I get it might be for preparation for the c examinations, but still AP Physics 1 prepares you better and gives you better credit than the non major version.

Did anyone have a similar experience with physics?

Edit: AP Physics C: Mechanics has 19 students total, in comparison CE Studio Art for the non major has a full classroom so about 28 students and I am pretty sure there is another period for it and AP English Literature has 2 periods both of which seem to have 20 or so students and I just wonder why at a stem academy the Humanities classrooms are fuller than the STEM one

You know that joke where the English teacher asks you what is the symbolism behind blue curtains. That is how this class is starting to feel like, like on the first day we watched a Pixar short and every few seconds the teacher paused it and asked what random things symbolized like what does dead leaves on a green table mean and I just think you can literally apply meaning to anything oh this subreddit is white because it represents the hope in this sub that they will get 5s. Why can't I just enjoy the story and animation. Also I swear if they make me write an essay on the first week I am going to literally speak only Chinese for the rest of the school year.

Also this classes test is right before E&M what if I get so tired from this test I accidentally use the left hand rule rather than the right hand and flunk the physics test which I actually enjoy.

And BTW I do not hate all humanities, like I think my Gov class is going to be really fun mainly because I like political discussions but I just feel like this is the most stereotypical humanities class there is.

Idk though I overheard one of my friends say that even though their sister hated school, they loved AP Lit, so it might be somewhat easy.

I really want to get a 5, I got a 36 in ACT Reading and 5 in AP World if that helps at all. Anyway people who actually took this class what do you think? Is what my teacher doing normal?

I am excited about my school year because I can finally apply my stem knowledge and learn something new like programming. However, one thing I am not excited for is humanities subjects like AP English Literature or CE Studio Art for non majors. The thought of writing essays just scares the wits out of me, I did it for AP World but I feel all essayed out now, especially on subjects like poetry analysis. Furthermore, English Lit is right before E&M and I am worried about whether it will affect my performance in it or not. I also have CE US Gov and DE Chinese this semester. I mean I am going to like Gov because I like learning about governments but I am just scared for essays. DE Chinese I have to take from 6:30-7:45 pm and that means I won't have any free time on Tuesdays

And on CE Studio Art for non majors I heard that each week you are to expect 3-6 hours of work from this class and I just think that it might distract me from my focus on AP Calculus BC self study.

Also I have to improve on ACT English to improve my composite score yet its grammar rules are sometimes completely unintuitive to me like when I did one article in a practice book I got like 3 questions wrong.

Has anyone felt the same before, How have stem oriented people on this sub deal with humanities.

I don't think this counts as humanities but also I feel unready for the driving tests, I can't use mirrors to park and I am just worried that I will fall behind my friends in the aspect of driving

[title] I have nearly 100% the Khan Academy course should I see if I am able to do the mcqs on the prep book and also should I pair this prep book with a generic calculus book I found online?

I am starting to get bored over the summer so I decided to do something fun and calculate how much my parents will be paying for my classes next year.

To start things off easy lets do AP:

When I start this school year I will be taking 5 APs: AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based (Partial Self Study*), AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (Partial Self Study*), and AP Calculus BC (Full Self Study)

*The Reason the two other Physics are partial is because we have this really weird situation in our Physics C: Mech class where we can study in groups for the other 2 exams but we will only be graded on Mechanics work.

This gives the base exam fee of $500 but according to the course description of AP Physics C: Mechanics we might need a $30 E-textbook fee and for AP Calculus BC I want to get the Princeton Review Book which is $40. This adds an extra $70 fee.

That means I have to pay $570 in total for AP

Now lets move onto Concurrent Enrollment:

When I start this school year I will be taking 8 semesters worth of Concurrent Enrollment (DE but taken at high school for those who don't know):

CE Electrical Engineering 1&2 (each semester gives a different credit): 6 Credits total with $5 for each credit so $30

CE Computer Science Principles: 4 Credits total with $5 each so $20

CE Computer Programming 1: 4 Credits total with $5 each so $20

CE US Government: 3 Credits total, but free for some reason

CE General Finance: 3 Credits total, but again free for some reason

CE Studio art for non majors: 3 Credits with $5 each so $15 but there is also an art fee of $25 so $40 total

CE US History: 3 Credits total with $5 each so 15$

Last but not least Early College (DE at actual college):

My scholarship pays for the tuition so I just have to pay fees

Yoga: $5 GYM fee

Chinese: It has a fee but doesn't show it so I am guessing $20 at most

Just to recap

AP Costs: $570

DE Costs: $125

Early College Costs: $25

So total cost is $720

What are y'all's costs for the next school year?

I will be taking the AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism exam next year and I have pretty much pre studied all the topics over the summer. I am also taking an Concurrent Enrollment Electrical Engineering course, it is just an intro course and therefore does not use calculus at all and in fact does not have any math prerequisites. I just want to know to what extent will my knowledge of physics help me in this course. I know that it won't help me at all with physical skills like soldering but what about conceptual skills.

Here is the description of the course:

>This course begins with the basics of electronics, moves into components, and then into circuit construction, building power supplies and circuit testers while learning soldering basics. We learn number systems and waveforms, and about how computers combine electronic components to perform artificial intelligence. We design a lot of electrical circuits, such as basic computer memory, binary clocks, calculators, etc. And we learn how to program whole circuits into integrated circuits. This class preps you for the age of automation, it is also the highest paying field of all Engineering Fields.

Oh yeah and it is mentioned to be Pre-professional.

When I start school again I will do AP Physics C: Mechanics. However, my teacher has offered people the opportunity to study beyond because most people taking this class have taken AP Physics 1 and therefore he will open up AP Classrooms for AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism and AP Physics 2 for those who want to do those tests in the spring. I am interested in taking all 3 of these exams. I have studied calculus over the summer and calculus based physics so I think I am prepared for the exams, I have even begun to look at the FRQs for the two AP Physics C exams. I also 100% the ap physics c:mech khan academy course.

For AP Physics 2, even though I know it is a bit redundant to take it because I am taking E&M, I am interested in taking it because its other topics like waves, thermodynamics, optics and modern physics sound interesting, I have pre prepared for it by doing the Khan Academy course.

The rest of my classes in the school year will be Concurrent enrollment, early college and AP Literature, I am worried that this will be too much homework especially because I am taking both Concurrent Enrollment Government and US History in the same year (though both are only semester courses). On Tuesdays, I will have a Chinese class from 6:30-7:45 pm I am also not planning on taking any math courses unless you count CS as a math course, because I did algebra 2 over the summer and that counts for 11th grade math and because I am self studying AP Calculus BC which I have learned most of the content already in the summer because of Khan Academy and past FRQs.

I also have a school project and Junior ACTs.

Anyways should I sign up for all 3.

What APs are you going to do when school starts again?

How many APs are you doing?

Are you self studying any of them?

What grade are you going into?

What other classes are you doing? (eg Honors, IB, DE or regular)

What do you estimate your homework load to be?

How much sleep do you think you'll get?

Are you excited about school?

What do you feel about your classes? (excited, scared...)

Anyways Hope Everyone gets a 5 this year! 😊

(Btw my answers are: bc c:mech c:e&m lit p2 (maybe) ,5, I am doing it for 1 (ap calc bc), 11th, schedule not out yet, 2-3 hours per day, 5-6 hours, sort of, excited but sort of scared I won't have any free time)

This was inspired by a similar post a while back

1. Multivariable Calculus does not help with AP Physics C: E&M that much

I am not talking about the fact that the AP Exam doesn't need MVC, but rather I disagree with the belief that learning Calculus 3 will suddenly make AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism way more intuitive for people.

Take Gauss' Law for example, If you can physically visualize the area vectors emitting from the surfaces and how e-fields emit from surfaces directly perpendicularly in symmetrical cases like spheres, long cylinders and infinite sheets and see how they are parallel and the same in all areas you can intuitively understand why it works.

Even in the MVC form Gauss' law just states that the divergence of Electric field is equal to charge density divided by permittivity (∇·E=ρ/ε)  meaning it is only really useful to solve for charge density at a specific point. (just to reiterate, in the vast majority of universities Physics 2 for STEM Majors just uses single variable calculus similar to AP because it is a first year course and Universities assume you start at calculus 1)

2. If you want to become an Engineer then taking AP Biology is pretty useless (with some exceptions)

Most Engineering programs especially ones for common ones like Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering does not require AP Biology. It is much more useful spending your time with APs that actually clear major Engineering prereqs like AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism and AP Chemistry. Even Clearing a major General Education like through AP United States History and AP English Language and Composition is worth more of your time and effort than Bio for Engineering.

However, as I said before there are exceptions like for Biochemical, Biochemical and Environmental engineering so of course take AP Biology for those. Also take AP Biology if your university requires a life science as a graduation requirement. But the point still stands like if you want to become an Engineer and you are given a choice between AP Chemistry and AP Biology take Chemistry instead.

3. If you are given a choice between an easier version of an AP and the more rigorous version of an AP choose the more rigorous version.

For example, choose AP Physics C: Mechanics over AP Physics 1, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism over AP Physics 2, AP Calculus BC over AP Calculus AB and definitely over AP Precalculus, AP Biology over AP Environmental Science, and AP Computer Science A over AP Computer Science Principles.

This is because the less rigorous versions of these courses are way less likely to get accepted for useful credit than the harder versions of these courses. For instance, AP Computer Science Principles is barely accepted for credit at most institutions let alone for useful Computer Science credits.

Even if your major doesn't need the more rigorous versions take them because admissions will be more impressed.

4. Building from the previous take, AP Precalculus and AP Calculus AB should not be required as prerequisites for AP Calculus BC.

This is one of the dumbest prerequisites for all APs. For AP Precalculus, As a guy who has almost completed the AP Calculus BC course precalculus content only appeared once maybe twice in the entire course, once in the limits unit for evaluating something with cos^2(x)-sin^2(x) in it and once for evaluating a polar integral with cos^2(θ) in it, things you can learn in a day or two.

For AP Calculus AB as a prerequisite for BC this is even dumber. As stated before, this was meant to just be BC for people who don't want to challenge themselves and not meant to be a roadblock for BC. You can learn Calculus 1 and 2 in a single year, you don't need to prepare for it by taking calculus 1 for 1.5 years.

5. If given the choice always take the AP version of an intro course over the DE version of an intro course.

This is very controversial, but if you are given the choice between like DE Chemistry and AP Chemistry, always choose AP.

AP is more likely to be accepted out of state as AP curriculums are more standardized and in some cases viewed as more rigorous than DE Curriculums. AP also is a better predictor of success in subsequent courses compared to DE.

Now there is some nuance to this, for instance, if your school does not have AP but has DE take DE over self studying for AP especially for a humanities course like Freshman English or Fine Arts things that have a more broad application then STEM. If your DE community college class is notoriously known for having hard intro classes then also take it but only if they are willing to send their curriculum over to the universities. Also DE is important for being a celling breaker, allowing students to take more advanced courses while in high school like Calculus 3 or ODE or Organic Chemistry.

6. AP Research and AP Seminar is not that useful

These two classes while they sort of might help with college writing is ultimately wastes of money. Most Universities and even most community colleges do not give college credit for these courses and even if they do it is generally just for a first year English elective.

If you want to do Research just do it on your own time. You don't have to pay $100 for classes that don't give you any credit to show to universities that you can write and do Research.

I understand that for some it is very interesting to get an AP class where your topic can be anything, but if you are really passionate about a subject just get a free period and do your Research on it during that period.

7. AP Humanities are very subjective and therefore they will always have components of luck towards whether you get a high or low grade.

I have seen amazing pieces of art get a 3 in AP Arts, while I understand it is probably due to bad writing, you have to wonder when even the teacher can't accurately predict the grade their portfolio will get, there must be some luck involved in whether the grader will give points for something or not.

I have seen this in the other direction too. People write about random stuff in AP Lit and AP Lang and still getting a 5.

What I mean is don't be down if you get a low grade on a humanities AP test, you tried your best unless you legitimately didn't try.

I have no math scheduled next year because I have basically given up on getting into Calculus 1. My school used to have a Concurrent Enrollment Calculus 1 course and I tried to get into that to strengthen my Calculus 1 foundations while taking the AP Calculus BC test to earn Calculus 2 credit. However my school has since canceled the CE Calculus 1 class and the only way to take Calculus now is to take it through Early College. I think it is not worth it ultimately to go through all this trouble so now I think I'll just self study AP Calculus BC directly and save some money. I will have 4 free time periods spread throughout the year to do college classes so I'll just use those to practice FRQs.

I am taking Algebra 2 over the summer so I think they might use that to clear the math I was suppose to take this year, and I am going to take Calculus 3 and ODE in my senior year

Is this okay?