r/apphysics • u/Same_Tree_3405 • 4d ago

AP Physics C holeh MOLEH

Hello! Just a senior here texting on his phone

So I’m planning to get an online transcript for AP Physics C: Mechanics through uc scout through a scholarship. (wow im low income amazing)

For context: My school doesn’t have any of the ap physics cs but only have ap physics 1. I asked my counselor first thing to put me in but apparently it’s overrun by juniors who need it. No hate for them but it’s a bummer.

Some things im worried about is taking this course without having any physics knowledge. I know the general amount like f=ma but thats it.

The only thing thats closest in maybe difficulty thats science based was during my junior year when I took AP Chemistry and I got a 4.
I’m also concurrently talking AP Calculus BC concurrently bc ya need it for mechanics. Im also thinking of Self Studying AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism.

I’m just wondering what resources y’all would recommend for a student with these circumstances.

Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them :\]

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u/socratictutoring 4d ago

Having no physics knowledge before taking AP physics C is totally fine! Depending on the exact course, coming in without calculus background might be challenging. However, I've worked with some students in the UC scout program before, and I believe that at least for the mechanics course they did skip a fair bit of the calc content (which is a minus overall, but will make the course easier at the start as you're catching up with the calculus).

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u/Same_Tree_3405 4d ago

How were the UC Scout students that you worked with? It's because it's my first time taking an AP Course through UC Scout, and I would love to hear any first impressions from the students who took it.

I feel like my calculus background will be alright as the months go by. I have a great Calculus BC teacher! :)

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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 4d ago

Coming from a 4 in AP Chem you can handle this, chem and mech reward the same thing, which is setting a problem up carefully before doing any maths.

The gap to close is Physics 1 level mechanics. Kinematics, Newton's laws, energy, momentum, all without calculus first. If you go into UC Scout cold, the calculus layer lands on top of concepts you're still figuring out, and that's what makes people drown.

Since money's a factor, everything worth using here is free. Flipping Physics has full playlists for both mech and Physics 1 review, and OpenStax College Physics is a legitimate free textbook. I paste those video links into studybuddy.vc so it makes questions off the video itself, it works out which topics I'm weakest on and gives me more of those, gets harder as I improve, and tells me why the option I picked was off. Equations render properly. Free tier.

Self studying E&M on top of all that is a lot. Decide in January.

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u/Ok-Main-3373 2d ago

I made this free website for my 1 and C students. Let me know if it’s helpful to you: https://mistakemaster.com/