| Chapter II Course Introduction There are two levels of AP Physics: AP Physics B, which is a noncalculus-based survey course that includes topics in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, fluid mechanics, thermal physics, waves and optics, and atomic and nuclear physics; and AP Physics C, which is calculus-based and includes topics in mechanics and electricity and magnetism. These topics correspond to the topics included in the college courses they are designed to emulate as based on regularly taken surveys. The B level, using algebra and trigonomesry, corresponds to the college courses typically taken by biology, premedicine, biochemistry, and other life-science majors. There is one exam for this level consist- ing of a 90-minuze multiple-choice section and a 90-minute free-response section. Because this course includes all the major introductory topics in physics, a passing score on this exam may satisfy college course requirements structured in a variety of ways. AP Physics C includes far fewer topics, which are explored ata greater depth, This is the level for students who plan to major in engineering, chemistry, and physics. Colleges may include some thermodynamics, and/or waves, and/or fluids in the semester with mechanics; they may include those and/or other topics with electricity and magnetism. Quarter systems would have other ways to present and organize the topics. However, in general, mechanics dominates one quarter and/or semester and electricity and magnetism another. Thus at the C level chere are two separate exams — one for mechanics and one for electricity and magnetism. Each exam has 45 inutes of muleiple-choice questions and 45 minutes of free-response questions. A student can take either or both parts of the exam for a single fee. Colleges understand this and can give placement accordingly. ‘The College Board publishes the AP Physics Course Description, which describes the courses completely and explains the goals, the topics included, and the types of problems on the exams. Everyone teaching ther course should be completely familiar with the current edition of this biennially updated booklet. Ie is invaluable. In the Course Description booklet, there is an outline of topics which is intended to be a guide for teachers structuring their courses and for students preparing to take one of the AP Physics Exams. The introduction co the outline emphasizes that i is not intended to be prescriptive; the outline indicates the percentage of the exam devoted to major topics and is illustrative of topics that might appear in any one edition of the exam. However, itis not meant to indicate how much of your course should be devoted to any topic. Also, not all of the subtopics will necessarily be included in every exam, just as they are not necessarily included in every AP or college course. 11Starting the Course Starting any course takes serious consideration, and an AP Physics course is no exception. You already are approaching it responsibly by reading this Guide. You should also read the current edition of the AP Physies Course Description. Another valuable and necessary preliminary step would be to attend an. AP workshop. If you are not receiving information abouc their times and locations, go to AP Central ig your College Board regional effice. You will also find information in the AP pages about how to join the online (wow collegeboard.com/apcentral) for a searchable listing and for information about conta AP Physics discussion group. You might want to consullt with experienced AP Physics teachers. Important steps to take are approaching department heads and/or administration about initiating an AP physics course, making sure you know the material, and choosing an appropriate textbook. There are other considerations as well for making this decision. The first decision is “to B or not to B,” and/or C. That is, you must decide whether to teach AP Physics B, AP Physics C, or both. The optimum, of course, is to offer both. Prudence dictates starting them one ata time. Itis probably easier to start with Physics B. In fact, you may be able to use the same text you are currently using for a gular physics class, if is comparable ro a college-level introductory physics text. You would probably cover more chapters than a regular physics class would be expected to tackle, and the level of sophistication and the cypes of problems would probably increase in the depth and breadth of concepts involved. That, of course, depends on the intensity of your present physics course. If your school does not have any physics courses, you should establish a high school-level course first. ‘After you decide whether to stare an AP Physics B or AP Physi whether ic should be caught as a student's first physics course, or whether another physics course needs to be taken as a prerequisite. There are many reasons to have your AP Physics course be a second-year course C course, the next major decision is ‘* AP courses are college-level courses which assume shat the students therein have had a high school physics course. There is coo much information to be aught well in one year. + We, at least in American education, tend to postpone physics concepts until late in high school, and the concepts need time to germinate, One year is not enough for most students, because there's just too much information © Over a two-year period, you will be able to do the types of labs good physics learning incorporates and still cover the many concepts included on the AP Exams. This is a near ity in one year. impos ‘+ Ifyou attempr ro teach an AP Physics C course as a first-year course, you have the added negativeof severely limiting the physics topics covered-— topics in nuclear physics, thermodynamics, or waves and optics won't be introduced. For that reason, many experienced physics teachers believe a person’s first physics course should be an overview, otherwise, the students may not even realize how broad a field physics is. ‘Therefore, the AP Program suggests, strongly recommends, emphatically advises, adamantly urges, and endorses the idea that you teach AP Physics as a second-year course. “Another consideration in your decision is the amount of class time your school will agree to allot for the course. Can one of two extra periods be scheduled for lab time? IF block scheduling is used, can some- thing creative be done to allow the course to extend over the full year, so students have time to lee the concepts “sink in?” Or will you have to cover everything in one semester? The less class time you have for your AP Physics course, the more difficult ic will be for students to succeed in it as their first physics course. If you decide to teach AP Physics as a second-year course, you may want to decide how much previous physics students need to have had, particularly for transfer students and in locations where students may take courses ata local college during high school. ill i be one year of high school physics or one semester ‘two quarters of college physics? Would a very low-level year in the eighth grade suffice? This would probably be a consideration for students coming from other countries. I find vagueness in the course description the best route, making decisions on a case-by-case basis. ‘Ac this point I need to state the obvious: if students are requited to have taken a physics course, physics must be taught to sophomores and juniors and not exclusively to seniors. This may take some years of readjustment, depending on the present grade level of the students in your current physics courses. This, then, becomes your frst major hurdle, Ie is noc uncommon for AP Physics B to be offered as a first-year course and Cas a second-year course. ill requires a shift away from only seniors taking physics. Talk to whomever does the studene scheduling to make sure they understand that students of any grade with the appropriate math are welcome in physics. It may also pay to talk to science and mach classes in the lower grades, and pethaps have a flyer or paragraph to send to parents and include in appropriate communications your school may already have in place. The point of this is to encourage sophomores and juniors to take physics. If you have any paucity of ideas as to whae the benefits of taking AP Physics in high school might be, may I put in my completely unbiased thoughts on the matter? For future engineering students, the added insight into a field that they will need to understand well is clear. I am absolutely convinced that for biology majors, che benefits are even greater. Ask any doctor, ot biology major, or anyone who had to take