On August 28th, the class of 2025 found yet another AP on their schedule for the year – AP Physics 1. Carnegie has now returned to its former requirement of AP Physics 1 as a mandated science course for juniors. Along with this class, AP-Precalculus has made its way to becoming a newly designed AP course for students.
CVHS Upstream News conducted a poll to determine the opinions of students in the junior class of CVHS, and over 50% of the 42 surveyed students claimed they did not like AP Physics.
Carnegie has lived up to a reputation of being an academically challenging environment, with over 42% of students in AP Physics 1 taking the maximum number of APs – 7.
AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based course and is meant to apply previous math concepts, into a science-based environment.
Maisha Turner, one of the two AP Physics teachers, believes that physics provides value for students, even outside the classroom.
“So often, you sit in math class, and you think it’s just equations and graphs,” Turner said, “But [Physics] problems are trying to show you how this is really applicable outside of just the numbers and the equations.”
Jonathan Lowe, the other AP Physics 1 and Physics C electricity and magnetism teacher, also emphasizes the importance of non-stem applications, especially in everyday applications. “The marriage I make a lot [in my physics classes] is science and economics. And so if I can bring that math together and show people how miles per gallon is related to energy [for example] and how that can relate to savings in your pocketbook, could be of help.”
Along with Physics being an extension of an applied math course, it also covers the basics of motion and is the prerequisite for the AP Physics C courses. The AP Physics 1 curriculum is shorter than it’s ever been, as the removal of the study of Fluids has made the course the shortest so far.
Junior Devan Chadha, a student in AP Physics 1, believes that the study of Physics requires a deeper level of understanding than the pace of the content so far.
“I think having more time to look at AP Physics multiple choice questions and [such] would be more helpful on the test and the AP exam,” he said.
The survey results also matched the idea of AP physics being a challenging class so far, with over 80% of respondents considering it not easy.
Yet when students were asked if they would rather have the option of a pre-ap or AP Physics 1 course, there was a close tie, with a 5% difference in opinion.
The future for the AP Physics 1 class of 2025 has yet to unfold. However, Turner believes that students who see physics as an intimidating subject, they just have to “come on in and see it for themselves.”
