toroidal

Hey everyone! I'll be a junior next year, and I'll be taking AP Physics C Mechanics. Long story short, my school treats AP Physics C sort of oddly - it breaks it up into Mechanics as a one-year course and Electricity&Magnetism as another one-year course you'd take after Mechanics. Furthermore, I'm not even sure my school will offer E&M my senior year - it'll only do so if enough people are interested, which I'm not sure will happen.

I'm starting to try to determine what SAT Subject tests to take next year, and I'm not sure if it's possible to take SAT Physics and do well on it just from learning the stuff in AP Physics C Mechanics. Obviously, I can't just take the SAT subject tests at the end of my senior year - when I'd be done with E&M - due to college app deadlines, so I'm not really sure what to do. If necessary, I could self-study the necessary E&M concepts during junior year for the SAT Physics? Basically, what I'm asking is: is it possible to take the SAT Physics test with just the material learned in AP Physics C Mechanics, or do I need to self-study E&M for the test my junior year?

Thanks! :-)

DrGoogle

It depends on your teacher. My daughter teacher skipped several topics. In the end, she decided not to take it. You need to take the CB physics test to see how well your physics teacher covers the material.

FantasyVesperia

There's a sample quiz on the SAT Subject Test for Physics on Spark Notes, you can take that test and get a general idea what is on the test. Or you can simply ask your counselor when you're back in school.

mmprl1997

You can look on the SAT site where old AP test questions are listed. I had AP Physics C Mechanics in school this year and took the SAT subject exam without learning E&M. If I had thought about it sooner, I would have self-studied E&M. The year was too busy and it didn't occur to me. My school doesn't offer E&M.

rspence

You can take the SAT Physics test with just AP Physics C knowledge, however, getting an 800 is almost impossible unless you already know E/M. I know, because I took SAT Physics with only Physics C-Mechanics knowledge. Got a 740 on it, but it could've been an 800 if I self-studied some E/M...oh well.

I would suggest waiting until the end of junior year to take SAT Physics. If you really have to take that exam in the 1st semester, then you can also self-study E/M.

toroidal

Thanks everybody! I'll be sure to check what the College Board/SparkNotes/etc. has to say and do some practice tests to get a good idea of where I stand, both now and near Spring of next year. I'll probably end up self-studying the E&M portion and taking the subject test - I don't think it should be that bad, and if not, I've got like a year anyway :P Even with the self-studying, I'd still prefer Physics to Bio/Chem, but to each their own! Again, thanks a ton for all your advice!!!

whatsoutside

I took the Physics SAT Subject test just a few weeks ago, in addition to the AP Physics B exam and the AP Physics C: Mechanics exam (self studied) last month.

According to the college board, the subject test is 36-42% Mechanics. Not only does the subject test include E&M, but it also includes all of the topics of AP Physics B (thermo, optics, nuclear, waves, and some more modern physics); it even includes a couple topics not on AP Physics B, like special relativity, particle physics, and some contemporary physics (although very few of these questions).

You would pretty much have to be familiar with everything on AP Physics B to get an 800. The questions are not NEARLY as hard as AP Physics C multiple choice, and are generally easier than AP Physics B (at least for me).

So, it is manageable to prepare yourself for it, but definitely be aware that mechanics are not even half the test (even mechanics + E&M = less than 2/3 the test). The reason its manageable though is because the curve is very generous, and the questions are generally not very hard.

Sources: experience and the college board SAT subject test book

rematchnow

It's definitely possible: I am an incoming senior and I've only taken one physics class, AP Mech C (so I was in the exact same situation). Self-studied the other 58% of the test, came out with an 800 (got the score this morning!). There's a huge breadth of topics that the subject test covers, but it's certainly manageable. The questions are way easier than AP level too; there was no need to study the mechanics part at all, E+M is fun to learn, and waves are... well, there's up to 20% of the test on waves, so you gotta study it.

It's all about work ethic and planning out your studying/practice tests up til the date of the test. Since you seem to have a preference to physics, I feel you will be especially motivated to self-study.