Which one is easier?
Depends on what you like doing. Older son though Chem was easier, younger son thought Bio was easier. Bio covers a lot of material. It’s not hard, but it can be time consuming.
You are kidding with the question, right?
Some students find one easier while others find the opposite one easier.
My son can’t decide. He doesn’t like either but want to learn both without messing GPA
If he doesn’t like science, he really should just take one AP in the area he likes most and focus on other courses. There’s no need for a kid who isn’t so interested in science to double up on it.
Or don’t take AP science at all!
But this is the kid chasing the GPA, right?
If he is good with math and has taken some high level physics well then Chem would be easier. If he is not but is good with memorization than Bio.
At pre-AP level, my D found Bio much easier but Chem much more interesting. So she plans to take AP Chem instead of AP Bio next year. Either AP would be a lot of work. I would not waste the effort on the less interesting subject. Based on your description of your son on other threads, I guess he can ace either one of them.
My junior isn’t all that interested in science either. I think the main thing we considered was which science will be most useful to her.
I think the material covered in AP bio is of much more use and interest to a non-scientist citizen than AP chem. Everyone has to deal with health and medical issues, and many people are making personal or policy decisions related to biotechnologies–GMOs, reproductive technologies, etc.
Is this a student who has not taken physics yet? If so, perhaps he should take physics to complete the set of biology, chemistry, and physics.
Yes, he should. But he’s apparently more interested in getting a GPA .0001 higher than his “competitors” and to do that I imagine he needs to go into the AP classes. If I were the parent, I’d insist on prioritizing a sound education over this silly competition.
You see it here too–they aren’t asking which course will be of most use to the student considering his interests and career goals, but which course is the easier A to boost the GPA.
According to OP, he wants Val so he wants to take AP courses only and only those that he can ace.
Not entirely true, he can take easier AP like AP psychology or AP ES but he thought that as he isn’t sure about his major so he should take more advance courses in basic sciences to make up his mind. GPA conscious part is true.
He should base his choice on taking the subject he prefers, the teacher he prefers etc.
What pre-AP science courses has he taken? Both, neither or either of Bio and Chem? And what Physics did he take and is taking?
He does prefer AP classes as they have more serious students than non AP classes.
He took honors classes in Chem and Bio, doing Phyics by credit to take AP physics in senior year.
He should be really the one who can answer if he took both H Chem and Bio. But if he really really can’t choose, I recommend Chem because
- If he can pre-AP Physics math then he can do Chem math.
- AP Bio will probably more time consuming for him and he doesn't have a lot of extra time while taking all or nearly all AP courses during Junior year.
- Chem has more synergy with AP Physics - some wave, etc. and using algebra for science, etc.
- College level Chem is major prereq. for more science fields including Bio majors, while college level Bio is major prereq only for Bio majors.
He’s starting his junior year, right? What SAT Subject Tests is he planning to take? Is he planning to apply to any programs that require specific tests (some engineering programs require math and a science or math and a physical science – which means chemistry or physics).
If he needs to take an SAT Subject Test in a physical science, AP Chemistry would be the better choice because it would give him a second year’s worth of exposure to chemistry. That’s good preparation for the chemistry Subject Test.
If none of the programs he’s applying to has that requirement, I see no reason to prefer one course over the other.
One other thought. Who has better teachers? Both our AP Bio teachers were great, but we had some lousy Chem teachers. Since this kid isn’t interested in engineering, I don’t think he will need an SAT subject test in a physical science. I know AP Bio is good prep for a subject test, don’t know about Chem as neither kid took it.
That’s another dilemma, one teacher can teach well but known for grading harshly while other is very average but a good grader.