<p>NYMomof2: AP Physics B does not require concurrent or previous calculus, but AP Physics C requires at least concurrent enrollment in Calc (preferably BC). Prior to the year my son took Physics C, the teacher would not accept any students who had not already completed calc. He changed his mind when the calc teacher agreed to rearrange some of the material in Calc BC to ensure the physics class did not get ahead of the calculus instruction. Evidently it worked fine, as most of the students did very well on the AP Physics exam.</p>
<p>9th grade physics: My daughter was in the guinea pig group in our school district for this idea, last year. It did not go well, perhaps because only three teachers in the entire district had been trained, and her teacher was not one of them. A bigger problem, one that will not be repaired by hauling the rest of the teachers in over the summer for training, is that the math level of the students ranged anywhere from pre-algebra to pre-calculus. Of course, the instruction was geared to those at the lowest math level. I think basic physics concepts can be covered in a non-mathematical fashion if the teacher understands physics well enough. My son, who attended a small independent school for the middle/junior high years, had such a course in 7th grade and it was a wonderful experience; however, his teacher had a PhD in another natural science and was generally well-educated in the sciences. That is not the case for many 9th grade science teachers. </p>
<p>The worse part about the rearranged curriculum is that many students will never take a real hs physics course now, because after all, they already had “physics” in 9th grade, and they hated it because it moved so slowly and was taught by a general “junior high science teacher” rather than a physics teacher. </p>
<p>I also think the notion that one cannot learn basic biological concepts and facts without a prior physics course is silly. I’d be more willing to buy the argument that prior exposure to physics would make the first part of a general chemistry course less mysterious.</p>