Which AP Science course should I take next year?

Test Preparation AP Sciences
1

I’m a high school sophomore and I’m currently planning my schedule for junior year. While science is not my strong suit, I want to take an AP course. My best subjects are history, math, and Spanish. Just for reference, I will also be taking APUSH and AP Lang.

The options are: AP chem, AP bio, AP environmental, or AP physics?

My yearly grade for freshman honors biology was a 91. My current yearly grade for honors chemistry is a 94 and my algebra II honors grade is a 97. In general, I like chemistry a lot more than I liked biology.

Likes:
Stoichiometry
Reactions
Electron configuration
Chemical vs physical changes/properties
Algebra based math
Biodiversity
Classification
Punnett squares
Evolution
Ecology
Genetics

Dislikes:
Macromolecules
Diffusion and osmosis
Cell organelles
Geometry based math
Cellular respiration/photosynthesis
Nomenclature
States of matter
Accuracy/precision
Sig figs

I hope this was enough information!

2

Are you interested in being a pre-med in college? If so, some schools/programs require all bio/chem/physics courses. Take whatever that will fit your schedule easily! Junior year will get stressful so don’t bombard your schedule with AP courses and SAT/SAT 2’s/ECs. AP Chem generally takes the most time (at least for me) to study.

3

AP Enviro or Bio
AP Chem is the hardest class my kids took. And one has a PhD in Chem from Stanford.

4

@ambitiousgeek I don’t plan on pursuing anything that involves a lot of traditional science! I want to become a lawyer or do something government related, so I’ll probably major in political science.

5

If you like Chem, take Chem!

6

my algebra II honors grade is a 97
Reading your list, you might like physics. So take physics which you might like or chemistry which you say you do like.

I’m assuming your are considering AP Physics 1, not “C”. (C is calculus based.) AP Physics 1 will have the “SOH, CAH, TOA” part of trig, and you’ll need to use pythagorean theorem. You’ll need to be patient and solve 2 equations with 2 unknowns pretty often.

Accuracy and Precision should not heavily emphasized in AP Physics 1. There’s a bit relative to understanding scatter in an experiment, but really… not so much.

Sig figs! Definitely not much time on that in AP Physics 1. Grading on those tests tends to be "Keep enough to do the calculation, write down 2 or 3 significant figures. Do not write down ridiculous answers like F=3.456781212 N just because that’s what your calculator shows.

If you want to start prepping for the LSAT think about doing “logic” type mind puzzles.
https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/lsat-test-structure-content.aspx#/sweeps-modal
It’s early days, but there are various “game” sorts of things you can do to start helping yourself out. (Boolean logic can be useful but generally not covered in highschool.)

7

Take apes. It’s relatively easy at most schools, but it still looks rigorous. It’ll make balancing your other classes a little easier, especially if you’ve never taken an ap before.