What are the Best Resources for Studying AP Physics B and C?

[sr6622]

Anybody know any good books for AP Physics B and AP Physics C. Also, does anyone know of any good books for the Physics Olympiad? Thanks.

 

[zwtipp05]

Are you taking both physics B and C?

 

[Knavish]

Princeton Review's is by far the best. Believe me. I just got out of high school.

 

[leon1127]

I passed Phy C-mechanic and Phy B this year without any helps from teacher
i used Introduction to Classical Mechanics (Hardcover) by Atam P. Arya for Physics C- mechanic, but it uses vector operator, reqiured Cal 3 (luck i understood the math)
for B and C, uses physics for sciecnce and engineering (or physics for scienctist and engineer, i forgot which one i used...)
even though phy b isn't calculus based, but you better understand the calculus behind that...
good luck with AP phy!





(i look for it for an hour!)

 

[sr6622]

Wait, so the Physics for scientists and engineers covers B topics and C topics?

Also...Any good prep books for AP Calc BC (I want to self-study and I will be in AB this year as a junior)?

 

[Knavish]

Again, go with PR. There are only a few exceptions during which PR's AP books aren't the best.

--the book is for both AP Calc. AB & BC. I read it in about a month during the summer and slept through class. Ended up acing the test.

 

[Knavish]

If you do end up self-studying BC, take the BC test. Don't waste your money on the AB test, which almost all of your class with probably take. The BC test has an AB subscore in it anyway.

 

[quasi426]

Princeton Review is the best AP prep book for physics. It instructs on both physics B and C. However if you are going to self study and simply review, then a text would be appropriate for the bulk of your study time and then use the princeton review the last couple months before the AP exam. That's what I would do.

 

[leon1127]

dude, i self-study phy B&C, and cal BC last year... I would know what you need.
Those princeton reviews are USEFUL when you don't understand the textbook. But rememeber only use it as refence
for calculus, uses calculus by Larson Hostetler Edward. this books covers upto cal 3. Except it doesn't cover euler method and field. (my edition is old tho)

for physics, i already suggested. i don't know lucky or not, but on the phy-c last test this year, 2 out of 3 free respones already discussed in The Introduction of Classical Mechanic. i haven't seen any book with such mathematical explanation! (no word explanation tho)

 

[quasi426]

If all you want to do is pass the AP physics exam and not learn all the physics you can and should, then maybe just use the review books like the Princeton Review. However if you don't want to rob yourself the oppurtunity to learn as much as possible, I would recommend a text like Resnick, Walker. And then review the last couple of months using the Princeton Review Prep.

 

[Brad Barker]

Wait, so the Physics for scientists and engineers covers B topics and C topics?

Also...Any good prep books for AP Calc BC (I want to self-study and I will be in AB this year as a junior)?

yeah, physics for scientists and engineers by serway (and the second other is faughn, i think) is really good.

the material in both classes is the same, except C uses calc whereas B does not, and B goes into thermal and modern physics, whereas C has two separate subject tests, one each for mechanics and electricity and magnetism.

i also recommend "physics" by halliday, resnick, and krane. "fundamentals of physics" by halliday, resnick, and walker is usable, but i prefer krane to walker.

 

[Brad Barker]

Wait, so the Physics for scientists and engineers covers B topics and C topics?

Also...Any good prep books for AP Calc BC (I want to self-study and I will be in AB this year as a junior)?

the textbook used at my school, university of florida, is called "calculus: early transcendentals." it's really good, i think.

there's another book out there that i used for high school that was more or less the same textbook. think it was just called "calculus." don't know who the author was. i do remember it had a strange looking mobius-strip looking twisty dealy on the cover that was blue and had ripples like water.

what that had to do with calculus... i am still at a loss.

 

[sr6622]

Thanks guys...and no I don't just want to learn it to pass AP tests. I earnestly love learning about physics because it is so logical and seems applicable to real life.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[vsage]

Spark Notes puts out a book covering the SAT II Physics, which is essentially Physics B. I highly recommend the book, because I went from little knowledge of physics (especially E&M) to getting around a 780 on the exam with around 2 days of studying the book. Of course, that's if you only want to pass some tests.

 

[zwtipp05]

I'd highly recommend buying a book specifically about the AP test(s) you are taking. I got some from the library and that worked just as well.
However, my suggestion is not to buy just any book. For the SAT, I bought two books from Sparknotes, one for verbal and one for math. I was looking through the math one, grading a practice test and one answer it showed B as the answer and proceeded to explain why A was the correct answer. This combined with some other problems on which I swore I was right and could not come up with the same answer as them made me not trust the quality of the books. From then on, as much as possible I try to use collegeboard materials when preparing for any of the SAT or AP tests. You get real questions from previous actual tests and you don't have to worry about quality. I would highly recommend getting a book about AP rather than SAT II because AP is a different (and much larger) monster than the SAT II.

 

[leon1127]

I'd highly recommend buying a book specifically about the AP test(s) you are taking. I got some from the library and that worked just as well.
However, my suggestion is not to buy just any book. For the SAT, I bought two books from Sparknotes, one for verbal and one for math. I was looking through the math one, grading a practice test and one answer it showed B as the answer and proceeded to explain why A was the correct answer. This combined with some other problems on which I swore I was right and could not come up with the same answer as them made me not trust the quality of the books. From then on, as much as possible I try to use collegeboard materials when preparing for any of the SAT or AP tests. You get real questions from previous actual tests and you don't have to worry about quality. I would highly recommend getting a book about AP rather than SAT II because AP is a different (and much larger) monster than the SAT II.

AP is really pain in butt... i didnt study for SAT2 and i made 790 on that subject (the name of that subject is sercet, lol). For SAT2... all you need to know is the structure and behavior of the problems in order to do good on it, its like solving a series. But for AP, you have to understand the meaning behind every topic. Doing AP cal BC exam was pain in my @$$ even though i understood most cal 3 stuff... the reason part was the hardest one, SAT2 can't be use to compare since it has only MC partion.