Ap Bio or Chem High School Class Registration
Hi basilers,
In school, we have just gotten our registration forms for classes next year. However, I am stuck on deciding which science AP to take. First of all, I am a Sophomore in Biology (Non-honors) right now, but I am supposed to be in honors (stuck in non-honors science class since freshmen year). I looking to take either AP Bio or AP Chem my Junior year. My ultimate goal is to take AP Physics my senior year. Taking non-honors chemistry next year is an option for me in order to get to AP Physics, since I can go from chemistry to physics, but not AP Bio to AP Physics. This option will not interest many colleges since AP looks a lot better than a regular class. If I jump from non-honors Biology straight to AP Chem, do you guys think that I will really struggle the following year? Some students in our school say that a little bit of chemistry is integrated into the AP Bio lessons, meaning that I will need to catch up a lot. Also, the AP Chem class in our school is pretty tough (I've heard people have gotten C's).
18 Comments • Newest first
I'm in college and there is no chemistry in the biology we are taking. Sure they mention compounds and how some organisms uses it, recycle it .. etc, but you won't be needing any chemistry teaching. You can view the chemistry part as a biology and memroize it.
Dude, if you have never taken regular Chemistry DON'T TAKE AP CHEM!
Most people HATE that crap, and if you have the class for a whole year and hate it, life will freakin' suck for you.
AP Bio is just a lot of reading and categorical memorization of terms. Take that, unless you want to be a doctor or some crap like that.
[quote=maplerescue]@QuickiPanda: Not absolutely positive, but I don't think Biology will help you all that much with Chemistry. Chemistry has more of a math background and you'll be dealing with chemical equations that Biology doesn't really touch. Biology will have more logical information about the body and environmental systems that's more memorization than anything else.
So basically if you're good at math and problem solving, take Chemistry. I noticed that a lot of the juniors who took Chemistry took AP Calculus AB or BC rather than Statistics for their senior year. Otherwise, take Biology.[/quote]
Thanks for the advice! I think I well take AP Chem, no matter how many people think that I will die. Math is the stronger subject for me!
@QuickiPanda: Not absolutely positive, but I don't think Biology will help you all that much with Chemistry. Chemistry has more of a math background and you'll be dealing with chemical equations that Biology doesn't really touch. Biology will have more logical information about the body and environmental systems that's more memorization than anything else.
So basically if you're good at math and problem solving, take Chemistry. I noticed that a lot of the juniors who took Chemistry took AP Calculus AB or BC rather than Statistics for their senior year. Otherwise, take Biology.
[quote=maplerescue]I'm basing this off my school, but if you go into AP Chemistry without a chemistry class before, you will cry. A regular/Pre-AP Chemistry is required before taking AP Chemistry and people still cry. I don't know about your school but AP Chemistry and both AP Physics classes are considered one of the hardest here...
I've also heard that any Biology is practically useless for AP Chemistry.
The breakdown here is usually:
Biology > Chemistry > AP Chemistry > Pre-AP Physics
or
Biology > Chemistry > Physics > AP Biology or AP Physics B/C or AP Environmental Science[/quote]
In our school, you do not need to. However, almost all the people who take AP Bio jump straight into AP Chem without taking chemistry before. This somewhat leads to my main question of do i need to take AP Bio in order to take AP Chem or are they totally different and will it help me?
You can take AP Chem without taking another Chem class before that?
Good luck. That's all I have to say.
Take AP Chem and AP Physics.
College Biology is awful, but you can get through it. College Chemistry and Physics however, is 9001x worse. Especially if you don't enjoy either of those subjects.
in my high school you have to go bio/bio acc > chem/chem honors > chem ap/physics/physics ap/enviromental science ap lol. we have no ap bio
I'm basing this off my school, but if you go into AP Chemistry without a chemistry class before, you will cry. A regular/Pre-AP Chemistry is required before taking AP Chemistry and people still cry. I don't know about your school but AP Chemistry and both AP Physics classes are considered one of the hardest here...
I've also heard that any Biology is practically useless for AP Chemistry.
The breakdown here is usually:
Biology > Chemistry > AP Chemistry > Pre-AP Physics
or
Biology > Chemistry > Physics > AP Biology or AP Physics B/C or AP Environmental Science
@QuickiPanda: I think it's the other way around to be honest. Quite a lot of Chemistry involved in AP Biology. (Teacher should probably give you a crash course of basic chemistry concepts). There are topics/ideas that are most definitely intertwined in both subjects. (Enzymes, Catalysts, etc) I think AP Bio is understanding how it works and all the mechanics and in AP Chemistry you put it into application with monotonous labs.
[quote=5outof5]I'm taking both right now. AP Bio is just sheer memorization. AP Chem on the other hand is some conceptualization and some memorization. Both courses are extremely easy if you're good at memorizing. Concepts can be learned through practice.[/quote]
wait but do you think AP Chem requires some knowledge from AP Bio?
[quote=BoogerX]AP classes are supposed to be rlly easy, just join get a good mark.[/quote]
Wat, they're meant to be harder...
ap bio was easier for me, but it's cause i didn't study for chem. i put my head down and literally slept through the exam. there was a girl behind me who sounded really sick and kept sneezing/blowing her nose/loud mouth-breathing.
college students seem to struggle more with college level chem than college level bio. if you intend to be any kind of science major, having the chem experience will be much more valuable.
If you want to be bored out of your mind AP Bio, if you want to get butt f**ked everyday, AP Chem
@setget
yeah bro, my AP Bio teacher was also my Bio Honors teacher from before and she was pretty cool. It really depends on the teacher. AP Bio was one of the "easy AP" in my school with AP psych and AP stats. I did get a 5 on the exam. Chem and Physics were killer. Especially Physics, I really dislike my teacher but I've taken 2 of his classes LOL
I'm taking both right now. AP Bio is just sheer memorization. AP Chem on the other hand is some conceptualization and some memorization. Both courses are extremely easy if you're good at memorizing. Concepts can be learned through practice.
AP Bio is much easier. AP Chem is very hard.
Why not take both? I'm in AP bio, marine biology, and forensics as my science classes. Just sacrifice an elective. You should have P.E. , health, and foreign language out of the way.
@dopeazn: I guess it depends on the school you go to, I've heard AP bio is wayyyy harder than AP chem