9th Grade Physics: Which Course It Is and the Math It Uses
"9th grade physics" is one of three courses, and your school's course catalog says which. In the six district catalogs read here, where a 9th grader can take physics at all, it is an introductory course at Algebra 1 level.
"9th grade physics" is one of three courses, and your school's course catalog says which. In the six district catalogs read here, where a 9th grader can take physics at all, it is an introductory course at Algebra 1 level. Fairfax County's Active Physics is "for students who have not yet passed Algebra 1." Tenafly's 9th-grade Physical Science is "an introductory physics and chemistry course." Regular Physics asks for Geometry or Algebra 2, and where a catalog prints a grade it is a 10th or 11th grade course. AP Physics 1 asks for Geometry done and Algebra 2 alongside. The College Board's line is "You should have completed a geometry course and be concurrently taking Algebra II or an equivalent course," and these catalogs offer it from 10th grade (Tenafly, Fort Lee, Bellevue) or 11th (Gunn High School in Palo Alto, Fairfax County).
A child who does math well has the one thing nearly every physics prerequisite in these catalogs names. What the catalog adds is which math, and in which grade.
What each catalog gives a 9th grader
| District | Science a 9th grader takes | Physics courses and grades | Math the catalog names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax County, VA | Biology 1, Earth Science, Active Physics or Environmental Science, among others | Active Physics 9-10; Physics 1 11-12; AP Physics 1 11-12 | Active Physics: "have not yet passed Algebra 1"; Physics 1: Geometry; AP Physics 1: Algebra 2 corequisite |
| Tenafly, NJ | Physical Science, CP (college prep) or Honors (physics and chemistry) | Physics CP 10-12; AP Physics 1 10-12 | Honors: A- in Algebra 1; Physics CP: B- in Algebra 2/Trig, concurrent allowed; AP Physics 1: A- in Algebra 2/Trig CP |
| Fort Lee, NJ | Biology or Environmental Science | Physics 11-12; AP Physics 10-12 | Physics: Chemistry and Algebra II; AP Physics: Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus concurrently |
| Palo Alto (Gunn High School), CA | Biology | Physics 10-12; Conceptual Physics 10-12; AP Physics 1 11-12 | Physics: strong introductory algebra, Geometry concurrently; AP Physics 1: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry |
| Bellevue, WA | Biology | AP Physics 1 10-12 | Chemistry; "Algebra 2 recommended" |
| Montgomery County, MD | Not printed on the course pages | Physics A/B and Honors Physics A/B, two-semester courses (no grade printed) | "Corequisite: Geometry A/B" |
Irvine High School's course of study lists Physics in the Universe beside Living Earth and Chemistry of the Earth, with "a strong emphasis on having students demonstrate mathematical and conceptual understanding," and prints no prerequisite or grade for it. Gwinnett County's high school sequence is "Biology, Chemistry, Physics." Texas writes the rule at the state level: Physics has a "Recommended prerequisite or corequisite: Algebra I" for grades 9-12, and AP Physics 1 has Algebra I and Geometry. Plano and Frisco, in Texas, follow that state rule.
The math each physics course uses
The College Board names it in one sentence per AP course. For AP Physics 1, a geometry course completed and Algebra II alongside. For AP Physics 2, AP Physics 1 or a comparable introductory course first, and precalculus taken or in progress. For AP Physics C: Mechanics, the line is "You should have taken calculus or be taking calculus at the same time as this course." For AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, a calculus-based mechanics course first, and calculus taken or in progress.
Tenafly's AP Physics 1 entry adds: "A thorough knowledge of algebra and basic trigonometry is essential for this course." Fairfax County's AP Physics 1 line names Biology 1 and Chemistry 1, with Algebra 2 as a corequisite. The math track a 9th grader arrives on, Algebra 1 in 8th grade or in 9th, is on our Algebra 1 in 8th grade page.
How to find your school's course
- Open the district's high school catalog. Its name varies: Program of Studies (Tenafly, Fort Lee), a separate 9th Grade catalog (Fairfax County), Course of Study (Irvine High), Course Bulletin (Montgomery County).
- On the Science pages, read the grade line under each physics course: "Grade 9," "Grades 10-12" or "Grades 11-12." If no physics course prints "Grade 9," the school does not offer 9th grade physics, and the question becomes which science comes first.
- Read the line that starts "Prerequisite" (done before the course) or "Corequisite" (taken in the same year), and look for "concurrent," which also means the same year. That line names the math.
- The names that mean an introductory physics course: Physical Science, Conceptual Physics, Active Physics, Physics in the Universe. Physics 1, Physics Honors and AP Physics 1 are the later courses.
Our page on reading a district's rules uses the same method for math placement.
Good at math, so is physics different?
The catalogs do not say physics needs a different kind of head. They name three things. The math: Tenafly writes that Chemistry and Physics "rely heavily upon students’ math ability." Fort Lee writes that science courses that "integrate mathematics on a regular basis have math pre-requisites and/or co-requisites." The lab work: Fairfax County's Physics 1 is "laboratory-centered," and Irvine's Physics in the Universe wants understanding shown "through problem solving, laboratory investigations and projects." The hours: Gunn's physics table sets "1-2 hours uninterrupted time per week" of homework for Physics and "3-5 hours uninterrupted time per week" for AP Physics 1.
So the question for a 9th grader is which course it is, and whether the child has the math that course's prerequisite names.
Where Cuemath fits
Cuemath is live, one-on-one online math tutoring for grades K through 12. Its free evaluation is a 55-minute skills-and-gaps check run by a specialist, with a written report and a learning plan. If the catalog's line names a math course your child has not finished yet, Algebra 2 for AP Physics 1 for example, the evaluation shows where your child stands in it before the physics course starts.
See where your child stands before physics
A free Cuemath MathFit evaluation, our skills-and-gaps check, is a live, one-on-one session that shows where your child is solid and where a gap sits, in your child's own work. No credit card, and the report is yours either way.
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FAQs
Which course is "9th grade physics" at my child's school?
The one the catalog lists for grade 9, and in the catalogs read here that is an introductory course: Active Physics in Fairfax County (grades 9-10) and Physical Science in Tenafly (grade 9). Physics 1, Physics Honors and AP Physics 1 start in 10th grade at the earliest in these districts.
Can a 9th grader take AP Physics 1?
Not in the five catalogs that print a grade for it. Tenafly, Fort Lee and Bellevue offer it from 10th grade; Gunn and Fairfax County from 11th. Montgomery County's physics pages read here (Physics A/B, Honors Physics A/B) print no grade; its AP Physics 1 entry was not read. The College Board sets no grade, only the math: "a geometry course" completed and "Algebra II" alongside.
What are Physics 1, 2 and C?
The College Board's AP physics courses, told apart by their math: AP Physics 1 (geometry done, Algebra 2 alongside), AP Physics 2 (AP Physics 1 first, precalculus taken or alongside), AP Physics C: Mechanics (calculus taken or alongside) and AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (a calculus-based mechanics course first). A school's own "Physics 1" or "Physics Honors" is a non-AP course.
My child took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and is in Geometry now. Does that change the physics course?
It meets the math requirement, not the grade requirement. Geometry alongside is what Montgomery County's Physics A/B and Gunn's Physics ask for, and Fairfax County's Physics 1 asks for Geometry done; but Fairfax County lists Physics 1 for grades 11 and 12, and Gunn for grades 10 to 12. Ask the counselor whether the grade requirement can move; the catalog does not say it can.
Is physics harder than math?
No catalog read here ranks them. What they print is the math a physics course uses, the lab work and the homework hours: Tenafly says physics relies "heavily upon students’ math ability," and Gunn sets 1-2 hours a week for Physics and 3-5 for AP Physics 1.
What is "physics first"?
A science order that puts a physics course before biology and chemistry. In these catalogs it looks like Tenafly's grade 9 Physical Science, "an introductory physics and chemistry course" before Biology in grade 10, and Fairfax County's Active Physics for grades 9 and 10. Fort Lee, Gunn and Bellevue put Biology in 9th grade.
