Freshmen>>AP>>Physics

Advanced Placement for Physics

Credit will be granted to students who achieve a score of 5 on the appropriate Advanced Placement (A.P.) exam. Students may also receive credit based on their performance on the A-level, International Baccalaureate or other centrally administered examinations; such students should consult the department or the Office of Transfer Credit and Advanced Placement for details.

Students who wish to receive credit for prior lab experience must submit their lab reports and lab manual to the undergraduate chair. Students who do so should recognize that most high school physics courses and many courses offered at other universities do not provide a laboratory experience equivalent to that offered by a Penn course. In general, the evaluation of laboratory work performed at another institution will be based on the number of experiments performed, the perceived difficulty of each experiment, the level of analysis required (including graphical presentation of data and error analysis), and the choice and spread of topics. Students with A.P. credit who need to satisfy the lab requirements will be allowed to register for PHYS 011, 012, 050 or 051 to receive lab credit.

Note: A student who takes PHYS 101/102, 150/151 or 170/171at Penn will lose the physics A.P. credit.