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Physics 1

AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based

Mechanics and fluids with algebra and trig, practiced the way the exam scores it: derivations, graphs, diagrams, and written reasoning.

Category
Sciences
Units
8 units
Exam
Exam May 5, 2027 (in 220 days)
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Unit 1 is free with an account. No card, no trial clock.

What the course covers

A first college semester of algebra-based physics in eight units: kinematics, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, oscillations, and fluids. The exam rewards reasoning far more than plugging in, so every unit trains the moves AP readers actually score: deriving an expression from a fundamental principle, predicting how a quantity changes when another is doubled or halved, drawing free-body diagrams, energy bar charts, and graphs that agree with each other, designing a one-variable experiment and linearizing its data, and justifying a claim in words that go beyond the equation. The exam is 42 four-choice multiple-choice questions and 4 free-response questions (Mathematical Routines, Translation Between Representations, Experimental Design and Analysis, Qualitative/Quantitative Translation), with a calculator and the equation sheet available throughout.

8 units, with exam weights

  1. Unit 1

    Kinematics

    10-15% of examFree
    Describing motion without asking what causes it: scalars and vectors, displacement, velocity, and acceleration, the constant-acceleration equations, motion graphs and their slopes and areas, relative motion along a line, and projectile motion by components.
    5 topics
    1. 1.1Scalars and Vectors in One Dimension
    2. 1.2Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration
    3. 1.3Representing Motion
    4. 1.4Reference Frames and Relative Motion
    5. 1.5Vectors and Motion in Two Dimensions

  2. Unit 2

    Force and Translational Dynamics

    18-23% of exam
    Why motion changes: systems and center of mass, forces as interactions, free-body diagrams, Newton's three laws, gravitation and apparent weight, friction, springs, and circular motion including circular orbits.
    9 topics
    1. 2.1Systems and Center of Mass
    2. 2.2Forces and Free-Body Diagrams
    3. 2.3Newton's Third Law
    4. 2.4Newton's First Law
    5. 2.5Newton's Second Law
    6. 2.6Gravitational Force
    7. 2.7Kinetic and Static Friction
    8. 2.8Spring Forces
    9. 2.9Circular Motion

  3. Unit 3

    Work, Energy, and Power

    18-23% of exam
    Energy as the course's first conservation law: kinetic energy, work and the work-energy theorem, potential energy of systems, conservation of mechanical energy with a carefully chosen system, energy bar charts, and power.
    5 topics
    1. 3.1Translational Kinetic Energy
    2. 3.2Work
    3. 3.3Potential Energy
    4. 3.4Conservation of Energy
    5. 3.5Power

  4. Unit 4

    Linear Momentum

    10-15% of exam
    The second conservation law: momentum, impulse and the impulse-momentum theorem, force-time and momentum-time graphs, conservation of momentum in collisions and explosions, center-of-mass velocity, and elastic versus inelastic collisions.
    4 topics
    1. 4.1Linear Momentum
    2. 4.2Change in Momentum and Impulse
    3. 4.3Conservation of Linear Momentum
    4. 4.4Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

  5. Unit 5

    Torque and Rotational Dynamics

    10-15% of exam
    Rotation as the analog of translation: angular kinematics, the link between linear and angular quantities, torque and lever arms, rotational inertia and the parallel axis theorem, rotational equilibrium, and Newton's second law in rotational form.
    6 topics
    1. 5.1Rotational Kinematics
    2. 5.2Connecting Linear and Rotational Motion
    3. 5.3Torque
    4. 5.4Rotational Inertia
    5. 5.5Rotational Equilibrium and Newton's First Law in Rotational Form
    6. 5.6Newton's Second Law in Rotational Form

  6. Unit 6

    Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems

    5-8% of exam
    Energy and momentum for rotation: rotational kinetic energy, work done by torques, angular momentum and angular impulse, conservation of angular momentum, rolling with and without slipping, and the energy and angular momentum of orbiting satellites.
    6 topics
    1. 6.1Rotational Kinetic Energy
    2. 6.2Torque and Work
    3. 6.3Angular Momentum and Angular Impulse
    4. 6.4Conservation of Angular Momentum
    5. 6.5Rolling
    6. 6.6Motion of Orbiting Satellites

  7. Unit 7

    Oscillations

    5-8% of exam
    Simple harmonic motion as the payoff of every earlier tool: restoring forces, the periods of springs and pendulums, sinusoidal position, velocity, and acceleration graphs, and the exchange of kinetic and potential energy.
    4 topics
    1. 7.1Defining Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)
    2. 7.2Frequency and Period of SHM
    3. 7.3Representing and Analyzing SHM
    4. 7.4Energy of Simple Harmonic Oscillators

  8. Unit 8

    Fluids

    10-15% of exam
    Forces and conservation laws applied to ideal fluids: density, pressure at depth, gauge and absolute pressure, buoyancy and Archimedes' principle, the continuity equation, Bernoulli's equation, and Torricelli's result.
    4 topics
    1. 8.1Internal Structure and Density
    2. 8.2Pressure
    3. 8.3Fluids and Newton's Laws
    4. 8.4Fluids and Conservation Laws

The exam, part by part

5 parts, 3 h in all.

  • Section I: Multiple Choice

    Questions
    42
    Time
    1 h 25 min
    Weight
    50%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Four answer choices (A-D), one correct. Mostly discrete items plus a few short sets that share one stimulus (a graph, data table, or diagram). Answered on screen in Bluebook. Only Science Practices 2 and 3 are assessed here (no drawing tasks): about 15-20% derive (2.A), 20-25% calculate (2.B), 10-15% compare (2.C), 10-15% functional dependence (2.D), 20-25% apply a law to make a claim (3.B), 5-10% justify with evidence (3.C). New count and timing for May 2027 (was 40 questions in 80 minutes).

  • Section II, Question 1: Mathematical Routines

    Questions
    1
    Time
    22 min
    Weight
    12.5%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: MR

    10 points; suggested 20-25 minutes. Section II is one 95-minute block (new for May 2027, was 100) in which students pace themselves across all four questions; the minutes here are the midpoint of the official suggestion. Weight within Section II is proportional to raw points (College Board does not publish per-question composite weights).

  • Section II, Question 2: Translation Between Representations

    Questions
    1
    Time
    28 min
    Weight
    15%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: TBR

    12 points; suggested 25-30 minutes.

  • Section II, Question 3: Experimental Design and Analysis

    Questions
    1
    Time
    27 min
    Weight
    12.5%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: LAB

    10 points; suggested 25-30 minutes. Includes plotting given data on a printed grid and drawing a best-fit line.

  • Section II, Question 4: Qualitative/Quantitative Translation

    Questions
    1
    Time
    18 min
    Weight
    10%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: QQT

    8 points; suggested 15-20 minutes.

How the 1 to 5 score is set

Section I (42 multiple-choice questions) and Section II (four free-response questions, 40 raw points: 10 + 12 + 10 + 8) each count for 50% of the score. There is no penalty for wrong multiple-choice answers. Free-response points are awarded one at a time against a published guideline: each point names a specific thing the response must contain (a correct force on a diagram, a derivation that begins with the right principle, a correct substitution, a correct final expression, a claim, a piece of reasoning). A correct, isolated final expression usually earns the substitution points that lead to it. Justification points need reasoning that connects the principle to this situation; naming a law alone ("because of conservation of energy") does not earn them. Points in a later part can be earned for work consistent with an earlier wrong answer when the guideline says so. The weighted composite is converted to the 1-5 AP scale with cut scores set each year.

What you bring and get

The AP Physics 1 Table of Information (equation sheet) is available throughout both sections: in print and inside Bluebook. It lists constants (GG, g=9.8 m/s2g = 9.8\ \mathrm{m/s^2}, 1 atm), prefixes, unit symbols, trig values for common angles, geometry formulas, and the mechanics and fluids equations, plus the exam conventions (inertial frames, negligible air resistance, ideal springs, strings, and fluids unless stated). It does not list derived results such as escape speed, Torricelli's theorem, minimum speed at the top of a loop, or rotational inertias of extended shapes (those are given in the question when needed). A four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator is allowed in both sections, as is the calculator built into Bluebook; a ruler or straightedge is allowed for Section II. The exam is hybrid digital: multiple choice is answered in Bluebook; free-response questions are shown in Bluebook and answered by hand in a paper booklet (diagrams, graphs, and plots are drawn there).

Skills the exam scores

  • 1.ACreate diagrams, tables, charts, or schematics

    Practice 1, Creating Representations. Draw free-body and force diagrams, energy bar charts, momentum vector diagrams, and schematics that represent a situation. Assessed only in free response (Practice 1 together is about 20-35% of free-response points); never tag a multiple-choice item 1.A.

  • 1.BCreate quantitative graphs

    Practice 1. Plot data on axes with appropriate quantities, units, and linear scales, and draw a best-fit line. The core of the LAB analysis half. Free response only.

  • 1.CCreate qualitative sketches of graphs

    Practice 1. Sketch the shape of a graph (position, velocity, energy, force, momentum against time or position) that captures the features of a model: slopes, intercepts, curvature, where it is zero or maximum. Free response only.

  • 2.ADerive a symbolic expression

    Practice 2, Mathematical Routines. Start from a fundamental principle or a reference-sheet equation and follow a logical algebraic path to an expression in the given variables. About 15-20% of multiple choice (symbolic answer choices) and a large share of free-response points.

  • 2.BCalculate or estimate a quantity

    Practice 2. Compute a numerical value with units by choosing and carrying out a computational path, including reading values from graphs and tables. About 20-25% of multiple choice.

  • 2.CCompare physical quantities

    Practice 2. Compare a quantity between two scenarios, or at two times or places in one scenario, often as a ranking or a ratio. About 10-15% of multiple choice.

  • 2.DPredict using functional dependence

    Practice 2. Predict a new value or a factor of change ("the radius doubles, so the speed...") from how variables depend on each other. About 10-15% of multiple choice and central to the QQT. Practice 2 together is about 30-40% of free-response points.

  • 3.ACreate experimental procedures

    Practice 3, Scientific Questioning and Argumentation. Design a procedure that answers a given question with realistic equipment: what to vary, what to measure and with what, how to reduce uncertainty, and how the data will be analyzed. Free response only (the LAB design half).

  • 3.BApply a law or model to make a claim

    Practice 3. Choose the relevant law, definition, relationship, or model and use it to make a claim about a system. About 20-25% of multiple choice. Practice 3 together is about 35-45% of free-response points.

  • 3.CJustify a claim with evidence

    Practice 3. Support or defend a claim using experimental data, a representation, or physical principles, with reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim. About 5-10% of multiple choice ("... because ..." choices) and every free-response justification point.