Skip to content
fivefold
Start free
All courses
Physics 2

AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based

Gases, fields, circuits, light, and the atom, argued the way AP readers score it: derive it, draw it, graph it, justify it.

Category
Sciences
Units
7 units
Exam
Exam May 6, 2027 (in 221 days)
Start Unit 1 freeSign in

Unit 1 is free with an account. No card, no trial clock.

What the course covers

The second-year algebra-based physics course on the revised framework (CED effective Fall 2024, updated for 2026-27): seven units that run from the kinetic theory of gases and the laws of thermodynamics, through electric force, field, and potential, DC and RC circuits, magnetism and induction, to geometric optics, waves and physical optics, and modern physics (photons, atomic spectra, the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and nuclear decay). Physics 1 is assumed and its equations stay on the reference sheet, so forces, energy, and momentum come back constantly. Every lesson trains the three science practices the exam scores: creating representations (field maps, ray diagrams, PV diagrams, energy-level diagrams, circuit schematics), mathematical routines (symbolic derivations that begin from a fundamental principle, calculations with units, functional-dependence predictions), and argumentation (claims justified with physics reasoning, experimental design, linearized graphs). The May 6, 2027 exam is hybrid digital: 42 four-choice multiple-choice questions in Bluebook, then four handwritten free-response questions (Mathematical Routines, Translation Between Representations, Experimental Design and Analysis, Qualitative/Quantitative Translation), with a calculator and the official equation sheet throughout.

7 units, with exam weights

  1. Unit 1

    Thermodynamics

    15-18% of examFree
    CED Unit 9. What cannot be seen, reasoned about from what can: pressure and temperature from atomic collisions, the ideal gas model and its graphs, heating and cooling toward thermal equilibrium, internal energy and the first law with PV diagrams for isobaric, isovolumetric, isothermal, and adiabatic processes, specific heat and conduction, and a qualitative second law with entropy. About 10-16 class periods.
    6 topics
    1. 9.1Kinetic Theory of Temperature and Pressure
    2. 9.2The Ideal Gas Law
    3. 9.3Thermal Energy Transfer and Equilibrium
    4. 9.4The First Law of Thermodynamics
    5. 9.5Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity
    6. 9.6Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

  2. Unit 2

    Electric Force, Field, and Potential

    15-18% of exam
    CED Unit 10. The field model of interaction: charge and Coulomb's law, conservation of charge in charging by friction, contact, and induction, electric fields as vector maps, electric potential energy and electric potential as scalar sums, equipotential lines and their link to the field, parallel-plate capacitors with dielectrics, and energy conservation for charges moving through potential differences. About 14-21 class periods.
    7 topics
    1. 10.1Electric Charge and Electric Force
    2. 10.2Conservation of Electric Charge and the Process of Charging
    3. 10.3Electric Fields
    4. 10.4Electric Potential Energy
    5. 10.5Electric Potential
    6. 10.6Capacitors
    7. 10.7Conservation of Electric Energy

  3. Unit 3

    Electric Circuits

    15-18% of exam
    CED Unit 11. Energy conservation and charge conservation applied to circuits: current and emf, circuit schematics, resistance and resistivity, Ohm's law and ohmic behavior, power and bulb brightness, series and parallel combinations, batteries with internal resistance, ideal and nonideal meters, Kirchhoff's loop and junction rules, and resistor-capacitor circuits described by their time constant and their initial and steady states. About 12-20 class periods.
    8 topics
    1. 11.1Electric Current
    2. 11.2Simple Circuits
    3. 11.3Resistance, Resistivity, and Ohm's Law
    4. 11.4Electric Power
    5. 11.5Compound Direct Current (DC) Circuits
    6. 11.6Kirchhoff's Loop Rule
    7. 11.7Kirchhoff's Junction Rule
    8. 11.8Resistor-Capacitor (RC) Circuits

  4. Unit 4

    Magnetism and Electromagnetism

    12-15% of exam
    CED Unit 12. Moving charges make magnetic fields and feel magnetic forces: dipoles and magnetic materials, the field of a moving charge and of a long straight wire, the magnetic force on moving charges and current-carrying wires with right-hand rules, combined electric and magnetic fields and the Hall effect, magnetic flux, Faraday's law, and Lenz's law. About 10-14 class periods.
    4 topics
    1. 12.1Magnetic Fields
    2. 12.2Magnetism and Moving Charges
    3. 12.3Magnetism and Current-Carrying Wires
    4. 12.4Electromagnetic Induction and Faraday's Law

  5. Unit 5

    Geometric Optics

    12-15% of exam
    CED Unit 13. The ray model of light: the law of reflection, images in plane, concave, and convex mirrors, refraction and Snell's law, index of refraction and the speed of light, total internal reflection, and images formed by thin converging and diverging lenses, with principal-ray diagrams, the thin-lens equation, and magnification. About 8-12 class periods.
    4 topics
    1. 13.1Reflection
    2. 13.2Images Formed by Mirrors
    3. 13.3Refraction
    4. 13.4Images Formed by Lenses

  6. Unit 6

    Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics

    12-15% of exam
    CED Unit 14. Waves as energy transfer: transverse and longitudinal waves, sound, wave speed on strings, period, frequency, and wavelength, reflection and transmission at boundaries, polarization, the electromagnetic spectrum, the Doppler effect (qualitative), superposition, beats, standing waves on strings and in pipes, single-slit diffraction, double-slit interference and gratings, and thin-film interference. About 14-23 class periods.
    9 topics
    1. 14.1Properties of Wave Pulses and Waves
    2. 14.2Periodic Waves
    3. 14.3Boundary Behavior of Waves and Polarization
    4. 14.4Electromagnetic Waves
    5. 14.5The Doppler Effect
    6. 14.6Wave Interference and Standing Waves
    7. 14.7Diffraction
    8. 14.8Double-Slit Interference and Diffraction Gratings
    9. 14.9Thin-Film Interference

  7. Unit 7

    Modern Physics

    12-15% of exam
    CED Unit 15. The quantum resolution of questions the wave model left open: photons and matter waves, the Bohr model, emission and absorption spectra with energy-level diagrams, blackbody radiation (Wien and Stefan-Boltzmann), the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering with conservation of momentum, mass-energy equivalence in fission and fusion, half-life, and alpha, beta, and gamma decay. About 14-22 class periods.
    8 topics
    1. 15.1Quantum Theory and Wave-Particle Duality
    2. 15.2The Bohr Model of Atomic Structure
    3. 15.3Emission and Absorption Spectra
    4. 15.4Blackbody Radiation
    5. 15.5The Photoelectric Effect
    6. 15.6Compton Scattering
    7. 15.7Fission, Fusion, and Nuclear Decay
    8. 15.8Types of Radioactive Decay

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

    Taken in Bluebook. Four answer choices (A-D), one correct answer, no penalty for guessing. Mostly discrete items plus short sets of two or three items that share a stimulus (a circuit, a field or equipotential map, a data table, a graph). Unit weighting: Units 1-3 (Thermodynamics; Electric Force, Field, and Potential; Electric Circuits) 15-18% each, Units 4-7 (Magnetism and Electromagnetism; Geometric Optics; Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics; Modern Physics) 12-15% each. Skill weighting: 2.A derivations 15-20%, 2.B calculations 20-25%, 2.C comparisons 10-15%, 2.D functional dependence 10-15%, 3.B making claims 20-25%, 3.C justifying claims 5-10%. Practice 1 and skill 3.A are free-response only. About 2 minutes per question. Updated for May 2027 from 40 questions in 80 minutes.

  • Section II, Question 1: Mathematical Routines

    Questions
    1
    Time
    23 min
    Weight
    12.5%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Mathematical Routines

    Section II is one 95-minute block of four handwritten questions (40 raw points) worth 50% of the score. The CED suggests 20-25 minutes for this 10-point question; 23 minutes keeps the four suggested times inside 95. Weight shown assumes raw free-response points count equally (10 of 40 points of the 50%); College Board does not publish per-question multipliers.

  • Section II, Question 2: Translation Between Representations

    Questions
    1
    Time
    28 min
    Weight
    15%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Translation Between Representations

    CED suggested time 25-30 minutes. 12 of the 40 free-response points.

  • Section II, Question 3: Experimental Design and Analysis

    Questions
    1
    Time
    25 min
    Weight
    12.5%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Experimental Design and Analysis

    CED suggested time 25-30 minutes. 10 of the 40 free-response points. A ruler or straightedge is allowed for the graph.

  • Section II, Question 4: Qualitative/Quantitative Translation

    Questions
    1
    Time
    19 min
    Weight
    10%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Qualitative/Quantitative Translation

    CED suggested time 15-20 minutes. 8 of the 40 free-response points.

How the 1 to 5 score is set

Section I: 42 multiple-choice questions, one point each with no penalty for wrong answers, worth 50% of the composite. Section II: four questions worth 40 raw points (Mathematical Routines 10, Translation Between Representations 12, Experimental Design and Analysis 10, Qualitative/Quantitative Translation 8), worth 50%. Every free-response point is an independent, analytically scored row: a claim, a correct step in a derivation, a feature of a sketch, a plotted point set, a justification element. Readers award later points for work consistent with an earlier error, and a correct, isolated final expression usually earns the derivation points it implies. The weighted composite is converted to the 1-5 scale by criterion-referenced cut scores that College Board does not publish in advance. In 2025, 21.7% of students earned a 5 and 72.6% earned a 3 or higher.

What you bring and get

Hybrid digital exam. Multiple-choice answers are selected in Bluebook; free-response questions are displayed in Bluebook but answered by hand, in pencil or dark ink, in a paper booklet, where students draw diagrams, sketch graphs, and plot data. A calculator is allowed on both sections: a handheld four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator, or the Desmos scientific or graphing calculator built into Bluebook. A ruler or straightedge is allowed in Section II. The AP Physics 2 Table of Information (constants, unit symbols, prefixes, trig values, exam conventions, and the Physics 2 plus Physics 1 equations) is provided in print and in Bluebook for both sections; this course reproduces it in the equation-sheet tool.

Skills the exam scores

  • 1.ACreating Representations: diagrams and schematics

    Create diagrams, tables, charts, or schematics that represent a physical situation: free-body diagrams, circuit schematics, ray diagrams, field vector maps and equipotential lines, energy-level diagrams, energy bar charts, current and force direction arrows. Practice 1 is assessed only on the free-response section, about 20-35% of free-response points.

  • 1.BCreating Representations: quantitative graphs

    Create quantitative graphs with labeled axes, linear scales, and units: plot data, including linearized quantities (1/I, sin r, 1/s_o), and draw a best-fit line. Free-response only, mainly the Experimental Design and Analysis question.

  • 1.CCreating Representations: qualitative sketches

    Sketch graphs that show the features of a model or a system without numbers: the shape, concavity, intercepts, and endpoints of P-V curves, speed distributions, capacitor charge versus time, photon energy versus wavelength. Free-response only.

  • 2.AMathematical Routines: derive a symbolic expression

    Derive a symbolic expression from known quantities by starting with a fundamental law or reference equation and following a logical sequence of substitutions. About 15-20% of multiple choice; Practice 2 is about 30-40% of free-response points.

  • 2.BMathematical Routines: calculate or estimate with units

    Calculate or estimate an unknown quantity, with correct units, from known quantities by following a logical computational pathway. About 20-25% of multiple choice.

  • 2.CMathematical Routines: compare quantities

    Compare physical quantities between two or more scenarios, or at different times or locations in one scenario: rankings, ratios, greater than, less than, or equal to. About 10-15% of multiple choice.

  • 2.DMathematical Routines: functional dependence

    Predict new values or factors of change from the functional dependence between variables (if the separation doubles, the Coulomb force becomes one quarter as large), including how to linearize a relationship. About 10-15% of multiple choice.

  • 3.AScientific Questioning and Argumentation: design procedures

    Create an experimental procedure that answers a given scientific question with realistic high school equipment: what to vary, what to measure and with what, how to reduce uncertainty, and how the data will be analyzed. Free-response only.

  • 3.BScientific Questioning and Argumentation: make a claim

    Apply an appropriate law, definition, theoretical relationship, or model to make a claim about a system. About 20-25% of multiple choice; Practice 3 is about 35-45% of free-response points.

  • 3.CScientific Questioning and Argumentation: justify a claim

    Justify or support a claim with evidence from experimental data, representations, or physical principles, as a connected chain of reasoning rather than a named law or equation. About 5-10% of multiple choice and a large share of free-response points.