APFIVE AP Physics 1 Exam Info
Download PDFThe AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based Exam will test your understanding of the scientific concepts covered in the course units, as well as your ability to use algebra when solving problems related to Newtonian mechanics, energy, and more.
This is a hybrid digital exam. You’ll complete multiple-choice questions and view free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app. You’ll handwrite your free-response answers in paper exam booklets.
Calculators are permitted for this exam. See AP Exams Calculator Policy for the list of calculators approved for this course.
Reference materials, such as equations sheets and reference tables, are available for this course. Go to Reference Information for Specific AP Exams to find reference materials for AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based and exam day details.
AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based Exam
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based Exam.
Exam Components
Section I: Multiple Choice
Questions are either discrete questions or question sets, in which you'll be provided with a stimulus or a set of data and a series of related questions.
Section II: Free Response
This section contains 4 free-response questions of the following types:
- Mathematical routines
- Translation between representations
- Experimental design and analysis
- Qualitative/quantitative translation
Skills You'll Learn
Creating representations that depict physical phenomena
Conducting analyses to derive, calculate, estimate, or predict
Describing experimental procedures, analyzing data, and supporting claims
Units
Unit 1 – Kinematics
You’ll be introduced to the study of motion.
Topics may include:
- Scalars and vectors in one dimension
- Displacement, velocity, and acceleration
- Representing motion
- Reference frames and relative motion
- Vectors and motion in two dimensions
On The Exam
10%–15% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 2 – Force and Translational Dynamics
You’ll revisit the concepts you worked with in Unit 1 to explore force, which is the interaction of an object with another object.
Topics may include:
- Systems and center of mass
- Forces and free-body diagrams
- Newton’s Third Law
- Newton’s First Law
- Newton’s Second Law
- Gravitational force
- Kinetic and static friction
- Spring forces
- Circular motion
On The Exam
18%–23% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 3 – Work, Energy, and Power
You’ll learn the definitions of and relationships between work, energy, and power.
Topics may include:
- Translational kinetic energy
- Work
- Potential energy
- Conservation of energy
- Power
On The Exam
18%–23% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 4 – Linear Momentum
You’ll explore the relationship between force, time, and momentum and learn to use the law of conservation of momentum to analyze physical situations.
Topics may include:
- Linear momentum
- Change in momentum and impulse
- Conservation of linear momentum
- Elastic and inelastic collisions
On The Exam
10%–15% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 5 – Torque and Rotational Dynamics
You’ll use the tools, techniques, and models you’ve learned in previous units to analyze bodies that rotate, and what causes those rotations.
Topics may include:
- Rotational kinematics
- Connecting linear and rotational motion
- Torque
- Rotational inertia
- Rotational equilibrium and Newton’s First Law in rotational form
- Newton’s Second Law in rotational form
On The Exam
10%–15% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 6 – Rotating Systems: Energy & Momentum
You’ll explore the energy and momentum of an object rotating around an axis and you’ll connect those concepts to their linear analogs.
Topics may include:
- Rotational kinetic energy
- Torque and work
- Angular momentum and angular impulse
- Conservation of angular momentum
- Rolling
- Motion of orbiting satellites
On The Exam
5%–8% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 7 – Oscillations
You’ll use all the tools, techniques, and models you’ve learned in previous units to analyze a new kind of motion: simple harmonic motion.
Topics may include:
- Defining simple harmonic motion (SHM)
- Frequency and period of SHM
- Representing and analyzing SHM
- Energy of simple harmonic oscillators
On The Exam
5%–8% of multiple-choice exam score
Unit 8 – Fluids
You’ll explore the behavior and motion of materials that can change shape and analyze how that behavior interacts with other objects.
Topics may include:
- Internal structure and density
- Pressure
- Fluids and Newton’s laws
- Fluids and conservation laws
On The Exam
10%–15% of multiple-choice exam score