AP Physics 1 Study Guide — Complete Review by Unit

AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based covers 7 units of mechanics. About 18% of students score a 5 — College Board rescaled the exam's scoring in 2025, the biggest pass-rate jump of any AP that year. The 2025 exam format is 40 MCQs (50%) and 3 FRQs (50%): Experimental Design, Paragraph Argument, and Short Answer. The FRQs test your ability to reason through physics — not just calculate answers.

Unit 1: Kinematics (12–18%)

Displacement, velocity, and acceleration in 1D and 2D. Constant acceleration equations. Projectile motion (horizontal and vertical components are independent). Key skill: reading and constructing motion graphs. On a position-time graph, slope = velocity. On a velocity-time graph, slope = acceleration and area = displacement. These graph interpretations appear in 3–5 MCQs per exam.

Unit 2: Dynamics — Forces and Newton's Laws (16–20%)

Free-body diagrams, Newton's 2nd Law (F_net = ma), friction, normal force, and tension. Atwood machine and inclined plane problems. Systems of objects: draw FBDs for each object separately, then write F_net = ma for each. Common mistake: forgetting that friction opposes motion, not simply acts leftward.

Unit 3: Circular Motion and Gravitation (6–8%)

Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force (directed toward center of circle). Gravity as an inverse-square law (F = Gm₁m₂/r²). Orbital motion: the gravitational force provides the centripetal force, so set them equal to find orbital speed or radius.

Unit 4: Energy (20–28%)

The highest-weight unit. Work (W = Fd cosθ), kinetic energy (KE = ½mv²), gravitational potential energy (PE = mgh), elastic potential energy (PE = ½kx²), work-energy theorem, and conservation of mechanical energy. Power (P = W/t or P = Fv). Most exam problems require identifying where energy is stored and tracking transformations.

Unit 5: Momentum and Impulse (12–18%)

Impulse-momentum theorem (J = Δp = FΔt). Conservation of momentum in collisions. Elastic collisions (KE and momentum conserved) vs. inelastic collisions (only momentum conserved). Perfectly inelastic: objects stick together, use m₁v₁ + m₂v₂ = (m₁ + m₂)v_f. Explosion problems: start from rest, final momentum must sum to zero.

Unit 6: Simple Harmonic Motion (4–6%)

Springs and pendulums oscillate in SHM. Period of spring: T = 2π√(m/k). Period of pendulum: T = 2π√(L/g). Key fact: amplitude does not affect period. Energy oscillates between kinetic and potential — maximum speed occurs at equilibrium, maximum PE at amplitude.

Unit 7: Torque and Rotational Motion (12–18%)

Torque (τ = rF sinθ), rotational inertia, Newton's 2nd Law for rotation (τ_net = Iα), angular momentum (L = Iω), and angular momentum conservation. The rotational analogs of translational quantities are frequently tested: τ↔F, I↔m, α↔a, ω↔v, L↔p. Know that angular momentum is conserved when no external torque acts — the spinning figure skater problem.

FRQ Strategy

Write physics principles first, then apply them to the specific situation. For justification questions: state the relevant law or principle → explain why it applies here → draw the conclusion. Never give a numerical answer as a justification for a qualitative question.

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