AP Physics

AP Physics is a set of four advanced science courses created by the College Board as part of its Advanced Placement program. These courses help high school students learn college-level physics and can give them credit for college classes if they do well on the exams.

The four courses include AP Physics C: Mechanics, which is an introductory college-level course in mechanics. There's also AP Physics 1, which covers similar material but without using calculus, and includes topics like fluids. For students interested in electricity and magnetism, there is AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, a calculus-based course on electromagnetism. Finally, AP Physics 2 explores electromagnetism, optics, thermodynamics, and modern physics.

Each of these courses has an exam, and students who score well can often earn credit that counts toward their college education. This can help them move ahead more quickly in their college studies.

Curriculum

AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Physics 1 are both basic college-level courses about how things move. AP Physics C: Mechanics is often liked more by universities and needs students to be taking a calculus class at the same time. AP Physics 1, on the other hand, needs students to be taking Algebra 2 and includes some topics about fluids like how things float.

Both courses have exams with the same number of questions and similar formats, but AP Physics 1 usually has lower scores than AP Physics C: Mechanics. They both study how things move, but AP Physics 1 also looks at fluids, while AP Physics C: Mechanics covers more detailed calculations.

AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism and AP Physics 2 are next steps for students who have finished a mechanics course. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism is also often preferred by universities and needs calculus. AP Physics 2 is more general and includes topics like heat, waves, and light.

Both of these courses have exams with the same number of questions and similar formats. They both cover electricity and magnetism, but AP Physics 2 also includes thermodynamics, waves, sound, optics, and modern physics, while AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism focuses on more detailed calculations.

History

Evolution of AP Physics C and B

AP courses started in the 1955–1956 school year, and AP Physics was one of the first ten courses. In 1969, AP Physics split into two courses: AP Physics C and AP Physics B. AP Physics C used calculus and was for students studying physical science and engineering. AP Physics B used algebra and was for students studying life science and pre-medical fields. There was a plan for AP Physics A, but it was never created because colleges would not give credit for it.

Both AP Physics C and AP Physics B covered five main topics: mechanics, fluids and heat, electricity and magnetism, waves and light, and atoms and nuclei. In 1973, AP Physics C split into two parts: AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism. Before 2006, students paid one fee to take either one or both parts of the AP Physics C exam. But in 2006, the fee changed so each part had its own cost. A study in 2007 showed that doing well on these exams helped students succeed in college science classes.

Evolution of AP Physics 1 and 2

In 2014, AP Physics B was stopped and replaced with two new courses: AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. This change happened because a study found that AP Physics B covered too much and focused too much on calculations instead of understanding ideas. The new courses were meant to be taken over two years to give students more time to learn deeply. In 2014, calculators were allowed on all parts of AP Physics exams, not just the free-response questions.

After AP Physics 1 and 2 started, the number of students taking the AP Physics exam doubled from 2014 to 2015, the biggest yearly increase for any AP course. Until 2020, AP Physics 1 covered mechanics (including spinning motion), sound, mechanical waves, and some electricity topics. AP Physics 2 covered the other topics. In 2020, sound, waves, and electricity moved from AP Physics 1 to AP Physics 2. In 2024, the part about fluids moved from AP Physics 2 to AP Physics 1, allowing AP Physics 2 to spend more time on waves and modern physics.

Standardizing the exams' format

In 2024, the College Board made all four AP Physics exams have the same format: 80 minutes for 40 multiple-choice questions, followed by 100 minutes for 4 free-response questions. These questions test skills like using math, moving between different ways of showing information, planning experiments, and understanding and using numbers. This format totals 180 minutes. Before 2024, AP Physics C exams were shorter at 90 minutes each and could be taken one after the other in the same day. But with the new format, taking them back-to-back is no longer possible.