AP Physics C

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Materials

General Resources for this Course

Semester 1: Mechanics

Unit:
Chapter 2 - Vectors, and
Chapter 4 - Motion in Two Dimensions

Unit:
Chapter 5 - The Laws of Motion, and
Chapter 6 - Circular Motion

Unit:
Chapter 7 - Energy and Energy Transfer, and
Chapter 8 - Potential Energy

Unit: Chapter 9 - Momentum

Unit:
Chapter 10 - Rotation of a Rigid Object About a Fixed Axis, and
Chapter 11 - Angular Momentum

Midterm Exam Information

Block Day Midterm Exam protocol

  • Exam Day: Tuesday, Dec 17, 12-2 pm, in Poly 109. Extra time students, 2-3 pm.
  • For the exam you may use only paper and pencil, the AP equation sheet, and a calculator. No other references are permitted, including online references, written notes, information from other people, etc.
  • 35 Multiple Choice questions
  • 3 Free Response questions
  • Exam covers everything we've learned in class so far this year, Chapters 2-11 in the text book.
  • Exam is worth 200 points (2 tests), and will be generously curved.

Unit:
Chapter 12 - Static Equilibrium,
Chapter 13 - Universal Gravitation, and
Chapter 15 - Oscillation

Semester 2: Electricity & Magnetism

Unit:
Chapter 5 - Electric Forces and Fields, and
Chapter 6 - Gauss's Law

Unit:
Chapter 7 - Electric Potential, and
Chapter 8 - Capacitance

Unit:
Chapter 9 - Current & Resistance, and
Chapter 10 - DC Circuits

Unit:
Chapter 11 - Magnetic Forces and Fields, and
Chapter 12 - Sources of Magnetic Field

Unit:
Chapter 13 - Faraday's Law, and
Chapter 14 - Electromagnetic Induction

Course Review Materials

The AP Physics C Exams, 2025

The AP Physics C Mechanics exam will be offered Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 12:00PM.

The Mechanics exam will last 3 hours:

  1. 80 minutes to answer 40 Multiple-Choice (MC) questions (4 options)
  2. 100 minutes to answer 4 Free-Response (FR) questions

The AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism exam will be offered Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 12:00PM.

The E&M exam will last 3 hours:

  1. 80 minutes to answer 40 Multiple-Choice (MC) questions (4 options)
  2. 100 minutes to answer 4 Free-Response (FR) questions

Sunday, May 12. Pizza Review Session at Poly, 12pm - 4pm.

The College Board has revised the way they organize Free-Response Questions this year. You will be asked to solve one each of four different types of questions.

Four FRQ Question Types

  1. Mathematical Routines
    This question will assess your ability to use math in analyzing a scenario and making predictions. You will be expected to draw free-body diagrams, sketch a graph of position vs time (for example), etc.
  2. Translation Between Representations
    This questions explores your ability to connect different representations of a scenario. You may derive relevant equations, draw graphs, justify why two related answers agree or disagree, make predictions about a similar situation based on your analysis, and/or consider how a result might change if the original scenario is altered in a specific way, and justify your reasoning.
  3. Experimental Design and Analysis
    This question assesses your ability to create a scientific procedure that can be used with appropriate analysis to answer a given question. Typically you'll be asked to design an experiment that could be performed in a high school physics lab, and then be given experimental data collected in a similar, hypothetical experiment, and asked to analyze the results, possibly using a graph of data.
  4. Qualitative/Quantitative Translation
    This last type of questions examines your ability to consider a scenario in terms of the physical laws and mathematical representations that govern that scenario. You might be asked to make a claim about the scenario, derive an equation related to the scenario, justify why two related answers agree or disagree, make predictions about a similar situation based on your analysis, and/or consider how a result might change if the original scenario is altered in a specific way, and justify your reasoning.

Final Experiences