AP Physics 1 - Course and Exam Description Summary
AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based - Course and Exam Description
What AP Stands For
- AP stands for clarity and transparency by making course frameworks and sample assessments public.
- AP signifies an encounter with evidence, fostering independent thinking and conclusions based on the scientific method.
- AP opposes censorship and supports intellectual freedom for teachers and students.
- AP opposes indoctrination, expecting students to analyze diverse viewpoints and assess source credibility.
- AP courses encourage an open-minded approach to various cultures and histories, using primary sources for evaluation.
- AP values every student's engagement with evidence, promoting respectful debate and diversity.
- AP is a choice for parents and students, with online course descriptions available.
- AP advocates for educators to review principles, ensuring clarity and confidence in the classroom experience, emphasizing informed choices.
Course Framework
- The course framework details necessary requirements for student success, specifying what students should know, do, and understand.
- It includes science practices central to the study of physics.
- It also provides course content organized into commonly taught units, offering a suggested sequence.
Science Practices
- Practice 1 - Creating Representations: Depict physical phenomena through diagrams, tables, charts, or schematics.
- Practice 2 - Mathematical Routines: Use analyses to derive, calculate, estimate, or predict using appropriate units.
- Practice 3 - Scientific Questioning and Argumentation: Describe experimental procedures, analyze data, and support claims with justification.
Course Content
- Unit 1: Kinematics (10–15%)
- Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics (18–23%)
- Unit 3: Work, Energy, and Power (18–23%)
- Unit 4: Linear Momentum (10–15%)
- Unit 5: Torque and Rotational Dynamics (10–15%)
- Unit 6: Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems (5–8%)
- Unit 7: Oscillations (5–8%)
- Unit 8: Fluids (10–15%)
Unit Guides - Kinematics
- Motion analysis using representations: words, graphs, and equations.
- Understanding various frames of reference. Note: Multiple representations are key.
Unit 2 - Force and Translational Dynamics
- Emphasis on forces, free-body diagrams, and Newton's Laws.
- Understanding systems, interactions, and the effect of forces.
Unit 3 - Work, Energy, and Power
- Conservation of energy is a foundational principle.
- Work is the primary agent of change for energy.
Unit 4 - Linear Momentum
- Relationship between force, time, impulse, and linear momentum.
- Analyzing collisions and explosions using conservation of momentum.
Units 5 to 8
- Unit 5: Torque and Rotational Dynamics.
- Unit 6: Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems.
- Unit 7: Oscillations. All tools of force, energy, and momentum conservation
- Unit 8: Fluids.
AP Resources and Support
- AP Classroom: Online platform with resources and tools for teachers and students.
- Progress Checks: formative assessments to measure student progress.
Instructional Model
- Plan: Review unit guides to identify essential questions, understandings and skills.
- Teach: Use supporting resources to build conceptual understanding.
- Assess: Measure student understanding and provide feedback using AP Classroom.
About the AP Physics 1 Course
- Algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course.
- Topics include kinematics, forces, energy, momentum, torque, oscillations, and fluids.
- Equivalent to the first course in a college algebra-based physics sequence.
- Requires 25% of instructional time for hands-on laboratory work emphasizing inquiry-based investigations.
- The AP Physics 1 Exam is 3 hours long and includes 40 multiple-choice questions and 4 free-response questions
- - Free-Response Question 1: Mathematical Routines
- - Free-Response Question 2: Translation Between Representations
- - Free-Response Question 3: Experimental Design and Analysis
- - Free-Response Question 4: Qualitative/Quantitative Translation