AP Physics 1

Course Overview

AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through inquiry-based investigations as they explore these topics: kinematics, dynamics, circular motion and gravitation, energy, momentum, simple harmonic motion, torque and rotational motion, electric charge and electric force, DC circuits, and mechanical waves and sound. AP Physics 1 is a full-year course that is the equivalent of a first-semester introductory college course in algebra-based physics. Extensive laboratory experiences are integral to the course and emphasize planning and carrying out investigations along with analyzing and interpreting data. It is recommended that students in this course take the AP Physics 1 exam when it is offered in May. This is a quantitatively rigorous course, thus completion of Algebra II is recommended. This course features learning that supports the discipline of physical science. 

The College Board AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description (Links to an external site.) provides additional information about each unit and the standards addressed. 

Unit OVERVIEW

The world is in a constant state of motion. To understand the world, students must first understand movement. Unit 1 introduces students to the study of motion and serves as a foundation for all of AP Physics 1 by beginning to explore the complex idea of acceleration and showing them how representations can be used to model and analyze scientific information as it relates to the motion of objects. By studying kinematics, students will learn to represent motion—both uniform and accelerating—in narrative, graphical, and/or mathematical forms and from different frames of reference. These representations will help students analyze the specific motion of objects and systems while also dispelling some common misconceptions they may have about motion, such as exclusively using negative acceleration to describe an object slowing down. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to go beyond their traditional understanding of mathematics. Instead of solving equations, students will use them to support their reasoning and tighten their grasp on the laws of physics. Lastly, students will begin making predictions about motion and justifying claims with evidence by exploring the relationships between the physical quantities of acceleration, velocity, position, and time. This is an important starting point for students, as these fundamental science practices will spiral throughout the course and appear in multiple units.

Unit OVERVIEW

In Unit 2, students are introduced to the term force, which is the interaction of an object with another object. Part of the larger study of dynamics, forces are used as the lens through which students analyze and come to understand a variety of physical phenomena. This is accomplished by revisiting and building upon the representations presented in Unit 1, specifically the introduction to the free-body diagram. Translation, however, is key in this unit: Students must be able to portray the same object–force interactions through different graphs, diagrams, and mathematical relationships. Students will continue to make meaning from models and representations that will help them further analyze systems, the interactions between systems, and how these interactions result in change. Alongside mastering the use of specific force equations, Unit 2 also encourages students to derive new expressions from fundamental principles to help them make predictions in unfamiliar, applied contexts. The skill of making predictions will be nurtured throughout the course to help students craft sound scientific arguments.

Unit OVERVIEW

In Unit 3, students will continue to enhance their understanding of the physical world using models and representations to create a more complete and complex model of motion, particularly as it relates to gravitational mass and inertial mass. Again, translation and connections are essential—students must be able to use content and science practices from the previous two units and apply them in different ways. While it’s essential that students are able to calculate numerical answers to questions, it is more important that they can combine mathematical representations to make new representations that more accurately describe natural phenomena. For example, students should be comfortable combining equations for uniform circular motion with gravitational equations to describe the circular path of a satellite circling a planet.

It is also vital that students are given opportunities to think about and discuss the impact that changes or modifications have on physical scenarios. For example, students should be able to use mathematical and graphical representations to determine how doubling the distance of a satellite from a planet will change the period of orbit and then justify their answer with evidence and reasoning. Specific preconceptions will be addressed in this unit, such as the idea of a centrifugal force. Students will also have opportunities to wrestle with the idea of field models, which will be expanded upon in Unit 8.

Unit OVERVIEW

In Unit 4, students will be introduced to the idea of conservation as a foundational model of physics, along with the concept of work as the agent of change for energy. As in earlier units, students will once again utilize both familiar and new models and representations to analyze physical situations, now with force or energy as major components. Students will be encouraged to call upon their knowledge of Units 1–4 to determine the most appropriate technique and will be challenged to understand the limiting factors of each. Describing, creating, and using these representations will also help students grapple with common misconceptions that they may have about energy, such as whether or not a single object can “have” potential energy. A thorough understanding of these energy models will support students’ ability to make predications—and ultimately justify claims with evidence—about physical situations. This is crucial, as the mathematical models and representations used in Unit 4 will mature throughout the course and appear in subsequent units.

As students’ comprehension of energy (particularly kinetic, potential, and microscopic internal energy) evolves, they will begin to connect and relate knowledge across scales, concepts, and representations, as well as across disciplines, particularly physics, chemistry, and biology.

Unit OVERVIEW

Unit 5 introduces students to the relationship between force, time, and momentum via calculations, data analysis, designing experiments, and making predictions. Students will learn how to use new models and representations to illustrate the law of the conservation of momentum of objects and systems while simultaneously building on their knowledge of previously studied representations. Using the law of the conservation of momentum to analyze physical situations gives students a more complete picture of forces and leads them to revisit their misconceptions surrounding Newton’s third law. Students will also have the opportunity to make connections between the conserved quantities of momentum and energy to determine under what conditions each quantity is conserved. It’s essential that students are not only comfortable solving numerical equations (such as the speed of a system after an inelastic collision) but also confident in their ability to discuss when momentum is conserved and how the type of collision affects the outcome. Threading such connections between physical quantities is fundamental to understanding the broader relationship between this unit and the rest of the course.

Students will have more opportunities to apply conservation laws to make predictions and justify claims in Unit 7 when they are introduced to rotational quantities.

Unit OVERVIEW

In Unit 6, students will continue to use the same tools, techniques, and models that they have been using throughout this course. However, they will now use them to analyze a new type of motion: simple harmonic motion. Although simple harmonic motion is unique, students will learn that even in new situations, the fundamental laws of physics remain the same. Energy bar charts, as well as free-body diagrams, become increasingly important as students work toward determining which model is most appropriate for a given physical situation. Preconceptions—such as the relationship between the amplitude and period of oscillation—will also be addressed to provide students with a more nuanced awareness of simple harmonic motion.

Students are expected to use the content knowledge they gained in the first five units to make and defend claims while also making connections in and across the content topics and big ideas. Because Unit 6 is the first unit in which students possess all the tools of force, energy, and momentum conservation, it’s important that teachers scaffold lessons to help them develop a better understanding of each fundamental physics principles as well as its limitations. Throughout this unit, students will be asked to create force, energy, momentum, and position versus time graphs for a single scenario and to make predictions based on their representations.

Unit OVERVIEW

Unit 7 completes the study of mechanical physics by introducing students to torque and rotational motion. Although these topics present more complex scenarios, the tools of analysis remain the same: The content and models explored in the first six units of AP Physics 1 set the foundation for Unit 7. During their study of torque and rotational motion, students will be confronted with different ways of thinking about and modeling forces. As in previous units, it’s critical that students are given opportunities to create and use representations and models to make predictions and justify claims. It’s equally important that students are comfortable deriving new expressions from fundamental principles to help them make predictions in unfamiliar, applied contexts. Unit 7 also focuses on the mathematical practice of estimating quantities that can describe natural phenomena. For example, students need to be able to estimate the torque on an object caused by various forces in comparison to other situations. Although this particular science practice doesn’t appear often in AP Physics 1, it nonetheless is an important conceptual skill for students to be able to compare estimated values of physical quantities.

Throughout this unit, students will have opportunities to compare and connect their understanding of linear and rotational motion, dynamics, energy, and momentum to make meaning of these concepts as a whole, rather than as distinct and separate units.