# AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based exam guide > Work through all eight units of the revised AP Physics 1 framework, kinematics through fluids, with published exam weightings. - Canonical page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1 - Markdown source: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/llms.txt - Exam family: AP exams - Governing body: College Board - Official exam information: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-physics-1-algebra-based - Who takes it: High school students taking a first algebra-based physics course for college credit, placement, or preparation for a science or engineering major. - Follows the fall 2024 course and exam description, from 16 May 2025 - Guide structure last checked against official sources: August 30, 2026 ## Overview AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based is a first-year, algebra-based college physics course covering mechanics from kinematics through rotational motion, oscillations, and fluids. The course framework was revised effective fall 2024, and the most visible change for students is that fluids moved from AP Physics 2 into AP Physics 1, which now has eight units. The published weightings concentrate the exam heavily in translational dynamics and in work, energy, and power, with rotational motion and fluids also carrying substantial shares. Free-response questions are typed by task rather than by topic: one asks for a mathematical routine, one for translation between representations, one for experimental design and analysis, and one for qualitative and quantitative translation. Practicing those four shapes matters as much as reviewing content. Arcade Academy is an independent study workspace. Use the official Course and Exam Description for the authoritative content list and the official exam page for current format details, and use the unit pages below to organize problem practice. ## Exam format - **Total time:** 3 hours - **Section I:** 42 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour 25 minutes, 50% of the exam score - **Section II:** 4 free-response questions, 50% of the exam score - **Free-response types:** Mathematical routines, translation between representations, experimental design and analysis, and qualitative or quantitative translation - **Format update:** The multiple-choice count and per-section timing changed beginning with the May 2027 exam; confirm the current numbers on the official exam page - **Delivery:** Hybrid digital: multiple-choice questions are answered and free-response prompts are read in College Board's Bluebook app, and free-response answers are handwritten in a paper booklet - **Calculator:** Permitted on both sections; an equations and reference information sheet is provided - **Score scale:** 1 to 5 ## Scoring The multiple-choice and free-response sections each contribute half of a composite score, which College Board converts to the reported 1 to 5 scale using cut points set for that year's exam. Colleges set their own credit and placement policies, so no particular score guarantees credit anywhere. ## Units AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based is organized into 8 units. Each one below lists its published weighting where the governing body publishes one, the topics it covers, and study tips specific to it. ### 1. Unit 1: Kinematics - Position: 1 of 8 - Published weighting: 10–15% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-1-kinematics Unit 1 describes motion without yet explaining it. Scalars and vectors, displacement, velocity, and acceleration are defined, then extended to two dimensions and to motion viewed from different reference frames. The representational fluency built here, moving between narrative, graph, equation, and motion diagram, is assessed all year. #### Topics - **Scalars and vectors in one dimension** — Distinguishing magnitude-only quantities from directed ones, and using sign as direction in one dimension. - **Displacement, velocity, and acceleration** — Average versus instantaneous quantities, and the relationships that connect the three. - **Representing motion** — Reading position, velocity, and acceleration graphs, including slopes and areas, and translating between them. - **Reference frames and relative motion** — Describing the same motion from different frames and combining velocities appropriately. - **Motion in two dimensions** — Vector components, projectile motion, and treating horizontal and vertical motion independently. #### Study tips - Practice converting a velocity-time graph into position and acceleration graphs until it is a single mental step. - State the sign convention explicitly before starting any problem; most kinematics errors are direction errors. - Solve projectile problems by writing the two independent axes first, before choosing any equation. ### 2. Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics - Position: 2 of 8 - Published weighting: 18–23% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-2-force-and-translational-dynamics Unit 2 is one of the two most heavily weighted units. It covers systems and center of mass, free-body diagrams, all three of Newton's laws, and the specific forces the course uses: gravitational, friction, spring, and normal. Circular motion and gravitation are treated as applications of the same laws. #### Topics - **Systems and center of mass** — Choosing a system boundary, treating an extended object as a point mass, and locating the center of mass. - **Forces and free-body diagrams** — Identifying every interaction acting on a chosen system and drawing the diagram to scale. - **Newton's three laws** — Inertia, the proportionality between net force and acceleration, and force pairs acting on different objects. - **Gravitational force** — Weight near a surface, the universal law of gravitation, and the field produced by a massive body. - **Friction and spring forces** — Static versus kinetic friction, the normal force dependence, and the restoring force of an ideal spring. - **Circular motion** — Centripetal acceleration, the net inward force requirement, and applications including orbits and banked turns. #### Study tips - Draw a labeled free-body diagram for every dynamics problem before writing an equation, without exception. - Practice identifying the third-law partner for each force and stating which object it acts on. - Give this unit and Unit 3 the largest share of practice time; together they carry the heaviest published weighting. ### 3. Unit 3: Work, Energy, and Power - Position: 3 of 8 - Published weighting: 18–23% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-3-work-energy-and-power Unit 3 shares the heaviest published weighting with Unit 2. It defines work as an energy transfer, develops kinetic and potential energy, and uses conservation of energy as an alternative to force analysis. Choosing between an energy approach and a dynamics approach is itself a tested skill. #### Topics - **Translational kinetic energy** — The dependence on mass and the square of speed, and the work-energy relationship that changes it. - **Work** — Work as force through a displacement, the role of the angle between them, and work from a force-versus-position graph. - **Potential energy** — Gravitational and elastic potential energy, the arbitrariness of the reference level, and energy diagrams. - **Conservation of energy** — Tracking energy through a system, accounting for dissipation, and knowing when the total is conserved. - **Power** — Power as the rate of energy transfer, and the relationship between power, force, and speed. #### Study tips - Define the system and its boundary before writing an energy equation; most errors here come from an unclear system. - Practice deciding between energy and force methods on the same problem to see when each is faster. - Use energy bar charts for multi-stage problems so nothing is dropped between stages. ### 4. Unit 4: Linear Momentum - Position: 4 of 8 - Published weighting: 10–15% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-4-linear-momentum Unit 4 introduces momentum and impulse as the time-integrated view of force, then applies conservation of momentum to collisions and explosions. The distinction between elastic and inelastic collisions, and which quantity is conserved in each, is the central testable idea. Impulse from a force-versus-time graph is a frequent representation task. #### Topics - **Linear momentum** — Momentum as mass times velocity, its vector nature, and its relationship to kinetic energy. - **Change in momentum and impulse** — Impulse as force applied over time, and the area under a force-versus-time graph. - **Conservation of linear momentum** — The conditions under which total momentum is conserved, and how system choice affects the analysis. - **Elastic and inelastic collisions** — What is conserved in each case, perfectly inelastic collisions, and explosions run in reverse. #### Study tips - Write momentum equations component by component; treating momentum as a scalar is the most common error. - Practice stating which quantities are conserved before computing anything in a collision problem. - Connect impulse to the safety-engineering examples the exam favors, such as crumple zones and padding. ### 5. Unit 5: Torque and Rotational Dynamics - Position: 5 of 8 - Published weighting: 10–15% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-5-torque-and-rotational-dynamics Unit 5 rebuilds kinematics and dynamics for rotation. Angular position, velocity, and acceleration parallel their linear counterparts, torque replaces force, and rotational inertia replaces mass. The strongest approach is to learn each rotational idea alongside its translational analogue rather than as a separate topic. #### Topics - **Rotational kinematics** — Angular displacement, velocity, and acceleration, and the equations that mirror the linear case. - **Connecting linear and rotational motion** — Relating arc length, tangential speed, and tangential acceleration to their angular counterparts. - **Torque** — Torque as force times lever arm, the role of the angle of application, and the sign convention for rotation. - **Rotational inertia** — How mass distribution relative to the axis determines resistance to angular acceleration. - **Rotational equilibrium** — Balanced torques and balanced forces, and analyzing beams, levers, and supported bars. - **Newton's second law in rotational form** — Net torque as the product of rotational inertia and angular acceleration, applied to rigid bodies. #### Study tips - Keep a two-column table pairing each translational quantity with its rotational analogue and update it as the unit proceeds. - Practice choosing the pivot deliberately in equilibrium problems; a good choice removes unknowns. - Draw the lever arm explicitly rather than estimating it from the diagram. ### 6. Unit 6: Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems - Position: 6 of 8 - Published weighting: 5–8% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-6-energy-and-momentum-of-rotating-systems Unit 6 extends energy and momentum conservation into rotation. Rotational kinetic energy, angular momentum, and angular impulse are defined, then applied to rolling motion and orbiting satellites. Problems that combine translation and rotation, such as a rolling object on a ramp, are the characteristic form. #### Topics - **Rotational kinetic energy** — Energy stored in rotation, and combining it with translational kinetic energy for rolling objects. - **Torque and work** — Work done by a torque through an angular displacement, and rotational power. - **Angular momentum and angular impulse** — Angular momentum for point masses and rigid bodies, and the change produced by a torque over time. - **Conservation of angular momentum** — When angular momentum is conserved, and why changing rotational inertia changes angular speed. - **Rolling and orbital motion** — Rolling without slipping, and applying energy and angular momentum conservation to satellite orbits. #### Study tips - Practice rolling problems as combined energy accounts: translational plus rotational, sharing one constraint. - Explain the spinning-skater example in terms of rotational inertia rather than intuition. - Check whether external torques act before invoking conservation of angular momentum. ### 7. Unit 7: Oscillations - Position: 7 of 8 - Published weighting: 5–8% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-7-oscillations Unit 7 covers simple harmonic motion in mass-spring and pendulum systems. Period and frequency, the shape of the position, velocity, and acceleration curves, and the energy exchange between kinetic and potential forms are the core ideas. The exam frequently asks what changes the period and what does not. #### Topics - **Defining simple harmonic motion** — The restoring force proportional to displacement, and which systems satisfy that condition. - **Frequency and period** — Period of a mass-spring system and a simple pendulum, and which variables each depends on. - **Representing and analyzing oscillations** — Amplitude, phase, and the relative timing of position, velocity, and acceleration curves. - **Energy of simple harmonic oscillators** — Continuous exchange between kinetic and elastic or gravitational potential energy over one cycle. #### Study tips - Memorize which variables do and do not affect period for both systems; that contrast is heavily tested. - Sketch position, velocity, and acceleration on shared axes to fix the phase relationships. - Identify the equilibrium position first in every oscillation problem; it anchors the whole analysis. ### 8. Unit 8: Fluids - Position: 8 of 8 - Published weighting: 10–15% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-1/unit-8-fluids Unit 8 joined AP Physics 1 in the revised framework. It covers density and pressure, buoyancy through Archimedes' principle, and fluid flow through the continuity equation and Bernoulli's principle. The unit is best learned as an application of Newton's laws and conservation of energy rather than as a new set of formulas. #### Topics - **Internal structure and density** — Density as mass per volume, and how the particle model explains fluid behavior. - **Pressure** — Pressure as force per area, gauge versus absolute pressure, and how pressure varies with depth. - **Fluids and Newton's laws** — Buoyant force from Archimedes' principle, and floating and sinking as a force-balance question. - **Fluids and conservation laws** — The continuity equation from conservation of mass, and Bernoulli's principle from conservation of energy. #### Study tips - Treat buoyancy problems as free-body diagrams with one extra force rather than as a separate topic. - Derive the depth dependence of pressure once so the relationship is reconstructable under pressure. - Practice continuity and Bernoulli together on pipe problems, since they are usually needed in sequence. ## Study strategies - Allocate study time by published weighting, giving force and translational dynamics and work, energy, and power the largest share. - Practice all four free-response task types separately, because experimental design and qualitative-quantitative translation are scored on different criteria than a straightforward calculation. - Solve problems symbolically before substituting numbers; the exam frequently asks for relationships and proportional reasoning rather than a numeric answer. - Work on representational fluency deliberately: convert every problem into a diagram, a graph, and an equation, since translation between representations is its own free-response type. - Learn rotation alongside translation using a running analogy table, which cuts the effective content load of Units 5 and 6 substantially. - Take at least one full timed exam so pacing on the multiple-choice section is a settled habit before test day. ## Frequently asked questions ### How is the AP Physics 1 Exam structured? The exam runs 3 hours and is split evenly: a multiple-choice section worth 50% of the score and a free-response section of 4 questions worth the other 50%. The multiple-choice count and section timing changed beginning with the May 2027 exam, so check the official exam page for current numbers before building a pacing plan. ### Which AP Physics 1 units are most challenging? College Board does not rank unit difficulty. Students commonly report that rotational dynamics and the combined rolling problems in Units 5 and 6 take the most practice, and that fluids feels unfamiliar because it joined the course only in the revised framework. Practice results are a better guide than any general ranking. ### How is the exam scored? Points from both sections combine into a composite score that is converted to the reported 1 to 5 scale using cut points set each year. Credit and placement are decided by individual colleges, so the same score can mean different things at different schools. ### When do students usually start studying? A common approach is to work problems throughout the year rather than reviewing at the end, then start cumulative timed practice roughly two months before the May exam. Physics rewards accumulated problem-solving repetitions more than late content review. ### Is a calculator allowed, and how is the exam delivered? A calculator is permitted on both sections, and an equations and reference information sheet is provided. AP Physics 1 is a hybrid digital exam: multiple-choice questions are answered in College Board's Bluebook app and free-response answers are handwritten in a paper booklet. Confirm current policy on the official exam page. ### Is Arcade Academy affiliated with College Board? No. AP® is a registered trademark of College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this site. Arcade Academy is an independent educational resource. ## Related exam guides - [AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-2): Cover the seven units of the revised AP Physics 2 framework, thermodynamics through modern physics, with published weightings. - [AP Physics C: Mechanics](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-physics-c-mechanics): Calculus-based mechanics across the seven units of the revised framework, from kinematics to oscillations. - [AP Calculus AB](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-calculus-ab): All eight AP Calculus AB units with published exam weightings, from limits through applications of integration. - [AP Chemistry](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-chemistry): Work through all nine AP Chemistry units with published exam weightings, from atomic structure to electrochemistry. ## Independence and trademark notice AP® is a registered trademark of College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this site. Arcade Academy is an independent educational resource. Confirm current exam format, dates, and policies with College Board directly. AP® is a registered trademark of College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this site. Arcade Academy is an independent educational resource.