AP Physics 1

Course Description

The AP Physics 1 course is designed to enable you to develop the ability to reason about physical phenomena using important science process skills such as explaining causal relationships, applying and justifying the use of mathematical routines, designing experiments, analyzing data and making connections across multiple topics within the course.

The AP Physics 1 course and exam require a variety of quantitative skills. As you develop these skills throughout the course, refer to the Quantitative Skills in the AP Sciences guide.

This AP Physics 1 course is equivalent to the first semester of a typical introductory, algebra-based physics course. It is highly recommended for students planning to major in engineering or one of the physical sciences and is also recommended for those students planning to study medicine abroad. All students take the AP Physics 1 College Board Examination in the spring. Most U.S. universities grant credit and placement to students who achieve a passing score on this exam.

Organized around Big Ideas:

The AP Physics 1 course and exam are organized around six underlying principles called the big ideas, which encompass the core scientific principles, theories and processes of physics that cut across traditional content boundaries and give you a broad way of thinking about the physical world.

• Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal structure.
• Big Idea 2: Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
• Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
• Big Idea 4: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
• Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
• Big Idea 6: Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena.