Navigating the AP® Physics 1 exam can be difficult for any student. That’s why we wrote this comprehensive AP® Physics 1 study guide. 

In this post, we’ll go over key questions you may have about the exam, how to study for AP® Physics 1, as well as what review notes and practice resources to use as you begin to prepare for the exam.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

What’s the Format of the AP® Physics 1 Exam?

There are two types of questions on the AP® Physics 1 exam: Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) and Free-Response Questions (FRQs).

Section	Questions	Time	% of Exam Score
1: Multiple Choice	40 MCQs	1 hour and 20 minutes	50%
2: Free Response	4 FRQs	1 hour and 40 minutes	50%

How Long is the AP® Physics 1 Exam?

The AP® Physics 1 exam is 3 hours long.

How Many Questions Does AP® Physics 1 Have?

The AP® Physics 1 exam has 44 total questions (40 MCQs and 4 FRQs).

Return to the Table of Contents

What Topics are Covered on the AP® Physics 1 Exam? 

There are 8 units of study covered on the AP® Physics 1 exam.

Unit of Instruction	Exam Weighting for MC Questions
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%

Use the following table to ensure that you are prepared for any topic you may encounter on the AP® Physics 1 exam.

Unit	Topics	Resources
Unit 1: Kinematics	Apply kinematic equations to solve scenarios involving linear motion Interpret and translate between position-time, velocity-time, and acceleration-time graphs. Apply kinematic equations to solve scenarios involving projectile motion. Interpret or design an experiment to study the behavior.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 1
Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics	Represent forces as vectors with magnitude and direction. Use Newton’s first law to predict behavior in situations involving inertia. Apply Newton’s second law to situations involving force, mass, and/or acceleration (very important throughout the rest of the course). Use Newton’s third law to identify force pairs. Create and interpret free-body diagrams, including common forces such as: gravity, normal, applied, tension, and friction. Solve problems involving inclined planes. Define open and closed systems and distinguish between internal and external forces. Distinguish between static and kinetic friction and solve problems involving both. Apply the concept of center of mass to analyze motion of a system.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 2
Unit 3: Work, Energy, and Power	Define open and closed systems as it pertains to conservation of energy. Make predictions about changes in kinetic energy based on forces applied to an object. Calculate work using force and displacement and use it to determine changes to kinetic energy. Calculate potential energy of an object or system and use it to determine the total energy. Predict changes in the total energy of a system due to changes in position and speed of objects or frictional interactions. Apply conservation of energy and the Work-Energy Theorem to determine changes in kinetic, potential, or internal energy of a system.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 3
Unit 4: Linear Momentum	Predict or calculate a change in momentum of an object based on an applied force. Explain the relationships between changes in momentum of an object, average force, impulse, and time of interaction. Analyze data to characterize the change in momentum of an object. Design a plan for collecting data to investigate the relationship between changes in momentum and the average force exerted on an object over time. Calculate change in momentum using a force-time graph. Define open and closed systems as it pertains to conversation of momentum. Predict behaviors of systems of objects during collisions using conversation of momentum (quantitatively for 1D, qualitatively for 2D). Distinguish between elastic and inelastic collisions and what quantities are conserved during each. Predict the velocity of the center of mass of a system when there is no external interaction but there is internal interaction.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 4
Unit 5: Torque and Rotational Dynamics	Apply the rotational kinematic equations to solve scenarios involving rotational motion. Distinguish and translate between rotational and circular motion. Apply the rotational equivalent of Newton’s second law using torque to describe rotational force. Understand a qualitative sense of how mass distribution affects rotational inertia (memorizing formulas is not required). Calculate torques on a two-dimensional system in static equilibrium by examining a representation or model.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 5
Unit 6: Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems	Predict the behavior of rotational collision situations by the same processes that are used to analyze linear collision situations. Apply the relationship between torque and angular momentum to predict changes in angular velocity or momentum. Apply conservation of momentum to predict changes in a system for a situation in which there is no net external torque.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 6
Unit 7: Oscillations	Predict which properties determine the motion of a simple harmonic oscillator and what the dependence of the motion is on those properties. Calculate quantities associated with pendulum and spring simple harmonic motion (i.e., force, displacement, acceleration, velocity, period of motion, frequency, spring constant, string length, mass).   Analyze data to identify relationships between given values and variables associated with objects in oscillatory motion. Predict changes in energy of an object or system due to simple harmonic motion (usually springs).	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 7
Unit 8: Fluids	Predict how properties such as density, pressure, and fluid speed influence the behavior of fluids in static and dynamic situations. Apply the continuity equation and Bernoulli’s principle to analyze fluid flow and determine relationships between pressure, velocity, and height. Calculate quantities related to fluids, including buoyant force, pressure at a given depth, and flow rate in various scenarios.	Albert Practice Questions: Unit 8

Return to the Table of Contents

Multiple Choice and Free Response Sections of the AP® Physics 1 exam are also assessed on Science Practices. Science Practice 1 is only assessed in the free response section.

Section 1: Multiple Choice

Science Practice	Exam Weighting
1. Creating Representations	0%
2. Mathematical Routines	55-75%
3. Scientific Questioning and Argumentation	25-35%

Section 2: Free Response

Science Practice	Exam Weighting
1. Creating Representations	20-35%
2. Mathematical Routines	30-40%
3. Scientific Questioning and Argumentation	35-45%

Return to the Table of Contents

What Do the AP® Physics 1 Exam Questions Look Like?

Multiple-Choice Exam Questions

Let’s look at some problems, categorize them, and think of some strategies that would help you answer the different types of questions.

Change/Comparison

This is a common AP® Physics Multiple Choice Question. Expect to use at least two unique thought processes to come up with the final answer.  These problems can ask for comparisons during a scenario, comparisons of two scenarios when values of variables are changed, or rankings within a scenario.

This problem compares forces at one point of a scenario.

Source: CollegeBoard CED

In this example as in many problems, Newton’s Third Law is a key concept for the first step. You will use this and the First Law quite often when analyzing questions. The force on Block X exerted by Block Y is equal and opposite to the force on Block Y exerted by Block X. Cross out Choices B and C immediately. Now consider that because the top block stops momentarily before moving upward, there is an upward acceleration. The upward force acing on Block Y must be greater than its weight. That gives you A as the answer.

Here is another example.

Source: CollegeBoard CED

This example covers the concept of conservation of energy, which is one of the most emphasized topics on the exam. Recall that the total mechanical energy is conserved in a closed system. At point A, the block has both elastic potential energy stored in the spring and gravitational potential energy due to its position. At point C, the object has potential energy, but only in the form of gravitational potential energy since there is no spring present. 

Start by comparing the gravitational potential energy at the two points. The amount of gravitational potential energy is related to the object’s position. Since the height, h, does not change, the gravitational potential energy is equal between point A and point C. This allows us to eliminate choices C and D. 

Now compare the kinetic energies. The object is initially at rest at point A, so it has zero kinetic energy there. At point C, there is still some energy that was originally in the form of elastic potential energy. Since the gravitational potential energy cannot increase without an increase in height, the kinetic energy must increase in order for the system to conserve its total mechanical energy. The kinetic energy at point C is greater than that at point A, and choice B is the answer. 

Best Represents

This is the another common question type. These problems allow you to select a graph or model that matches an initial graph or scenario. Sometimes a graph is given and you pick the scenario. Know the models and how they relate to the equations for the topic. 

Be sure to pay close attention to the axis labels on the graph. Is the graph velocity vs. time or position versus time? Displacement vs. time or energy vs. time? You may want to think through a description of what each section of the graph means if there are multiple sections. Here are some examples:

In this first example, there are graphs that are matched to a scenario. There are three different motions to consider. You can eliminate any answer without three different motions immediately. Acceleration is a parabola in the first section, a straight line with a positive slope in the second, and a straight line with a negative slope in the third. Know the models for graphs of motion and forces!

Be sure to cross out the graph that does not return to the starting point. Choice B is the correct choice.

In our next example, a graph is matched to another graph. The answer is B again. For simple harmonic motion, the velocity is zero when the amplitude is greatest, and the speed is maximum when the position is zero. Forces are restoring forces proportion and opposite direction to displacement. You will definitely see these relationships so review them before the test.

Calculation

This type of problem accounts for 20-25% of the AP® Physics test. The strategy is exactly what it says – calculate, so look for that word. Use a formula, maybe two.  Usually, the problem asks for most closely matches to account for minor differences, so if you round differently you may be in the last decimal place. Look at the formula sheet and get out your calculator. 

Here are two examples from the Sample Exam Questions. These deal with two topics that show up on every test so know them cold: Conservation of Energy and Projectile motion.

Source: CollegeBoard CED

Problem #5 in the Sample Exam is this type of problem, uses conservation of energy and the correct answer is C. The total of kinetic and potential energy is constant.

Source: CollegeBoard CED

Problem #7 is a projectile problem where the vertical motion is accelerated by gravity and the horizontal motion shows constant velocity. Remember independence of perpendicular direction and the answer is C. At the top of the projectile’s trajectory, the vertical velocity is zero but the total velocity equals the horizontal component.

Justification/Explanation

Next, we see a different type of question where you must select the correct justification or explanation. Read the prompt and all the possible answers carefully. Those words will be clearly stated in the prompt. Many times this has an answer and an explanation. If you are sure of the answer, you will have an easy time eliminating wrong choices. Other problems ask for an explanation or justification of a statement.

Here is an example of having to give an answer and justification. You must know exactly what the terms mean to choose the correct one. Note that there are 4 unique answers and 4 unique explanations. Sometimes there will be just two possible “answers” with multiple explanations. Choice B is the correct answer to the problem below. Conservation of Momentum and Conservation of Energy is valid in all collisions; Conservation of Kinetic Energy is valid only in Elastic Collisions. Understand the difference for these important concepts.

Here’s another example.

Source: CollegeBoard CED

Here is another type of explanation. In this case, a statement must be matched with the correct observation. Be sure to read the entire answer in each choice. Part of the answer may be correct for the first column, but incorrect in the second. In this question, the work cannot be positive or zero, since a force and displacement must occur in the same plane of motion in order for work to be done. The challenge is then to determine the motion of the box that would be explained with negative work. Choice D is the correct answer.

True/Correct Statement

This type of question may be combined with an explanation, as in this example.

Choices A and D both result from a misinterpretation the graph. A positive, non-zero slope on a velocity vs. time graph indicates a positive, non-zero acceleration. According to Newton’s Second Law, the acceleration is proportional to the magnitude and direction of the net force acting on an object.  Choice B is the correct answer.

Return to the Table of Contents

Experimental

Our final category of questions focuses on the analysis of real data as collected in a lab setting rather than the procedure or data collection. Best practices tell you to graph the data. Linearize the graph to draw valid conclusions and values. There is no other strategy for handling data.  Don’t plug values into an equation. 

Choice D took that approach with the first data point and is incorrect. However, the details of the graphing depend on the relationship and model, use the equations to guide your thinking to graph correctly,  In this example, the relationship between time and position is quadratic. 

If you plot the data without linearizing the data, you can take the slope, but this is the average velocity, not acceleration. Square the time on the x-axis and plot position on the y-axis. The slope is related to the acceleration- confirm this with dimensional analysis. Now look at the equation and you will see a factor of one half. The slope is half the gravitational acceleration so double the value before choosing an answer. 

Graphing, linearizing and models are the critical strategies here.

Common elements in these questions include reading the problem and answers carefully, looking for key words, graphing data and knowing the models. Review key topics like Projectile Motion, Newton’s Laws, Conservation Laws, and simple harmonic motion relationships.

Look over your formula sheet and be sure you know when each formula applies.

Return to the Table of Contents

Free Response Examples

Example: Qualitative/Quantitative Translation

Source: CollegeBoard CED

This question is a great example of AP® Physics 1 testing your ability to connect conceptual reasoning with mathematical analysis. Rather than just solving for numerical values, you must demonstrate a deep understanding of conservation laws, make qualitative predictions, and interpret graphical data to support your reasoning.

First, students must use conceptual reasoning to predict how the final velocity of the system changes when one mass is much smaller than the other. This requires an understanding of momentum transfer in inelastic collisions and approximation techniques. The student must also use logical reasoning rather than plugging numbers into a formula.

Then, the student has to do the actual derivation. This includes applying the conservation of momentum equation and isolating variables.

Lastly, students must check whether their derived equation supports their initial prediction. This requires logical consistency and the ability to communicate scientific reasoning clearly.

This question emphasizes the interplay between conceptual understanding, mathematical derivation, and justification—a critical skill set for success in AP® Physics 1.

Return to the Table of Contents

What Can You Bring to the AP® Physics 1 Exam?

We recommend packing your bag the night before so you can relax the morning of the exam.

AP® Calculator Policy: Four-function, scientific, or graphing calculators are allowed on both sections of the exam. Please review calculator policies and approved calculators here.

What You Should Bring to Your AP® Physics Exam

• At least two sharpened No. 2 pencils for completing the multiple choice section
• At least two pens with black or blue ink only. These are used to complete certain areas of your exam booklet covers and to write your free-response questions. The College Board is very clear that pens should be black or blue ink only, so be sure to double-check!
• If you are concerned that your exam room may not have an easily visible clock, you are allowed to wear a watch as long as it does not have internet access, does not beep or make any other noise, and does not have an alarm.
• If you do not attend the school where you are taking an exam, you must bring a government issued or school issued photo ID.
• If you receive any testing accommodations, be sure that you bring your College Board SSD Accommodations Letter.

What You Should NOT Bring to Your AP® Physics Exam

You should NOT bring:

• Electronic devices. Phones, smartwatches, tablets, and/or any other electronic devices are expressly prohibited both in the exam room and break areas. 
• Books, dictionaries, highlighters, or notes
• Mechanical pencils, colored pencils, or pens that do not have black/blue ink
• Your own scratch paper
• Reference guides
• Watches that beep or have alarms
• Food or drink

This list is not exhaustive. Please check with your teacher or testing site to make sure that you are not bringing any additional prohibited items.

Return to the Table of Contents

How to Study for AP® Physics 1: 7 Steps

1. Get a feel for what the actual test is like (3 hours)

Although the College Board has not released an official full-length exam for AP® Physics 1, you can take a diagnostic test from Albert.io and get a feel for pacing, topics covered, exam format, and other tidbits in real time.

If you have already purchased review books like Barron’s or Sterling Test Prep, they also usually have several practice tests that you can try. Time yourself to mimic the set up on test day, and jot down topics or sections that are particularly difficult.

2. Use your results to prioritize topics of study (1 – 2 hours)

The AP® Physics 1 exam covers a number of specific concepts including kinematics, dynamics, energy, and more. You can study more efficiently by first grading your diagnostic test and narrowing down topics that you need to practice the most.

Make sure to read the fine details in the free response scoring guidelines and err on the side of being a harsh and nitpicky grader.

After you have self-graded the test, grab a copy of the topics list and check off topics that you aced. Circle the topics and skills that were the most challenging for you, as those will be the ones you tackle first in your review sessions.

3. Mark down study dates in a calendar (20 min)

Count out the number of days you have until the AP® Physics Exam and block out some time each day for review. This will prevent you from trying to squeeze in a last-minute cram session that only stresses you out.

Try to review for at least 30 minutes a day (with an off-day here or there) to fully maximize the practice and content retention. Even better: find a friend who is also taking the AP® Physics 1 exam and plan your “study dates” together!

4. Brush up on tough physics concepts with review notes and lecture videos (2 – 5 hours)

Read through your textbook or online Physics pages (like class notes from Deborah Houts) to relearn the material that you may have missed the first time around. If you prefer watching videos, YouTube channels from Flipping Physics and Dan Fullerton are wonderful resources to get you started.

Remember to focus on the trickier topics that you circled in step #2, and don’t be shy in reaching out to teachers or friends if you have questions about what you learn.

5. Hone your skills with a LOT of practice problems (10 – 15 hours)

This is the golden key to your study sessions. You should practice sample AP® questions from specific topics, checking each one along the way. With tools like Albert.io, you will also get detailed feedback on answers that are right or wrong, helping you sharpen your understanding of tough concepts.

Alternatively, pick problems from released AP® Physics 1 free response questions or AP® Physics Review Books to see questions written from a variety of test creators.

6. Time yourself taking another full exam (3 hours)

Put your refreshed knowledge to the test with another full-length exam, paying special attention to time management as you pace through each section.

Afterwards, reflect on where you felt comfortable and rushed, and figure out exam sections that you may need to study up or save for last. For example:

• Are you spending too much time graphing points and best fit lines for regression models?
• Do you have trouble locating useful formulas on your formula sheet when needed?
• Do you have a good system for marking incomplete questions (or guesses) that you can come back to at the end?

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you make a plan for test day so that you walk in feeling confident and fully prepared. 

7. The day before the exam… relax! (5 hours)

You can cycle through steps #4-6 as many times as you’d like during your study sessions, but save the last day for rest and self-care.

Spend time with friends, exercise, walk on the beach, eat your favorite (healthy) food, do some light review with flashcards, and most importantly… get a full night’s rest!

You can even plan a fun post-exam celebration— space out with romcoms or ice cream—to hype you up for the other side of the test.

Return to the Table of Contents

AP® Physics 1 Review: 15 Must-Know Study Tips

Being successful at the AP® level takes dedication and practice. Whether this is your first AP® course or your fifth, this list of tips will help you be successful when you take the AP® Physics 1 exam.

5 AP® Physics 1 Study Tips for Home

1. Practice and review your math skills.

Physics is more or less applied math, and honing and sharpening your mathematical skills will serve you well on the day of the AP® Physics 1 exam. This ranges from manipulating basic equations to graphing linear equations and applying trigonometric functions.

Khan Academy has some great review pages on Algebraic Expressions and Trigonometry with right angles that you can use to supplement your review. Albert.io also has a wide selection of practice problems that you can utilize to develop your math skills related to the AP® Physics 1 exam.

2. Purchase a quality calculator that includes all of the common constants.

We recommend the CASIO fx-9860GII. It is designed to support students in a number of AP® courses and has an oversized, high resolution display that will help you breeze through the exam. It is easy to input equations, graph functions, load in constants, and has a full spreadsheet application page.

Pro tip: You can program many regularly-used physics formulas into your calculator and save yourself valuable time in those plug-and-chug problems.

3. Understand the amazing and comprehensive equation table that the College Board provides for you here.

As part of your practice, you can annotate the equation sheet and match the formulas to specific topics or concepts. That way, you create a mental map of the equation sheet that will be readily accessible on test day.

4. Memorize common physics formulas that are NOT on the equation sheet

Such as force of gravity on an incline, centripetal force, conservation of angular momentum, and more. Flipping Physics has provided a great summary of these physics formulas with an accompanying video explanation of each formula.

These concepts are integral to the AP® Physics 1 curriculum, and understanding these formulas well can give you a huge leg up for the exam.

5. Take the time to review fundamental physics concepts

Like conservation relationships, force of friction, angular momentum, and more. You can use your textbook or online resources like HyperPhysics and Flipping Physics to review and understand specific physics concepts that you struggle with.

Don’t skimp on this! The AP® Physics 1 exam is highly conceptual and will demand that you know the ins and outs of each topic. The same goes for interpreting diagrams and graphs, including their appropriate axes, labels, and scales.

5 AP® Physics 1 Multiple Choice Study Tips

1. Draw diagrams for everything, especially problems involving force and vector algebra.

Draw coordinate axes and any relevant vectors or component vectors, labeling those pieces with relevant symbols (such as a_x for acceleration in the x direction). Being able to add and subtract vectors to form a resultant vector from numerous interacting forces is at the heart of physics, and is something you will get better at with practice.

Get comfortable drawing free-body diagrams for a multitude of scenarios that you encounter in your practice sessions, including flying squirrels and marbles rolling down ramps.

2. Read the question and ALL answer choices.

Don’t rush when working through multiple choice questions. Read the question and answers thoroughly so you don’t make an erroneous choice and pick one of the “distractor” answers.

Try to come up with an answer to the question before looking at your choices to avoid being tricked by the options with subtle differences.

3. Master the relationship between work, energy and power—key concepts for the conservation of energy.

Work is done when a force produces motion, and it is measured by the product of force and the distance traveled along the direction of force: hence the formula W=F\cdot d \cdot \cos(\theta). Energy (kinetic or potential) is required to do work and Power is the rate at which you do the work \dfrac{W}{\triangle t}.

Here is a great CrashCourse on this fundamental concept, though for your purposes, you can skip any talk of integration and calculus. Afterward, test your knowledge of this concept with some practice problems from Albert.

4. Answer every question, even guessing if you have to.

You don’t get penalized for wrong answers on the AP® Physics 1 exam, so after reading through the question carefully and using the process of elimination to narrow down your answer choices, make a guess!

The same logic applies for the free response section, where you could get partial credit for a few correct ideas or small labeled diagrams of the problem. Never leave a problem blank.

5. Focus the bulk of your practice on heavily-weighted topics:

For example, these topics appear the most in the multiple choice section.

• Work, Energy, and Power (18-23%)
• Force and Translational Dynamics (18-23%)
• Kinematics (10-15%)
• Linear Momentum (10-15%)
• Torque and Rotational Dynamics (10-15%)
• Fluids (10-15%)

Other topics like rotational energy and harmonic motion will show up on the exam, but at a much lower frequency than those listed above.

5 AP® Physics 1 Free Response Study Tips

The free response section of the AP® Physics 1 Exam includes 4 questions. Every exam includes one experimental design and analysis question, one quantitative/qualitative translation question, one mathematical routines questions, and translation between representations question.

1. Read through all 4 questions first and tackle the “easiest” one.

You want to make the most of momentum on this physics test (no pun intended) and use the first question to build confidence and carry you through a tough section.

The FRQs are weighted differently and require different amounts of time:

• Mathematical Routines: 10 points, 20-25 minutes
• Translation Between Representations: 12 points, 25-30 minutes
• Experimental Design and Analysis: 12 points, 25-30 minutes
• Qualitative/Quantitative Translation: 8 points, 15-20 minutes

Use a watch to keep yourself on track and write something down for every single problem.

2. Support your answers with thorough explanations.

The free response questions require a conceptual understanding of the content, and the AP® graders will check to see that you know the how as well as the why for each problem.

That means you should refer to relevant graphs, explain connections to physics laws and principles, and directly answer the question at hand with reference to any sources provided. You can also provide graphs, diagrams, and equations to support your work.

3. Understand the Task Verbs and do exactly as asked.

The words “State”, “Derive”, “Sketch”, “Explain”, or “Verify” have very specific connotations in the AP® Physics 1 world, and you should read the College Board description carefully to get a sense of what you will be tasked with. These words provide great clues for what your solution should look like.

Knowing whether you are expected to write a quick sentence or provide a lengthy paragraph response can help you feel at ease and work efficiently through the test. Here is another great document that explains Exam Words in more detail.

4. As you practice, read through the scoring guidelines thoroughly.

The College Board provides sample free response questions as well as scoring rubrics from previous AP® Physics 1 exams here. The questions may be different, but the targeted skills remain the same, and understanding both complete and insufficient solutions is an important piece of the puzzle.

Albert also provides sample free response questions with detailed feedback after each one. After each practice problem, if you can articulate WHY you got an answer wrong and how your understanding of the topic has changed, you will be well on your way to acing the AP® Physics 1 Exam. 

5. If you cannot do question (a) of a multi-part free response question, carry on!

You can make up a value for (a) and use that for subsequent parts, or explain what your process would be had you successfully answered part (a). Credit for each part is awarded independently, so you can still receive full credit for the later parts.

Remember, the exam graders assess your work holistically and are looking for areas to give you credit. If you organize your work and clearly communicate your thinking, you are on a good path.

For an even more comprehensive list of tips, see The Ultimate List of AP® Physics 1 & 2 Tips.

Return to the Table of Contents

AP® Physics 1 Exam: 5 Test Day Tips to Remember

1. Get everything packed and ready to go the night before.

You do not want to scramble on the morning of the exam! Make sure you have everything from our What You Should Bring list ready to go.

2. Ensure that you know where your testing site is and how to get there.

Especially if you’re taking the exam some place other than your own school. If you’re getting a ride from a parent or friend, be sure they know the address beforehand. If you’re using public transportation, double-check the schedule.

Taking your exam at your own school? Don’t get too comfortable—know the room number. This is something small but impactful that you can do to reduce your stress the morning of your exam.

3. Eat well the morning of the exam.

Every teacher tells you this, and for good reason! A hungry stomach leads to an unfocused mind. Eating well before taking your exam helps you stay focused and on task.

4. Bring gum or mints with you.

The rules say that you can’t have food or drink in the testing room, but mints and/or gum are usually allowed unless it’s against your testing site’s own rules. If you find yourself losing focus, pop a mint in your mouth!

Studies show that mint can increase focus. If you don’t believe it, read this article and find out for yourself.

5. Breathe! Just breathe, and trust yourself.

If you have followed all of our advice, studied well, and listened to your teacher, then you are sure to be successful.

AP® Physics 1 Review Notes and Practice Test Resources

Here are some of the best resources online for review and practice:

AP® Practice Exams 

This site provides class notes, review sheets, PDF notes and lecture notes. It is your one stop shop for all notes AP® Physics 1!

Use this site if: you struggle with taking notes or want to cross-reference your own notes with other note-taking formats.

Don’t use this site if: you are confident in your own note-taking skills. 

Flipping Physics 

Do you prefer video lecture notes? This site will provide what you need! 

Use this site if: you learn best by watching and listening to lectures. These video lecture notes are wonderful additional resources. 

Don’t use this site if: you learn best through reading through material. 

Web.MIT.Edu 

MIT offers incredibly comprehensive Practice Workbooks that include practice problems and answers with detailed explanations.

Use this site if: you want an incredibly comprehensive resource of multiple choice practice problems similar to what you will find on the AP® Physics 1 exam.

Don’t use this site if: you do not need to spend time on additional multiple choice practice problems.

Return to the Table of Contents

Summary: The Best AP® Physics 1 Review Guide

We covered a lot of material in this review guide for the 2025 AP® Physics 1 exam. Here is a quick recap of the structure of our review guide:

• The AP® Physics 1 Exam has two parts and will last for 3 hours.

Remember that the main topics covered are:

• Kinematics
• Force and Translational Dynamics
• Work, Energy, and Power
• Linear Momentum
• Torque and Rotational Dynamics
• Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems
• Oscillations
• Fluids

For more detail on each topic, see AP® Physics 1: Course and Exam Description.

How to Study for AP® Physics 1: 7 Steps

1. Take a full practice exam
2. Prioritize topics of study
3. Map out study dates in a calendar
4. Review physics concepts with notes and videos
5. Do a LOT of practice problems
6. Take another full test, focusing on time management
7. Relax the day before the exam

Best Tips for AP® Physics:

• Practice and review math skills like manipulating algebraic expressions and right triangle trigonometry
• Have a good understanding of the formula sheet, plus the important physics formulas that you are NOT provided on the test
• Master the relationship between work, energy and power—key concepts for the conservation of energy
• Draw diagrams for everything, especially problems involving force and vector algebra
• Support your answers with thorough explanations, including any relevant graphs, diagrams, equations, and reference to sources

We hope you have found this review guide helpful in your quest to pass the AP® Physics 1 exam. Be sure to use the resources provided in this guide to maximize your study sessions and walk into the test with confidence. Don’t forget to practice, practice, practice. Good luck!