AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based

Course Overview

AP Physics 2 is an algebra-based, college-level introductory physics course. Students develop an understanding of physics by developing models of physical phenomena through inquiry-based investigations. Students build their understanding of physical models as they explore and solve problems in the following topics:

1.Thermodynamics

2.Electricity, Fields, and Potentials

3.Electric Circuits

4.Magnetism and Electromagnetism

5.Geometric Optics

6.Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics

7.Modern Physics

College Course Equivalents： AP Physics 2 is the equivalent of the second course in the college-level algebra-based introductory physics course sequence.

Prerequisites： Students should have completed AP Physics 1 or an equivalent introductory physics course and should have taken or concurrently take Pre-Calculus or its equivalent.

Course Content

Course content is organized into common units of study that provide a suggested sequence for the course and detail the required content and conceptual understanding that colleges and universities typically expect students to be proficient in in order to receive college credit and/or matriculation.
The AP Physics 2 course framework describes the course requirements clearly and in detail for students to be successful. The framework specifies what students must know, be able to do, and understand, focusing on ideas that cover the core principles, theories, and processes of physics. The framework also encourages instruction that prepares students to make connections across fields by preparing them to think about the physical world in a broader way.

Units

The course content is organized into commonly taught units. The units are arranged in a logical sequence that is common in many college courses and textbooks.The seven units in AP Physics 2 and their associated weightings on the multiple-choice section of the AP Exam are listed on the next page.
The pacing suggestions on the course overview page provide suggestions for how teachers can cover the required course content and progress checks. The suggested number of class hours is based on a schedule of 45 minutes per day, five days per week. Although these suggestions are provided to help with planning, teachers are free to adjust the course pace based on student needs, alternative schedules (e.g., split schedules), or the school’s academic calendar.

This table summarizes the content, topics, and exam weightings for each unit in the course of the AP Physics 2 Exam.

Unit	Description	Topics May Include	On The Exam
Unit 9: Thermodynamics	You’ll study heat, temperature, and thermal energy in contexts such as heat engines, heat pumps, and refrigerators.	– Thermodynamic systems – Pressure, thermal equilibrium, and the Ideal Gas Law – Thermodynamics and forces – Heat and energy transfer – Thermodynamics and collisions – Probability, thermal equilibrium, and entropy	15%–18% of exam score
Unit 10: Electric Force, Field, and Potential	You’ll begin your study of electromagnetism by getting familiar with fundamental concepts such as electric charge and electric forces.	– Electric systems and charge – Charge distribution: Friction, conduction, and induction – Electric permittivity – Electric forces and free-body diagrams – Gravitational and electromagnetic forces – Electric charges and fields – Electric flux – Conservation of electric energy	15%–18% of exam score
Unit 11: Electric Circuits	You’ll continue to examine the behavior of charged particles to learn about the components of a circuit, the path that an electric current travels on.	– Definition and conservation of electric charge – Resistivity and resistance – Resistance and capacitance – Kirchhoff’s loop rule – Kirchhoff’s junction rule and the conservation of electric charge	15%–18% of exam score
Unit 12: Magnetism and Electromagnetism	You’ll build on your knowledge of electrostatic forces and fields to explore the relationships between moving electric charges—electric currents—and the magnetic forces and fields they generate.	– Magnetic systems – Magnetic permeability and magnetic dipole moment – Vector and scalar fields – Monopole and dipole fields – Magnetic fields and forces – Forces review – Magnetic flux	12%–15% of exam score
Unit 13: Geometric Optics	You’ll be introduced to the different ways of thinking about how light interacts with materials, and how images are formed by mirrors and lenses.	– Refraction, reflection, and absorption – Images from lenses and mirrors	12%–15% of exam score
Unit 14: Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics	You’ll be introduced to the study of waves, including ways to quantify a wave, such as amplitude, wavelength, period, frequency, and wave speed, and how light can be modeled as a wave.	– Periodic waves – Electromagnetic waves – Sound – Doppler Effect – Interference and diffraction	12%–15% of exam score
Unit 15: Modern Physics	You’ll be introduced to the concepts of modern physics and learn how these new models can resolve the conflicts and questions that Newtonian physics could not answer.	– Radioactive decay – Energy in modern physics (energy in radioactive decay and E = mc²) – Mass–energy equivalence – Blackbody radiation – Properties of waves and particles – Photoelectric effect	12%–15% of exam score

Science Practices

The table below lists the scientific practices that students should develop in the AP Physics 2 course. These practices form the basis for many of the tasks on the AP Physics 2 exam. The unit guides that follow embed these practices throughout the course, providing teachers with a way to integrate the practices into the course content with enough repetition that students are prepared to apply these scientific practices when they take the AP Physics 2 exam.

Practice 1

Creating representations 1
Create representations that describe physical phenomena.

Skills:

1.A Create graphs, tables, charts, or diagrams to represent physical situations.

1.B Create quantitative graphs with appropriate scale and units, including plotting data.

1.C Create qualitative diagram sketches that represent the characteristics of a model or the behavior of a physical system.

Practice 2

Mathematical routines 2

Perform analysis to derive, calculate, estimate, or predict.

Skills:
2.A Derive symbolic expressions from known quantities by selecting and following logical mathematical paths.

2.B Calculate or estimate unknown quantities with units of known quantities by selecting and following logical computational paths.

2.C  Compare physical quantities between two or more scenarios or at different times and places within a single scenario.

2.D Use functional dependencies between variables to predict new values ​​or factors of change in physical quantities.

Practice 3

Scientific questioning and argumentation 3
Describe experimental procedures, analyze data, and support claims.

Skills:

3.A  Create experimental procedures appropriate to a given scientific question.

3.B  Apply appropriate laws, definitions, theoretical relationships, or models to make claims.

3.C Justify or support claims using evidence from experimental data, physical representations, or physical principles or laws.

Laboratory Requirement and Lab Notebooks

Laboratory Requirement ：This course requires 25% of instructional time to be spent in hands-on laboratory work with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to demonstrate fundamental physical principles and apply scientific practices. Inquiry-based laboratory experiences support the AP Physics 2 course and AP Course Review course requirements by providing students with opportunities to engage in scientific practices as they design experimental plans, make predictions, collect and analyze data, apply mathematical routines, develop explanations, and communicate their work. Colleges may require students to present laboratory materials from AP science courses before awarding college credit for laboratory work, so students should be encouraged to keep their lab notebooks, reports, and other materials.

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