Which AP Physics 1 unit is worth the most marks?

Unit 2 (Force and Translational Dynamics) and Unit 3 (Work, Energy and Power) are tied at 18-23% each, together making up between 36% and 46% of the multiple-choice section. Units 6 and 7 are the lightest at 5-8% each.

How long is the AP Physics 1 exam?

Three hours. Section I is 42 multiple-choice questions in 85 minutes, and Section II is 4 free-response questions in 95 minutes. Each section is worth 50% of the score.

AP Physics 1 Exam Guide

Q: Is AP Physics 1 hard?

AP Physics 1 is consistently one of the lower-scoring AP exams. It is algebra-based, so the mathematics is not the obstacle. The difficulty is that most questions ask you to justify a claim or connect two representations rather than plug numbers into a formula.

Q: Can I use a calculator on the AP Physics 1 exam?

Yes. A four-function, scientific or graphing calculator is allowed on both the multiple-choice and free-response sections. You are also given a reference booklet containing constants, equations and trigonometric values.

Q: What are the four AP Physics 1 free-response question types?

They appear in a fixed order: Mathematical Routines (10 points), Translation Between Representations (12 points), Experimental Design and Analysis (10 points), and Qualitative/Quantitative Translation (8 points).

Format, unit weightings, and a study plan built around your exam date.

3 hrs

Total exam length

Multiple-choice questions
85 minutes

Free-response questions
95 minutes

Units, unequally weighted

Free interactive simulation — why planets speed up near the Sun Open →

The exam at a glance

Section timings, question counts and weighting

Section I — 50%42 multiple choice · 85 minutes

Section II — 50%4 free response · 95 minutes

Remember — those four free-response questions carry as much weight as all 42 multiple-choice questions combined.

Section	Question type	Questions	Time	Weight
I	Multiple choice	42	85 minutes	50%
II	Free response	4	95 minutes	50%

Where should your study hours go?

Your time, split by what each unit is actually worth

My exam date

Hours per week

Pick your exam date to see your plan.

Units 2 and 3 together are 36–46% of your exam. If you are short on time, that is where the hours belong.

Where to study each unit

Video lessons, simulations and mind maps

Forces and Motion video lesson: a block on an incline with the mg sin alpha and mg cos alpha components labelled

Watch the lessons

Video lessons for Kinematics and Force & Translational Dynamics — the two units worth the most marks.

Free

Conical pendulum simulation showing the cone of motion, a tension against cone-angle graph, and live readouts for period, tension, speed and centripetal acceleration

Play the simulations

Change one variable and watch the graph and the numbers move. Built to be pulled apart, not just watched.

Free

Mind map of position, displacement and velocity in two dimensions

Revise with mind maps

Every concept hierarchy on one page — built for the week before the exam.

$11

What is on the exam, unit by unit

All eight units and their official weightings

Percentages are the official multiple-choice weightings.

The four free-response questions, decoded

40 points, four fixed question types

Q1 Mathematical Routines10 pts
Q2 Translation Between Representations12 pts
Q3 Experimental Design and Analysis10 pts
Q4 Qualitative/Quantitative Translation8 pts

They always appear in this order — knowing which one you are looking at tells you what the grader wants.

Q1 · Mathematical Routines10 pts

20–25 minutes

Analyse a scenario with mathematics and predict what happens. You derive a symbolic relationship, calculate a number, and build a representation — a free-body diagram, or a sketch of velocity against time.

What wins marks: making a claim and justifying it as a logical chain of physics, not a bare answer.

Q2 · Translation Between Representations12 pts

25–30 minutes

The heaviest question on the paper. You create a visual representation, derive equations, and draw a graph relating quantities in the scenario.

What wins marks: the final part — explaining why two of your own answers do or do not agree, or predicting what changes if the setup does.

Q3 · Experimental Design and Analysis10 pts

25–30 minutes

Two halves. Design a procedure that answers a question — vary one parameter, measure one characteristic, with equipment a real school lab has. Then plot and analyse data you are given.

What wins marks: plotting something whose slope or intercept actually answers the question asked.

Q4 · Qualitative/Quantitative Translation8 pts

15–20 minutes

The shortest question. Make and justify a claim, derive a related equation, then connect the two — reconciling your answers, or predicting how they would change.

What wins marks: consistency. The reasoning and the algebra have to tell the same story.

42 questions, 85 minutes

Pacing, and what the multiple-choice section really tests

2 min

per question

85 minutes divided by 42 questions. That average is the most useful number in this section — a question that has taken four minutes has already cost you the next one.

How to spend the 85 minutes

Two minutes per question is the pace. Mark anything that overruns and move on.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a blank.
A calculator is allowed — but most questions test whether you picked the right relationship, not your arithmetic.
Some questions share one stimulus. Read the setup once, carefully, then answer all of them.

What the section actually tests

Calculate an unknown quantity 20–25%

Apply a law to make a claim 20–25%

Derive a symbolic expression 15–20%

Compare quantities across scenarios 10–15%

Predict from variable dependence 10–15%

Justify a claim using evidence 5–10%

Creating representations is not assessed here — only in the free-response section.

What is on the equation sheet

And what you still have to know without it

You get a reference booklet for the whole exam, both sections. Students who have never opened it before exam day lose time hunting through it.

They give you

Constants: the gravitational constant, g = 9.8 N kg⁻¹, one atmosphere of pressure
Metric prefixes from tera to pico, and all unit symbols
Sine, cosine and tangent for 0°, 30°, 37°, 45°, 53°, 60° and 90°
Geometry and trigonometry: areas, volumes, surface areas, the right triangle
Every mechanics and fluids equation, with a full key to the symbols
The standing assumptions: inertial frames, negligible air resistance, ideal springs, strings and fluids

They do not — this is on you

Which equation applies, and when. The sheet is a list, not a decision tree.
The conditions a conservation law needs before you may use it.
How to define a system — nearly every energy and momentum question turns on this.
How to build a free-body diagram from a described situation.
What the slope and the area under a graph physically mean.
That the 37°/53° values are there because 3-4-5 triangles keep appearing.

Common questions

Difficulty, calculators, heaviest units, study time

Is AP Physics 1 hard?

It is consistently one of the lower-scoring AP exams, but the reason is specific rather than mysterious: it is algebra-based, so the mathematics is not the obstacle. The difficulty is that most questions ask you to justify a claim or connect two representations rather than plug numbers into a formula. Students who prepare by memorising equations find it hard. Students who practise explaining why something happens do not.

Can I use a calculator on the AP Physics 1 exam?

Yes, on both sections. A four-function, scientific or graphing calculator is allowed throughout. You are also given a reference booklet with constants, equations and trigonometric values.

Which unit is worth the most marks?

Unit 2 (Force and Translational Dynamics) and Unit 3 (Work, Energy and Power) are tied at 18–23% each — together, between 36% and 46% of the multiple-choice section. Units 6 and 7 are the lightest at 5–8% each.

How long should I study for AP Physics 1?

There is no single number, because it depends on how much of the course you have already covered in class. The more useful question is how your hours are distributed: weighting them by what each unit is worth beats studying every unit for the same length of time. The planner above does that split for you.

What are the four free-response question types?

In fixed order: Mathematical Routines (10 points), Translation Between Representations (12 points), Experimental Design and Analysis (10 points), and Qualitative/Quantitative Translation (8 points).

Official College Board resources

The source documents, straight from the exam board

This page explains the exam. For the course framework, the reference booklet and released questions with scoring guidelines, go to College Board directly.

AP Physics 1 on AP Central — course and exam description, released free-response questions, scoring guidelines
AP Physics 1 for students — exam dates, scoring, and what to bring on the day