AP Physics 1 Unit 3 Practice Test

Pick a unit and take a timed, AP^®-style test built only from that unit's questions — with AI feedback on every free-response answer.

unit 1 unit 2 unit 3 unit 4 unit 5 unit 6 unit 7 unit 8

Work, Energy, and Power

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Two ways to practice unit 3

standard

The exam experience, sized to one unit — timed like the real thing

20 Multiple Choice Questions

40 min

1 FRQ – FRQ 1 – Mathematical Routines

24 min

1 FRQ – FRQ 2 – Translation Between Representations

24 min

Sections run back-to-back with the same directions, timers, and scoring as the real exam

Total: 1 hr 28 min

customizable

Pick your own mix of question types

multiple choice questions

free response questions (choose as many as you want)

FRQ 1 – Mathematical Routines · 24 minFRQ 2 – Translation Between Representations · 24 minFRQ 3 – Experimental Design · 24 minFRQ 4 – Qualitative/Quantitative Translation · 24 min

Total: 40 min

How scoring works: multiple choice is scored instantly, free-response answers get point-by-point AI feedback, and your result is a percentage for this unit — not a projected AP^® score.

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AP Physics 1 Unit 3 practice questions

Try 10 multiple-choice questions from Unit 3 here. Pick an answer to see why it's right or wrong, then take the timed test above for a full AP-style set.

Question 1
An object of mass $m$ moves with speed $v$ and translational kinetic energy $K$ . If the object accelerates to a speed of $3v$ while its mass remains constant, which expression represents its new translational kinetic energy?
$3K$
$6K$
$9K$
$27K$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Translational kinetic energy depends on the square of the velocity ( $K \propto v^2$ ). Tripling the speed results in a factor of $3^2 = 9$ change in kinetic energy.
Question 2
A block of mass $m$ travels at speed $v$ with kinetic energy $K_0$ . A second block has mass $0.5m$ and travels at speed $2v$ . What is the kinetic energy of the second block in terms of $K_0$ ?
$0.5 K_0$
$1.0 K_0$
$2.0 K_0$
$4.0 K_0$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Kinetic energy is proportional to $m$ and $v^2$ . The new energy is proportional to $(0.5)(2^2) = (0.5)(4) = 2$ , resulting in $2.0 K_0$ .
Question 3
A vehicle traveling at speed $v$ requires a braking distance $d$ to stop. Assuming the braking force is constant, what braking distance is required if the vehicle is traveling at speed $2v$ ?
$d$
$\sqrt{2}d$
$2d$
$4d$
Show answer
Answer: (D)
Stopping distance is proportional to kinetic energy ( $W = Fd = \Delta K$ ). Since $K \propto v^2$ , doubling speed quadruples kinetic energy, requiring four times the distance to stop.
Question 4
A stone dropped from height $h$ reaches the ground with kinetic energy $K$ . If the stone is instead dropped from height $2h$ and air resistance is negligible, what is its kinetic energy upon reaching the ground?
$\sqrt{2}K$
$2K$
$4K$
$8K$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Gravitational potential energy ( $U_g = mgh$ ) converts directly to kinetic energy. Since $U_g \propto h$ , doubling the height doubles the final kinetic energy.
Question 5
An observer standing on the ground measures the kinetic energy of a car moving at velocity $v$ as $K$ . A second observer is moving in the same direction as the car at velocity $v/2$ . What value does the second observer measure for the car's kinetic energy?
$K/4$
$K/2$
$K$
$2K$
Show answer
Answer: (A)
The relative velocity of the car to the observer is $v - v/2 = v/2$ . Since $K \propto v^2$ , the measured energy is proportional to $(1/2)^2 = 1/4$ of the original value.
Question 6
A satellite of mass $m$ orbits a planet in a circular path of radius $R$ with kinetic energy $K$ . If the satellite is moved to a circular orbit of radius $2R$ , what is the new kinetic energy? (Note: For a circular orbit, $v = \sqrt{GM/R}$ ).
$K/4$
$K/2$
$K$
$2K$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Orbital velocity squared is inversely proportional to radius ( $v^2 \propto 1/R$ ). Since $K \propto v^2$ , doubling the radius halves the kinetic energy.
Question 7
A cart moves along a track with kinetic energy $K$ . As it passes under a hopper, sand is dropped into the cart, tripling its total mass while its speed remains constant. What is the new kinetic energy of the cart?
$K/3$
$K$
$3K$
$9K$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Translational kinetic energy is directly proportional to mass ( $K \propto m$ ). Tripling the mass while keeping speed constant triples the kinetic energy.
Question 8
Object A has mass $m$ and speed $v$ . Object B has mass $4m$ . If both objects have the same translational kinetic energy, what is the speed of Object B?
$v/4$
$v/2$
$2v$
$4v$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
For kinetic energies to be equal ( $\frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{1}{2}(4m)v_B^2$ ), $v^2 = 4v_B^2$ . Taking the square root gives $v_B = v/2$ .
Question 9
An object has momentum $p$ and kinetic energy $K$ . If the object's momentum is doubled while its mass remains constant, what is the new kinetic energy?
$K/2$
$2K$
$4K$
$8K$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Kinetic energy is related to momentum by $K = p^2/2m$ . Doubling momentum ( $p \to 2p$ ) results in a factor of $2^2 = 4$ increase in kinetic energy.
Question 10
A block launched by a spring compressed by distance $x$ has exit kinetic energy $K$ . If the spring is compressed by distance $3x$ , what is the exit kinetic energy?
$3K$
$6K$
$9K$
$27K$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Elastic potential energy ( $U_s = \frac{1}{2}kx^2$ ) converts to kinetic energy. Since $U_s \propto x^2$ , tripling the compression increases the energy by a factor of $3^2 = 9$ .

What's on the AP Physics 1 Unit 3 practice test

The standard version takes about 88 minutes and follows the timing and directions of the AP exam, sized to one unit:

20 Multiple Choice Questions (40 minutes)
1 FRQ – FRQ 1 – Mathematical Routines (24 minutes)
1 FRQ – FRQ 2 – Translation Between Representations (24 minutes)

Questions are drawn from 1070 multiple-choice questions and 41 FRQs written for Unit 3, Work, Energy, and Power.

Practice AP Physics 1 Unit 3 FRQs

Answer the unit's free-response questions one at a time and get a score on every part.

FRQ 1 – Mathematical Routines (11 questions)
FRQ 2 – Translation Between Representations (10 questions)
FRQ 3 – Experimental Design (6 questions)
FRQ 4 – Qualitative/Quantitative Translation (14 questions)

AP Physics 1 Unit 3 Practice Test

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AP Physics 1 Unit 3 practice questions

What's on the AP Physics 1 Unit 3 practice test

Practice AP Physics 1 Unit 3 FRQs

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