AP Physics 1 Unit 5 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

Torque and Rotational Dynamics

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Two ways to practice unit 5

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 5 practice questions

Try 10 multiple-choice questions from Unit 5 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
A flywheel initially rotating at $12.0 \text{ rad/s}$ slows down with a constant angular acceleration of $-2.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$ . What is the total angular displacement of the flywheel from the moment it begins to slow down until it comes to a complete stop?
$6.0 \text{ rad}$
$36 \text{ rad}$
$72 \text{ rad}$
$144 \text{ rad}$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Using $\omega^2 = \omega_0^2 + 2\alpha\Delta\theta$ , substitute values: $0 = (12)^2 + 2(-2)\Delta\theta$ . Solving gives $144 = 4\Delta\theta$ , so $\Delta\theta = 36 \text{ rad}$ .
Question 2
A car with tires of radius $0.25 \text{ m}$ accelerates from rest with a constant linear acceleration of $2.0 \text{ m/s}^2$ . Assuming the tires roll without slipping, what is their angular velocity after $4.0 \text{ s}$ ?
$2.0 \text{ rad/s}$
$8.0 \text{ rad/s}$
$16 \text{ rad/s}$
$32 \text{ rad/s}$
Show answer
Answer: (D)
First, find linear velocity: $v = at = 2(4) = 8 \text{ m/s}$ . Then convert to angular velocity using $v = r\omega$ : $\omega = 8 / 0.25 = 32 \text{ rad/s}$ .
Question 3
A fan blade accelerates from rest with a constant angular acceleration of $\pi \text{ rad/s}^2$ . How many revolutions does the blade complete in the first $4.0 \text{ s}$ of motion?
$2.0 \text{ revolutions}$
$4.0 \text{ revolutions}$
$8.0 \text{ revolutions}$
$16 \text{ revolutions}$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Calculate displacement in radians: $\Delta\theta = \frac{1}{2}\alpha t^2 = 0.5(\pi)(16) = 8\pi \text{ rad}$ . Convert to revolutions: $8\pi / 2\pi = 4.0 \text{ revolutions}$ .
Question 4
A disk rotating at $4.0 \text{ rad/s}$ accelerates constantly to $12 \text{ rad/s}$ while rotating through an angular displacement of $32 \text{ rad}$ . What is the angular acceleration of the disk?
$1.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$2.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$4.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$8.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Use $\omega^2 = \omega_0^2 + 2\alpha\Delta\theta$ : $144 = 16 + 2\alpha(32)$ . Simplify to $128 = 64\alpha$ , so $\alpha = 2.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$ .
Question 5
A string is wrapped around a pulley of radius $0.20 \text{ m}$ . A block attached to the string falls from rest, causing the pulley to rotate. If the block falls $5.0 \text{ m}$ in $2.0 \text{ s}$ , what is the average angular acceleration of the pulley?
$2.5 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$6.25 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$12.5 \text{ rad/s}^2$
$25 \text{ rad/s}^2$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
First find linear acceleration: $y = \frac{1}{2}at^2 \rightarrow 5 = 0.5a(4) \rightarrow a = 2.5 \text{ m/s}^2$ . Then convert: $\alpha = a/r = 2.5/0.2 = 12.5 \text{ rad/s}^2$ .
Question 6
A rotor starts from rest and accelerates at $3.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$ for $4.0 \text{ s}$ , then continues at constant angular velocity for another $4.0 \text{ s}$ . What is the total angular displacement?
$48 \text{ rad}$
$72 \text{ rad}$
$96 \text{ rad}$
$144 \text{ rad}$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Phase 1: $\theta_1 = 0.5(3)(4^2) = 24 \text{ rad}$ . Final speed $\omega = 3(4) = 12 \text{ rad/s}$ . Phase 2: $\theta_2 = 12(4) = 48 \text{ rad}$ . Total = $24 + 48 = 72 \text{ rad}$ .
Question 7
A wheel is initially rotating counterclockwise at $8.0 \text{ rad/s}$ . It is subjected to a constant clockwise angular acceleration of $2.0 \text{ rad/s}^2$ . What is the angular displacement of the wheel after $5.0 \text{ s}$ ?
$15 \text{ rad}$
$25 \text{ rad}$
$40 \text{ rad}$
$65 \text{ rad}$
Show answer
Answer: (A)
Define CCW as positive. $\theta = \omega_0 t + \frac{1}{2}\alpha t^2$ . Substitute: $8(5) + 0.5(-2)(25) = 40 - 25 = 15 \text{ rad}$ .
Question 8
An object's angular velocity as a function of time is given by $\omega(t) = 4.0 + 2.0t$ , where $\omega$ is in rad/s and $t$ is in seconds. What is the angular displacement of the object from $t=0$ to $t=3.0 \text{ s}$ ?
$10 \text{ rad}$
$15 \text{ rad}$
$21 \text{ rad}$
$30 \text{ rad}$
Show answer
Answer: (C)
Displacement is the area under the $\omega-t$ graph (trapezoid). $\omega_0=4$ , $\omega_3=10$ . Area = $\frac{4+10}{2} \times 3 = 7 \times 3 = 21 \text{ rad}$ .
Question 9
A turbine starts from rest with constant angular acceleration. It rotates through an angle $\theta$ in the first second. What is the total angle rotated through in the first $3.0 \text{ s}$ ?
$3\theta$
$4\theta$
$6\theta$
$9\theta$
Show answer
Answer: (D)
From rest, $\Delta\theta = \frac{1}{2}\alpha t^2$ , so $\Delta\theta \propto t^2$ . If time triples ( $1 \rightarrow 3$ ), displacement increases by a factor of $3^2 = 9$ .
Question 10
A merry-go-round of radius $2.0 \text{ m}$ starts from rest and accelerates such that a point on the rim has a tangential acceleration of $1.0 \text{ m/s}^2$ . What is the angular velocity of the merry-go-round after $6.0 \text{ s}$ ?
$0.50 \text{ rad/s}$
$3.0 \text{ rad/s}$
$6.0 \text{ rad/s}$
$12 \text{ rad/s}$
Show answer
Answer: (B)
Find angular acceleration: $\alpha = a_t / r = 1.0 / 2.0 = 0.5 \text{ rad/s}^2$ . Then find velocity: $\omega = \alpha t = 0.5(6) = 3.0 \text{ rad/s}$ .

What's on the AP Physics 1 Unit 5 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 1934 multiple-choice questions and 30 FRQs written for Unit 5, Torque and Rotational Dynamics.

Practice AP Physics 1 Unit 5 FRQs

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

FRQ 1 – Mathematical Routines (3 questions)
FRQ 2 – Translation Between Representations (5 questions)
FRQ 3 – Experimental Design (8 questions)
FRQ 4 – Qualitative/Quantitative Translation (14 questions)

AP Physics 1 Unit 5 Practice Test

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AP Physics 1 Unit 5 practice questions

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