This guide organizes advice from past students who got 4s and 5s on their exams. We hope it gives you some new ideas and tools for your study sessions. But remember, everyone's different—what works for one student might not work for you. If you've got a study method that's doing the trick, stick with it. Think of this as extra help, not a must-do overhaul.

📌 Overview

• Students are given 5 free response questions on experimental design, mathematical reasoning, and explaining physics phenomenon.
• 50% of Exam Score.
• 90 Minutes for 5 questions, about 18 minutes per question
  • FRQ 1 – Experimental design
  • FRQ 2 – Qualitative/Quantitative translation
  • FRQ 3 – Paragraph argument short answer
  • FRQ 4 – Short answer
  • FRQ 5 – Short answer

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💭 General Advice

Tips on mindset, strategy, structure, time management, and any other high level things to know

• You can start with questions you are most confident in. Skip questions you don’t totally understand and come back to them. Earning all the points on a smaller question may be more time efficient than trying to guess points on a harder, more weighted question.
• Points are allocated randomly on each question. They grade every answer with different points, so there is no way ahead of time to know which question you should spend the most time on. Therefore, be as comprehensive as you can on the short time allotted to you. REMEMBER TRY TO ATTEMPT ALL!
• REMAIN CALM! Sometimes the questions with the most number of words will ask you a super simple concept. To understand what to expect, read the last 1-2 lines that contain the question, so that you know what unit/concept you should apply.
• Create a ranking of each of the units and rank yourself from 1-5, with 1 being needs the most time and 5 being the easiest unit. On the exam, work backwards with problems of type 5 down to type 1.
• Each picture/visual has a purpose on the exam. Always double check to make sure that there’s no hidden information that can allow you to employ a different approach to solving a problem.
• It's okay to skip questions! Some of those are not even graded, they're just there to help you move onto the next step.
• Read between the lines. It can be easy to over-complicate concepts. You see most of the concepts you are learning about in-real life! Physics is entirely physical. You just have to apply these concepts without panicking. Try to understand what they're saying in spite of the complicated names and fluff.
• Before the end of the 90 minutes, you should aim to read/work on or solve all 5 FRQs at least 3 times. The first time to assess the section as a whole, the second time to work on the easier problems, and the last time to give yourself time to work the longer FRQs.
• Use the equation sheet as a “word bank”. Never say “it, that, the force, etc”. Always replace those words with the full name of the object.
• Readers will only score the least correct response. Try not to contradict yourself and do not write a bunch of gibberish hoping it will give you points.
• Don't forget your units!!
• Make sure that you familiarize yourself with the common question types. By doing so, you can easily get yourself points by choosing the method that the AP exam is trying to test you.
• Check if your answer to the previous part will help. A lot of free response questions are continuations of what you solved for. For example, when you find velocity, they might ask you for the total energy of the system next.
  • Interestingly, in almost every case, the process you use is more important than whether you have the right answer in the end. Using a wrong answer from a previous section but doing the right things to it will only cost you maybe one point out of 3-5.

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🕐 Before you Write

What should a student do in the first few minutes, before they start writing?

• Make sure to fully read the entire question and understand the image if provided with one. Having an understanding of the process happening is extremely helpful.
• Take deep breaths. Don't be afraid to move your hands and feel the air resistance (iykyk). Try not to reread. It helps to write important stuff on a paper and then go back to that instead of reading the entire question again.
• Remember that you are trying to show the reader that you know physics. You are not trying to teach physics to a 5 year old. Write enough to get your point across but know that professionals are the ones scoring your answers. Keep it concise and clear.
  • Adding on to above, though you are not explaining to a 5 y/o, assumptions still should not be made about what the reader (grader) knows.
• It helps to draw diagrams of the system in the FRQs. By doing so, you can split a complicated system into its individual components and make it a lot simpler for yourself.
  • Draw a free-body diagram for anything involving movement of an object with multiple forces.
• Remember that either kinetics or energy equations can be used to model the motion of an object. Using energy equations can sometimes vastly simplify a question!

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💈Question Styles

Experimental Design (12 pts, 1 question)

• Make your steps obvious without room for error (but don’t state grabbing supplies as a step, this is redundant).
  • E.g. place your confetti cannon on the second stair step, 12 meters above ground.
• You are allowed to mention technological equipment.
  • I.e. if you want to measure the position, you don’t need to use a camera/marker to do it by hand. Instead, you can say, “Using a motion tracker oriented (insert direction) that tracks the (quantity) as a function of (time), we can get the (derived quantity).”
  • If using a motion detector in your procedures, be sure to state that the detector is placed parallel to the motion of the object.
• Remember to mention all of your equipment and materials in your procedures!
• Try to think of experiments that you performed in class and go from there.
• Only direct measurements should be logged in the data table. If you have to calculate the measurement, it is not good data.
• Common measurements include mass, height, length, time, force, distance, etc.
• Common products of an experiment which will never be measured or plotted on a graph: coefficient of friction, acceleration, energy, momentum.
• For a procedure write the following:
  • Set-up and well-labeled diagram (anything not on the diagram must be explained in the set-up).
  • What quantities will you measure and what will you take the measurement with? Do not forget to include units, precision and/or uncertainty in measurement.
  • Do not forget to write about the error (systematic or random) and to address how to minimize this error. Multiple trials is always the easiest way if applicable.
• ALWAYS mention repeating trials. The best way to do this is to do each trial 3x, with 5 changes of the independent variable.
• It helps to memorize the names of the equipment. For example, writing photogate would be a lot less time consuming than to come up with a name for a equipment similar to its function. Although it will not save a lot of time in the short run, it could help save some precious minutes if you are trying to make up names a lot.

Quantitative-Qualitative Translation (12 pts, 1 question)

• If you aren’t sure where to start, find the formula on the formula chart that gives you what you are being asked to find.
• If asked to derive an expression, pay attention to the variables requested in the answer. Typically, it is only in terms of basic fundamental constants and variables. (m, g, L, theta, etc).
• If asked to linearize a graph, again look at the formula chart to see which equation is wanted. You will either use the area or the slope of the linearized graph to obtain your product.
• You may have to change your slope by a constant. Example: “g” can be derived by graphing period squared vs length of a pendulum but must be adjusted due to the 2*pi in the formula.

Short Answer Paragraph (7 pts, 1 question)

• Your paragraph argument should always have at least four sentences.
  • The first sentence answers whichever question they ask.
  • The second sentence should pull the general physics that applies.
  • The third sentence should connect that physics to the problem.
  • The last sentence is to draw the conclusion together.
• Make sure to always quickly mention formulas or concepts; you can guarantee partial credit if you at least mention the correct ideas that they’re looking for, even if your methodology or final answer isn't correct.

Short Answer General (7 pts, 2 questions)

• Take the most time on the first parts (A and B), since ALL of the following questions and subparts will be based on your answer from the first part. It’s fine if you have to rush the end of part D, as long as you can get parts A-C correct!
• Keep your work streamlined and organized for future reference, and make sure you skim through the future questions so you can preview what you're building towards. Keep that in the back of your head!

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📝Using the Equation Sheet

• Know what each of the equations mean in their own context. For example, gravitational potential energy (mg∆y) has a range of various values depending on what the zero point is. You must define a zero point to base your ∆y off of.
• Don't rely on the equation sheet to present you an equation. You should know what most of them are used for.
• Use the sheet to double check your equations when you write on for a FRQ.
• Don't glance at the sheet too much. You may find yourself looking at the sheet like it contains all the answers, it does not. You do. Believe in yourself and your understanding.
• Read the question first, and then go to the formula sheet if necessary, try not to rely on it too heavily, remain authentic and trust your learning, even though it may seem counter intuitive!