🧲AP Physics 2
Key Terms

540 essential vocabulary terms and definitions to know for your AP Physics 2 exam

🧲AP Physics 2
Key Terms by Unit

Unit 9 – Thermodynamics

9.1 Kinetic Theory of Temperature and Pressure

9.2 The Ideal Gas Law

9.3 Thermal Energy Transfer and Equilibrium

9.4 The First Law of Thermodynamics

9.5 Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity

9.6 Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Unit 10 – Electric Force, Field, and Potential

10.1 Electric Charge and Electric Force

10.2 The Process of Charging

10.3 Electric Fields

10.5 Electric Potential

10.6 Capacitors

10.7 Conservation of Electric Energy

Unit 11 – Electric Circuits

11.1 Electric Current

11.2 Simple Circuits

11.3 Resistance, Resistivity, and Ohm's Law

11.4 Electric Power

11.6 Kirchhoff's Loop Rule

11.7 Kirchhoff's Junction Rule

11.8 Resistor-Capacitor (RC) Circuits

Unit 12 – Magnetism and Electromagnetism

12.1 Magnetic Fields

12.2 Magnetism and Moving Charges

12.3 Magnetism and Current-Carrying Wires

12.4 Electromagnetic Induction and Faraday's Law

Unit 13 – Geometric Optics

13.1 Reflection

13.2 Images Formed by Mirrors

13.3 Refraction

13.4 Images Formed by Lenses

Unit 14 – Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics

14.1 Properties of Wave Pulses and Waves

14.2 Periodic Waves

14.3 Boundary Behavior of Waves and Polarization

14.4 Electromagnetic Waves

14.5 The Doppler Effect

14.6 Wave Interference and Standing Waves

14.7 Diffraction

14.8 Double-Slit Interference and Diffraction Gratings

14.9 Thin Film Interference

Unit 15 – Modern Physics

15.1 Quantum Theory and Wave-Particle Duality

15.2 The Bohr Model of Atomic Structure

15.3 Emission and Absorption Spectra

15.4 Blackbody Radiation

15.5 The Photoelectric Effect

15.6 Compton Scattering

15.7 Fission, Fusion, and Nuclear Decay

15.8 Types of Radioactive Decay

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