For this skill, you will have to explain why phenomena occur the way they do. This is where your algebra and calculus skills kick in.Īrgumentation is the last science practice, and it may be the hardest one to master. Practice 6 also wants you to develop strong mathematical skills, and it deals with plugging numbers into formulas. Science Practice 6: Mathematical Routines In addition, the practice deals with understanding equations algebraically and how the variables relate to each other. Practice 5 wants you to be able to solve mathematical problems and understand the theories behind them. Science Practice 5: Theoretical Relationships Practice 4 also wants you to be able to identify trends and linearize data. Practice 4 is a continuation of Practice 3 with the emphasis on analyzing graphs. Scatterplots represent a set of data and can be used to show relationships between two or more variables. Science Practice 3: Representing Data and PhenomenaĬollege Board expects you to know how to make a scatterplot of bivariate data with proper scaling and labeling. You will be expected to know the different parts of an experiment and how changing certain variables can affect it. The heart of science is the scientific method, where experiments are done to propose new theories. You should learn how to read models and try to understand what the model is representing. Visuals are powerful representations that can teach us about how the world works by simulating behaviors. Science Practice 1: Visual RepresentationsĬollege Board wants you to know how to understand visuals-especially models and charts. These practices emphasize skills that you should develop in the course and will be used on the exam. In addition to Big Ideas, the AP Physics C: Mechanics course has 7 Science Practices. But, this Big Idea is a great introduction for electricity and magnetism, which are both field forces as well. These topics are combined among different units.Ĭhange deals with changes in motion with kinematics and momentum in collisions.Lastly, Conservation introduces the idea that net energy and momentum cannot be created or destroyed.įorce Interactions is concerned with dynamics, which includes the interaction of forces.įields deals with forces that act through a distance which, in this course, is only gravity. Topic 7.1 talks about Newton's Law of gravitation between two celestial bodies, while Topic 7.2 deals with planetary orbits and Kepler's laws.ĪP Physics C: Mechanics contains four Big Ideas: Change, Force Interactions, Fields, and Conservation. The last unit deals with large distances in space instead of distances near a planet's surface. This is a representation of the force of gravity between two bodies. Each unit contains different topics and learning objectives, and I will briefly outline each topic. Vector algebra and analysis is typically covered in pre-calculus courses.ĪP Physics C: Mechanics has 7 units, each of which will be discussed in detail below. Besides calculus and algebra, you also need to be able to with vectors easily. These include deriving the moments of inertia and centers of mass of rigid objects. From my experience, the two most advanced calculus topics on the exam are separable differential equations and calculations involving density. If you are taking calculus at the same time as physics, you won't need to worry about studying ahead. This means that you need to build confidence with both calculus and algebra skills. The main prerequisite for this course is calculus. Even so, many succeed in taking this course as their first physics course. Most of the content in this article is from the AP Physics C: Mechanics Course and Exam Description officially released by College Board.Ĭollege Board recommends that AP Physics C: Mechanics be a second-year physics course. Trevor Packer, the head of the AP programme, tweeted the distribution of "The 2019 AP Physics C: Mechanics scores: 5: 35.9% 4: 27.2% 3: 18% 2: 10.4% 1: 8.4%."Īccording to these stats, this means that over half of all students pass the exam! At Fiveable, our main goal is to help you pass! To pass, you'll need to know what will be on the test and how it will be tested. Yet, most students who take the test pass every year. AP Physics C: Mechanics is one of the hardest AP classes with its rigorous content, with the 2019 test reported as the hardest in 15 years amongst students.
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