AP® 1: ALGEBRA-BASED AND AP® PHYSICS 2: ALGEBRA-BASED Course and Exam Description Including the Curriculum Framework Effective Fall 2014 Revised Edition AP® PHYSICS 1: ALGEBRA-BASED AND AP® PHYSICS 2: ALGEBRA-BASED Course and Exam Description Including the Curriculum Framework Effective Fall 2014 Revised Edition The College Board New York, NY About the College Board The College Board is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org. AP® Equity and Access Policy The College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved. Schools should make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population. The College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved. AP Course and Exam Descriptions AP course and exam descriptions are updated regularly. Please visit AP Central® (apcentral.collegeboard.org) to determine whether a more recent course and exam description PDF is available. © 2015 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: http://www.collegeboard.org. ii © 2015 The College Board. Contents About This Edition v Acknowledgments vi About AP® 1 Offering AP Courses and Enrolling Students 1 How AP Courses and Exams Are Developed 2 Course Audit 3 How AP Exams Are Scored 3 Using and Interpreting AP Scores 4 Additional Resources 4 About the AP Physics 1 and 2 Courses 5 The Courses 5 The Laboratory Requirement 6 Recommended Prerequisites 6 Curriculum Framework Overview 6 Participating in the AP Course Audit 9 AP Physics 1 Curricular Requirements 9 Resource Requirements 10 AP Physics 2 Curricular Requirements 10 Resource Requirements 11 AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based and AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based Curriculum Framework 13 Introduction 13 The Emphasis on Science Practices 14 Overview of the Concept Outline 14 The Concept Outline 17 Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal structure 17 Big Idea 2: Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions 29 Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces 41 Big Idea 4: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems 60 Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws 73 Big Idea 6: Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena 93 iii © 2015 The College Board. Big Idea 7: The mathematics of probability can be used to describe the behavior of complex systems and to interpret the behavior of quantum mechanical systems 109 Science Practices for AP Physics 1 and 2 117 References 123 Appendix A: AP Physics 1 Concepts at a Glance 125 Appendix B: AP Physics 2 Concepts at a Glance 132 Appendix C: Developing Big Ideas from Foundational Physics Principles 142 The Laboratory Investigations 143 Inquiry Instruction in the AP Science Classroom 143 Expectations for Analysis of Uncertainty in Laboratory Investigations 145 Time and Resources 145 References 146 Exam Information 147 Student Work for Free-Response Sections 148 Terms Defined 149 The Paragraph-Length Response 150 Expectations for the Analysis of Uncertainty 151 Calculators and Equation Tables 152 Time Management 153 Sample Questions for the AP Physics 1 Exam 155 Multiple-Choice Questions 155 Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions 176 Free Response Questions 177 Scoring Guidelines 182 Sample Questions for the AP Physics 2 Exam 189 Multiple-Choice Questions 189 Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions 210 Free Response Questions 211 Scoring Guidelines 218 Appendix: AP Physics 1 and 2 Equations and Constants 225 Contacts 233 iv © 2015 The College Board. About This Edition This revised edition of the AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based and AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based Course and Exam Description includes information about expectations regarding the analysis of uncertainty in laboratory investigations and on the AP Physics 1 and 2 exams. It also describes what is meant by a paragraph-length response required in the free-response section of the exams. The additional information appears in the sections on Laboratory Investigations and Exam Information. In addition, the tables of equations and constants set out in the Appendix have been updated with minor corrections. Return to the Table of Contents v © 2015 The College Board. Acknowledgments The College Board would like to acknowledge the following committee members, consultants, and reviewers for their assistance with and commitment to the development of this curriculum: Members of the AP Physics 1 and 2 Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee • Andrew Elby (co-chair), University of Maryland, College Park, MD • Connie Wells (co-chair), Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO • Eugenia Etkina, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ • Dolores Gende, Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, TX • Nick Giordano, Auburn University, Auburn, AL • Robert Morse, St. Albans School, Washington, DC • Deborah Roudebush, Oakton High School, Vienna, VA • Gay Stewart, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR Members of the AP Physics Redesign Commission • Larry Cain (co-chair), Davidson College, Davidson, NC • Gay Stewart (co-chair), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR • Robert Beck Clark, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT • Gardner Friedlander, University School of Milwaukee, River Hills, WI • Elsa Garmire, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH • Ken Heller, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN • Cherie Lehman, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL • Ramon Lopez, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX • Michael McIntosh, Whitney Young Magnet School, Chicago, IL • Deborah Roudebush, Oakton High School, Vienna, VA • Connie Wells, Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO • Dean Zollman, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Consultants and Reviewers for the College Board • Carlos Ayala, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA • Richard Duschl, Pennsylvania State University State College, PA • Bob Hilborn, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX • Jose Mestre, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL • Jim Pellegrino, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL • Jeanne Pemberton, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ • Mark Reckase, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI • Nancy Songer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI • Marianne Wiser, Clark University, Worcester, MA AP Curriculum and Content Development Directors for AP Physics • Karen Lionberger • Tanya Sharpe Return to the Table of Contents vi © 2015 The College Board. About AP® About AP® The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Through more than 30 courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit and/or advanced placement. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most rigorous course work available to them. Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable college course, and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college-level standards. Talented and dedicated AP teachers help AP students in classrooms around the world develop and apply the content knowledge and skills they will need later in college. Each AP course concludes with a college-level assessment developed and scored by college and university faculty as well as experienced AP teachers. AP Exams are an essential part of the AP experience, enabling students to demonstrate their mastery of college-level course work. Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States and universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP in the admission process and grant students credit, placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. Visit www.collegeboard. org/apcreditpolicy to view AP credit and placement policies at more than 1,000 colleges and universities. Performing well on an AP