Score Higher on AP Physics 1 2024: MCQ Tips from Students

Multiple Choice Questions

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 to solve a variety of analytical and mathematical algebra-based physics questions. 45 questions are single answer while 5 questions are multi-select and have 2 correct answers, both of which need to be chosen to gain credit.
• 50% of Exam Score
• 50 questions
• 90 min, or 1 min 18 sec per question

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💭 General Advice

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

• As on most tests, remember that all multiple-choice questions are worth the same. Unlike the ACT, they’re not in order of difficulty, but don’t spend too much time in the beginning on questions that seem harder.
• Don’t worry if you’re not sure about a question. The stats may look scary, but AP Physics 1 actually has one of the lowest thresholds to pass, at just 40% correct.
• If you’re running low on time, don’t be reckless when quickly bubbling in answers. On almost every question, some answers clearly don’t make sense, and you can often narrow the options from 5 down to 3 in a couple of seconds of reading.
• Pace yourself! Do all the easy questions first, then medium ones, and hard ones last because they are all worth the same!
• Have solid conceptual knowledge. Problem solving is important, but the conceptual aspect is important for most problems involving kinematics, work, and energy. This will also save time!
• Keep your work organized! Make sure your paper is clean and not filled with distracting marks or drawings—this makes it easier for you to trace your future steps.
• Know how to draw free-body diagrams. They are instrumental when you do not know how the different forces will interact. Even if you do know, it is still nice to make sure that you are doing it correctly.
• Use dimensional analysis to check if you are solving the question correctly. If the units do not match up, then you either messed up and need to correct your work or you forgot to count in a unit.
• Underline the components given to you, like velocity, position, k, height, etc. and write down what they’re looking for. It can help you know which equation to use. Try to visualize the problem as well if they don’t provide a picture.
• Balance study time on all units.
• Do all of the problems on the packet page before bubbling in the answers on the answer sheet. It helps save time if you’re not constantly going back and forth, and it doesn’t interrupt your train of thought. But you also don’t want to run out of time and not fill anything in. Watch the clock.
• If you encounter a problem that will take a lot of time, try to eliminate obviously wrong answers and guess. You can mark the question number so you can go back if you have more time. Try not to completely skip over questions and leave a blank space because you could accidentally shift all of your following answers a space.
• Writing the general formula, plugging in the answers, and explaining the answer would probably give you 3/4 of the total credit, while just writing the answer might only give 1 or 2. So get those free points!

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🫧 Before you Bubble

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

• First, read the question carefully! Never assume any details about a situation unless you see words on paper. Ask yourself, is this question conceptual or will it require the use of equations and calculations?
• Underline specific variables or numbers that are given to you in the problem statement and what exactly is asked of you. This will help you immensely when you are deciding which equations to use.
• Try to go into the exam confidently. Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, organize your desk, don’t overhype the test.
• One good strategy is to do a formula/information dump when you first get the test—spending about five minutes writing down the things that you know you usually forget can save you later on!
• If you don’t know how to approach a problem go through the list (energy, dynamics, momentum, kinematics).

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🍎 Choosing the Best Answer

• Process of elimination is your best friend! The great thing about physics is that we aim to predict real word phenomena. This means that we can often make reasonable estimates for an expected answer, and eliminate choices that don’t really make sense. More often than not, taking a step back, and thinking about things like the sign of answer choice, its units, or its order of magnitude can reveal if it’s even worth considering.
• Don’t be afraid to think physically! If a certain answer choice, for example, states that the ball will fall with decreasing velocity, you know it can’t be true! Think of analogies that help you truly understand the problems and let you map it to situations you’re familiar with.
• Move quickly, but don’t rush. Rule out any answers that are clearly incorrect. If you have a feeling that your answer is incorrect, plug it back into the equation to check your work.

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📝 Using Your Formula Sheet

• The less time you spend searching your formula sheet, the more you can spend solving. So, be familiar with it! Moreover, it pays to think about why you are referencing it in the first place. Make note of what variables you already know, and what you need to find.
• If you can’t seem to remember the equations needed to solve a certain question, relate that question to the broader AP Physics 1 topic (i.e. kinematics). The equations on the formula sheet are actually relatively grouped based on topic, so this will help you when looking for equations that might be useful.
• If you find yourself stuck on a question, write down the variables you know and check the formula sheet for equations that use these variables. You might find one that matches the question.
• It’s beneficial to familiarize yourself with the equations to the point where you can solve problems without relying too much on the equation sheet. This can save time, but it is only there to help you. So if you’re lost, use it!
• Try to understand the concepts of each formula beforehand. This will help immensely with formula selection as you will have a much better idea of what the formula is trying to tell you.
• Practice basic derivations like Kepler’s third law or net force statements.

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🤔 Common Mistaken Assumptions

• Always consider whether your calculator is on radians or degrees.
• Normal force only equals mg when there are no other vertical forces/acceleration.
• Make sure to get sine and cosine right! Both are used for both gravity, friction, distance, etc. in different places and circumstances, so it’s very important to know which you’re using at any given time
• Remember that Newton’s 2nd Law Force pairs act on different objects! Therefore, gravity and the normal force are typically not force pairs. By Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, two objects exert equal gravitational forces on each other and these forces are 2nd Law pairs.
• Friction does not always slow objects down—in the right situations, such as two blocks stacked on each other, friction can be the force inducing motion.
• Be sure that you are considering the correct system that the question is referring to, as it can change the energies present in a system: for instance, a one-system block can only have kinetic energy, while a system containing of that block and the Earth will have both kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy.
• Never add any unnecessary forces. Physics can seem unintuitive at times, but stick to what you learned; if an object doesn’t have any forces acting on it besides gravity, don’t add any “phantom” forces like “centrifugal” force—big no!
• Don’t be afraid if problems doesn’t give all the variables; in many cases, things like mass cancel out, so just trust the process and get to solving!
• Make sure to check your signs. Make sure your directions are consistent when you solve.