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AP Physics 2

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Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 2 is a year-long introductory physics course administered by the College Board as part of its Advanced Placement program. It is intended to proxy a second-semester algebra-based university course in thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics, and modern physics.[8] Along with AP Physics 1, the first AP Physics 2 exam was administered in 2015.

History

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The AP Physics 2 classes began in the fall of 2014, with the first AP exams administered in May 2015. The courses were formed through collaboration between current Advanced Placement teachers and The College Board, with the guidance from the National Research Council and the National Science Foundation.[9] As of August 2013 AP summer institutes, the College Board professional development course for Advanced Placement and Pre-AP teachers,[10] dedicate 20% of the total to preparing AP Physics B educators for the new AP physics course. Face to face workshops sponsored by the College Board focused 20% of their content on the course in September 2013. In February 2014, the official course description and sample curriculum resources were posted to the College Board website, with two practice exams being posted the next month. As of September 2014, face to face workshops are dedicated solely to AP Physics 1 & AP Physics 2. The full course was first taught in 2014, with the exam given in 2015. The College Board released a "Curriculum Framework" which includes the 7 principles on which AP Physics 2 would be based on as well as smaller "Enduring Understanding" concepts.[11]

In 2020, the examination was administered on computer from home because of COVID-19. College Board suspected that some students may be using unauthorized resources while taking the test. In order to ensure accurate results in the future, the course materials will be more difficult and in-depth.

In February 2024, College Board announced that there would be changes in curricula for their AP Physics classes for the 2025 exams. For AP Physics 2, this removed fluids (the first topic of the curriculum) from the exam. From the 2024-25 school year onward, this topic is covered as the last unit of AP Physics 1. [12] With fluids no longer being on the curriculum, the optics unit was separated into two units which cover the subject with more depth. This added mechanical waves, standing waves, sound waves, and the Doppler effect which are covered in Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics. The unit covering electric circuits was changed to be more comprehensive, and Blackbody radiation and Compton scattering were added to Modern Physics as well. As of the fall of 2024, all AP Physics 2 units are numbered sequentially to those in AP Physics 1, starting with Thermodynamics as unit 9 and ending with Modern Physics as unit 15.

Curriculum

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AP Physics 2 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course in which students explore thermodynamics with kinetic theory; PV diagrams and probability; electrostatics; electrical circuits with capacitors; magnetic fields; electromagnetism; physical and geometric optics; and quantum, atomic, and nuclear physics. Through inquiry-based learning, students develop scientific critical thinking and reasoning skills.

Units[13] Exam Weighting
Thermodynamics 15-18%
Electric Force, Field, and Potential 15-18%
Electric Circuits 15-18%
Magnetism and Electromagnetism 12-15%
Geometric Optics 12-15%
Waves, Sound and Physical Optics 12-15%
Modern Physics 12-15%

The content of AP Physics 2 overlaps with that of AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, but Physics 2 is algebra-based, while Physics C is calculus-based. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism also is focused entirely on Electricity and Magnetism while AP Physics 2 covers additional topics such as Thermodynamics, Waves, and Modern Physics.

Exam

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Section Questions Time Exam Weighting
Section I: Multiple Choice 40 MCQ 1 hour 20 minutes 50%
Section II: Free Response 4 FRQ 1 hour 40 minutes 50%

Science Practices Assessed

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Section 1: Multiple Choice
Science Practice Exam Weighting
2. Translation Between Representations 55-75%
3. Experimental Design and Analysis 25-35%
Section 2: Free Response
Science Practice Exam Weighting
1. Mathematical Routines 20-35%
2. Translation Between Representations 30-40%
3. Experimental Design and Analysis 35-45%

Score Distributions

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Score 2015[14] 2016[15] 2017[16] 2018[17] 2019[18] 2020 (online) [19] 2021[20] 2022[21] 2023[22] 2024[23]
5 8.5% 9.5% 12.9% 13.1% 14.2% 14.0% 15.4% 16.3% 16.5% 15%
4 13.7% 17.0% 16.7% 15.6% 21.0% 24.3% 17.9% 18.1% 18.5% 18%
3 33.5% 34.9% 34.0% 34.4% 30.2% 35.0% 32.0% 35.3% 34.9% 35%
2 34.8% 30.6% 27.6% 29.2% 26.2% 21.3% 27.0% 24.1% 23.8% 25%
1 9.6% 8.1% 8.9% 7.7% 8.4% 5.4% 7.6% 6.3% 6.4% 7%
% of scores 3 or higher 55.6% 61.3% 63.5% 63.1% 65.4% 73.3% 65.3% 69.7% 69.8% 68%
Mean 2.77 2.89 2.97 2.97 3.06 3.20 3.06 3.14 3.15 3.09
Standard Deviation 1.07 1.08 1.15 1.13 1.17 1.09 1.17 1.14 1.15 1.14
Number of Students 20,533 26,385 24,985 25,741 23,802 21,835 18,736 17,842 20,453 -

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Advanced Placement A&P to Launch in Fall 2024". Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Director, AP Anatomy & Physiology". Illinois Job Link. 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "AP for all sophomores? This school is doing it". School News Network. 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  4. ^ "Introducing AP Business Principles/Personal Finance". College Board. 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "AP Business Principles/Personal Finance" (PDF). College Board. 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "Career Kickstart Cybersecurity Pilots". College Board. 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "AP World History: Ancient" (PDF). College Board. 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Jacobs, Greg (25 July 2011). "Jacobs Physics: AP Physics 1 and 2 Redesign (as it stands now) and Honors Physics I". Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  9. ^ "AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 | Advances in AP". Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  10. ^ "AP Workshops – AP Central | College Board". apcentral.collegeboard.org. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  11. ^ "AP Physics 2" (PDF). collegeboard.com. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  12. ^ "AP Physics Revisions for 2024-25". Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  13. ^ "AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based Course and Exam Description" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-05-30. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  14. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  18. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  22. ^ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "2024 AP Score Distributions". Retrieved July 8, 2024.
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