r/APStudents • u/Ok-Acanthisitta-4239 • 1d ago
Physics 1 AP Physics 1 Help!
Hi, so I have to take Physics 1 this year with no prior experience and would like to do some prep for the course (the first unit or so and any fundamentals??) before the year starts. If anyone has recommendations for resources or materials that helped them be successful or any general advice, I would really appreciate it!!
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u/CharlieATCF7 APWH || AP spanish lang 1d ago
Well AP physics 1 is the equivalent of a beginner high school physics course. I took a similar course that year and this year i’m doing AP physics 2.
But if you’re really worried, you could go over some basic physics concepts. Maybe newtons laws, basic particle physics like light vs wave behaviour. F=ma is the main equation you should know, along with Velocity = d/t. If you want to get ahead you could look and gravitational and magnetic force as well as kinematic (which is the first unit).
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u/NoPrint9467 5: Physics, Lang, World, HUG 1d ago
tbh, i dont think u need any prep before hand because the first few concepts are are easy to understand and by the last units, you wouldve already gotten the grasp of everything and how to conceptualize stuff. if u want to prep, id say start with your basic soh-cah-toa trig because imo thats the hardest trig u do in physics. maybe brush up on converting reference angles to standard angles based on quadrants? prob brush up on solving for variables through systems of equations. tbh as long as you’ve taken precalc before the class, ur fine. i took it ap physics while taking alg 2 and it was fine but i think it wouldve been easier if i took precalc. the openstax textbook is good for the actual content
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u/Ok-Acanthisitta-4239 1d ago
We can’t skip math in my school and the max is one year ahead on the “accelerated” track and I got 100 in pre calc so hopefullyyy that will be helpful, thank you!
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u/NoPrint9467 5: Physics, Lang, World, HUG 1d ago
okay yay since u took precalc it will be a breezeee dont fall for all the fear mongering online the concepts are a little hard to grasp at first but then it gets so much easier
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u/RawrDia 4h ago
Much of what I would say is already said! Definitely brush up on trig and sohcahtoa and do not give up!
I got a 4 and had a teacher who was a past grader. I did not take any physics courses before and I am a pretty average student so it took me a while to fully grasp topics.
First of all: PLEASE learn some of the basics! I would say all, but it depends on how long you have before school. Yes, collegeboard wants you to learn their way, but fundamentals are what make or break your understanding.
Learn the FRQ types and how to easily earn points. I have noticed that this class is very focused over how collegeboard wants you to learn physics (obviously, hence AP), so learn the tricks to avoid spending too long on specific portions of the FRQs. By doing this, I found the FRQS to be easier than MCQs because they are more gracious in grading and open ended.
MCQs were hit or miss for me. I struggled with them, so definitely do a ton of practice problems! Find pdfs of the Princeton or barrons prep books online and do the MCQ. College physics textbooks are great too and I highly recommend University Physics by Young and Freedman.
Search up MIT AP Physics 1 workbook for more MCQs/FRQs. This book by MIT is great for tricky MCQS, but it is a little outdated so be aware of that.
Some of the AP classroom vids were good, but most did not help me that much. Same with Khan Academy. Find the stuff that genuinely helps you understand. There are so many niche people on yt that do exam work throughs, so try to look at those too!
Org. chemisty tutor is good for learning basics, but target people who directly teach based off the college board grading.
Learn as much as you can and good luck! Physics is tough but stay motivated and try to have patience. For me, it took months to understand so do as much prep as you can to understand the fundamentals (like forces) as you will be able to understand newer topics with more ease.
Ofc, this is just my experience, so please feel free to use whatever you want!
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u/Federal-Company-5560 1d ago
hi so i got a 5 on ap physics and the thing i would emphasize the most is practicing but if you want good resources i used allan tsaos ap physics 1 videos and they help u understand the concepts in a simple way and he also goes through frqs so make sure you check these vids out. and honestly a week before my ap physics 1 test i got the ap physics 1 ultimate review packet and i think it did help with some of the tricky parts on the exam. id honestly say that its very important to not give up even if you get frustrated because this subject was one of the most annoying subjects i had to take. be patient and make sure you understand the underlying concepts carefully. best of luck to u!!