I’m going over the past exams and I’m finding that the really old ones (like 1984) are easier than the 2000s… Is there anyone who took the test last year who can compare those past MCQs with the MCQs these days? How hard was last year’s mech test?
Question 1: What are some percentage goals to earn a 3, 4, or 5 for MCQ and FRQ. The AP Pass calculator is based on 2009 which may or may not be up to date.
I am also wondering the difficulty change in recent years vs past ones as the newest mc test I could find was 2009 which didn’t have equations on the equation sheet (just constants) and did not allow a calculator. I would think that college board would be subtler get increasing the difficulty over the years because of these changes and try to make it Align more with physics 1 being more conceptual than mathematical and having paragraph expiation in frq.
That’s as good as you’re going to get. It at least gives you a general idea.
Well, with the test in 3 weeks (yikes!) I just wanted to create a consolidated thread for test prep strategies!
Ask all questions on AP Physics C here (though I certainly will not promise to answer)!
Looked at last years FRQ, didnt even know where to start, looks like this will be the same as physics 1 for me…
How difficult is AP Physics C in comparison to AP Physics 1
Well, AP Physics C requires calculus while AP Physics 1 does not. Additionally, usually AP Physics C is taught as a year-long class covering both mechanics and E&M, while AP Physics 1 covers fewer topics withing the same time frame.
@lightblaze259 the link does not work. Would it be possible for you to email me the pdf if you have it downloaded?
Can’t believe I am asking this, but is there a penalty for wrong answers on the multiple choice part of the exam? I can’t seem to find an answer. Princeton review 2016 edition says “No”, but old exams from college board says “Yes”. totally confused. Help please.
I’m self studying E&M with Barron’s right now, and the solutions in this book write values like electric fields with i, j, or k to represent the vector. Is it necessary to express these values as vector quantities if the question doesn’t specifically ask for the direction?
@cubelake “Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there was a change to the way AP Exams are now scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section are now based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are no longer deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions.” http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html
Hey, I’m not sure if any of you guys know, but your AP Physics teacher has access to four complete previously administered exams:
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
Notably, the free response sections on these exams are different from the ones published on College Board’s website.
Thank you so much Andre3200.
My teacher said there was a change to the framework, since last year students are allowed to use calculator on mc, was it not allowed before that?
Edit: reading last years thread it seems they were the first to get calculators for mc.
Does anyone know if that means the mc will be harder than the practices that don’t allow calculator?
@alphabetatrig
I’d interpret it as a fact that either they’re introducing more numerical/computational questions or that students started to do worse with the questions that involved simple arithmetic. Maybe they even decided that it was too much of a hassle to have students take out their calculator.
What else would the calculator be good for? I doubt that they would make it harder in anticipation that students would cheat and put info on it. And what isn’t on the given equation sheet that someone would put on it?
Any advice on this test? I totally need the help :(. Anyone who take it before have any tips or anyone who is good at physics have any tips? Particularly need help on the frq. On the MC I’ve been getting in the 70’s to low 80’s as far as percentage wise
Everyone, just to clear up, on average, you need at least 55% on Mechanics and 59% on E&M to get 5’s. Of course, it will depend on the test itself on Monday.
I hope this will alleviate your concerns.
Barron’s is typically harder than the real deal right? If not I might be screwed…
Oh, and have there been any format changes to the test in the past several years? Since I am self studying, I have nothing to go off of other than the last released exam.
Is that fat equation sheet available on the MC too?
Anyone use 1998 practice exam mcq? I used it in class, and im wondering if anyone can give me input as to how difficult or easy that mock exam is compared to the real one.
Excited for this test!! My last ap ever and of course im taking it on the same day as bio…
Hoping for a 30 on the frq and 30~ on the mcq.