<p>Hey guys,
I didn't see a thread for this year (for C) so I decided to go ahead and make one.</p>
<p>Post review stuff, scores, etc. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Quick question:</p>
<p>Since I’m self-studying, I’m a bit fuzzy on what we actually need to know for the test. The teacher at our school teaches the class a lot more in-depth than the AP test requires, so asking classmates doesn’t help much with the issue. Would looking over the Princeton Review book topics suffice, or does the test generally go into more random topics? For example, damped oscillations, elasticity (bulk modulus, etc.). I’m pretty far behind schedule for learning, so I need to cut off as many unnecessary topics as possible. Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>@Mobius1
Mechanics
*Vector stuff (addition, multiplication etc.) (Nnot tested directly, but really necessary)
*Kinematics (1 and 2 dimensions)
*Forces ( various kinds and applications)
*Energy and Work (understanding conservation is key. It could make or break you)
*Momentum(also key. Could make or break you) and center of mass
*Angular kinematics and momentum (if you understand this linearly, you should be fine)
*Gravitation(don’t forget Kepler’s Laws)
*Oscillations (no damped oscillations though…) </p>
<p>E&M
*Charge
*Electric Fields
*Gauss’ Law (super important)
*Electric Potential
*Capacitance
*Current and Resistance (really important)
*Circuits
*Magnetic Fields
*Magnetic Fields due to currents
*Induction and Inductance
*Magnetism of matter and Maxwell’s equations. </p>
<p>Hope this helps =)</p>
<p>Awesome, thank you for the breakdown!</p>
<p>Approximately what percentage of the exam would one have to get correct in order to make a 3 on mechanics? What percentage to make a 3 on E&M?</p>
<p>According to the curves on the 2009 released exam, the percentage for a 3 is about 35% on both Mechanics and E&M. As this is after College Board changed their policy on guessing deduction for AP, I’d say this curve is still more or less accurate for this year.</p>
<p>If this helps, let me warn you NOT to use the BARRONS book on Physics C. It barely touches on the formulas you need to know and goes way too far in depth on the deriving process for an AP exam preparation book.</p>
<p>Reading it, you’ll probably get lost with all the equations, most of which you will never see again in the book, and 99% of which you will never use on the exam.</p>
<p>For example : the formula for Eforce (F net) is</p>
<p>Fnet = (i=n)E(i-n) Fi -> Fnet, x= Ei=n Fx,i and Fnet, y = E i=n Fy,i</p>
<p>Which is, of course, just a stupidly complicated way of telling someone that F net is adding all the forces together, and you can use the Pythagorean theorem to add vertical and horizontal forces together (not even sure if it says the second part, that’s how confusing the damn book is)</p>
<p>Now, keep in mind that this is a formula on the FIRST PAGE of the physics part of the book, so expect other formulas to be much harder to understand (and they are)</p>
<p>Do not get BARRONS for Physics C. Period.</p>
<p>Is anyone else using AP Advantage by James Mooney?</p>
<p>^I’ve heard good things about it, but I can’t find it anywhere.</p>
<p>Yeah there’s pretty much no hope for me in E&M at this point. I’m just gonna focus on mechanics.</p>
<p>The hope for Mechanics is still there, while I’m not feeling as optimistic for E+M. Our class only goes over B topics. In other words, we NEVER use calculus in class. Hoping for a 4+ on Mechanics and a 3 on E+M.</p>
<p>What are the easiest parts of E&M to study?</p>
<p>Our class also only does B topics, but the EM required for Physics C isn’t all that much different. Just take the released tests and you should be fine. I recommend watching MIT OCW videos from course 18.01 and 18.02. Those helped me quite a bit.</p>
<p>What is the best review book for Physics C? Havent started studying lol</p>
<p>Only taking the Mechanics, although I worked my ass off for E+M in class, so I probably could’ve gotten away with taking it. Oh well, going to be an electrical engineer, should retake it anyway. =P
I’m using the Princeton Review book, and it’s got some good stuff. I’m not particularly NAILING the open-endeds, but I’m getting 60%+, which is good enough for a 5.</p>
<p>Hopefully there won’t be any circuit analysis with matrices. Those are just tedious.</p>
<p>@Arion231: I’m not sure what you mean by that. Did your class use matrices for the loop rule with double loop circuits?</p>
<p>Does anyone have solutions to any mechanics multiple choice, it doesnt have to be the AP exam. I want to know what I need to study/ how to do some of them.</p>
<p>Quick question, does anyone know how the free response is graded? I know for AP Chemistry that if you make one mistake early on in a problem, and you use that incorrect value to work out the other parts of the problem, you are only penalized for the initial error, and are not penalized for the wrong answers of the following parts, provided you do the other parts correctly. Is this the same way for AP Physics C? Or is it graded upon correctness stringently?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You aren’t penalized twice.</p>
<p>From the College Board scoring guidelines:
</p>