AP Overview Flashcards
From the section names to the types of questions, use these cards to review the fundamentals of the AP Physics exam.
How long is, and how many sections comprise, the AP Physics exam?
The AP Physics exam is 3 hours long (plus break between sections) and has two 90 minute sections.
What type of sections come on Test Day?
Section 1 is a multiple-choice section.
Section 2 is a free-response section.
What percent of the total score does each section comprise?
Exactly 50% of the total score is contributed from each section.
How many questions total, and what type, are there in section I?
- 70 questions total in section I.
- All of the section I questions will be multiple-choice, and cover the entire range of physics content.
How many questions total, and what type, are there in section II?
- 6-7 questions total in section II.
- Section II consists of longer and shorter free responses. Long free responses are estimated at 17 minutes each, and short free responses at 11 minutes each.
How long are the sections?
Both sections are 90 minutes.
Is there a penalty for guessing on the multiple choice portion?
No penalty for guessing.
All questions on the AP Physics test are worth the same value: 1 raw point if correct, 0 raw points if incorrect.
How is the Free Response section scored?
The free response section is scored at the annual AP Reading held during the first two weeks in June. Specially appointed college professors and experienced AP teachers evaluate free-response answers and set standard score values.
What is the score range and what does that correlate to?
5 Extremely well qualified*
4 Well qualified*
3 Qualified
2 Possibly qualified
1 No recommendation**
*Most schools accepting AP credit will offer full credit for either a 4 or a 5 score.
**No schools accepting AP credit will offer full credit for a score of 1.
What is the average (50th percentile) score of students in 2012?
Mean score in 2012 was a 2.93.
Note: many schools do not accept a score of 3 for full college credit, as that is too close to the mean national score.
How does the final score get determined?
During score-setting sessions composite scores are translated into AP scores by setting boundaries for each score based on a statistical technique called equating.
Equating relates an AP Exam from one year to an AP Exam from another year by looking at how well AP students performed on a set of multiple-choice questions that is common to both exams.
When can I use a calculator, and what kind can it be?
Only during section II.
Calculators are not permitted on the multiple-choice section.
Any standard multi-function calculator, or graphing calculator may be used.
The memory does NOT have to be cleared prior to or after the exam, though a proctor may ask to verify that no additional equations/data are stored there.
What calculators are NOT permitted on the AP test, for any reason, on any section?
Calculators that are not permitted are
- PowerBooks and portable/handheld computers;
- electronic writing pads or pen-input/stylus-driven devices (e.g., Palm, PDAs, Casio ClassPad 300);
- pocket organizers; models with QWERTY (i.e., typewriter) keypads (e.g., TI-92 Plus, Voyage 200);
- models with paper tapes;
- models that make noise or “talk”;
- models that require an electrical outlet; cell phone calculators.
- Calculators may not be shared between students.
How much time does the AP anticipate a question from section I should take to answer?
60-90 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question.
If finishing exactly on time, each question will average to be 77 seconds.
The section II questions can be broadly chosen, but what two types of questions must appear?
Of the section II questions:
At least one will be a longer free response question, based primarily on content not tested in the multiple choice section.
At least one will be a shorter free response question, based on content that may have shown up in the multiple choice section.
