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150 multiple-choice questions and 212 flashcards, written to the College Board AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description blueprint. Every question carries a full rationale.
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College Board AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description — 7 CED units: Kinematics; Dynamics (Forces); Circular Motion & Gravitation; Energy; Momentum; Simple Harmonic Motion & Waves; Torque & Rotational Motion
CoStudy's AP Physics 1 bank holds 362 items. Every multiple-choice question carries a written rationale explaining why the correct answer is correct and why each distractor is tempting but wrong.
A sample of 12 multiple-choice questions from the bank, with the full rationale shown.
A power output of 1500 W lifts a 50-kg load. The maximum steady speed (g = 10 m/s²)?
Answer: A — 3 m/s (= P/(mg))
A) P = F·v = mg·v → v = 1500/500 = 3 m/s. B/D) Arithmetic. C) Off by factor 10.
Newton's second law in vector form is:
Answer: A — ∑F = ma — net force equals mass times acceleration
A) Standard form. B) Momentum. C) Nonsense. D) Kinetic energy.
A 1000 kg car moving at 20 m/s collides with and sticks to a stationary 2000 kg truck. The combined velocity after collision is (perfectly inelastic):
Answer: A — 6.67 m/s
Conservation of momentum (no external force): m₁v₁ + m₂v₂ = (m₁ + m₂)v'. (1000)(20) + (2000)(0) = (3000)v'. v' = 20,000/3000 ≈ 6.67 m/s. KE is NOT conserved in inelastic collisions (some converts to heat/sound/deformation).
Sound waves in air are:
Answer: C — Longitudinal (compressions and rarefactions along propagation)
C) Air can't sustain shear → sound is longitudinal. A) Transverse waves on strings, EM. B) Sound is mechanical. D) Special case.
A 4-kg block at the top of a 2-m frictionless incline starts at rest. Speed at the bottom (g = 10 m/s²)?
Answer: A — 6.32 m/s (= √(2gh))
A) v = √(2·10·2) = √40 ≈ 6.32 m/s. Mass cancels. B/C/D) Arithmetic mistakes.
A wheel speeds up from rest to 20 rad/s in 4 s. Angular acceleration?
Answer: B — 5 rad/s² (= Δω/Δt)
B) α = (20 − 0)/4 = 5 rad/s². A) Multiplies. C) Inverse. D) Wrong.
A car turns left on a level road. The direction of friction on the tires is:
Answer: C — Leftward (toward the center of the turn — centripetal)
C) Friction provides centripetal force directed toward circle center. D) 'Centrifugal' is a pseudo-force; real friction acts inward. A/B) Not the turning direction.
A rock has mass 2 kg in air and weighs 14 N when submerged in water (g = 10 m/s²). Buoyant force?
Answer: A — 6 N (= mg − apparent weight)
A) F_b = W_actual − W_apparent = 20 − 14 = 6 N. B) Apparent weight. C) Actual weight. D) Sum.
An object moving in the +x direction has acceleration in the −x direction. The object is:
Answer: B — Slowing down (decelerating)
B) When v and a have opposite signs, the object slows. A) Same signs would speed up. C) Both would be zero. D) Eventually reverses, but at the moment described it's slowing.
Pressure at depth 10 m below a fresh-water surface (ρ = 1000 kg/m³; g = 10 m/s²)?
Answer: D — 100,000 Pa = 100 kPa gauge (= ρgh)
D) P = ρgh = 1000·10·10 = 100,000 Pa = 1 atm gauge. A/B/C) Wrong factors.
A pendulum of length L has period T = 2π√(L/g). If L is quadrupled, the new period is:
Answer: C — 2T (period scales with √L)
T ∝ √L. Quadrupling L doubles T (√4 = 2). Period is independent of mass and amplitude (small-angle approximation). (D) Linear scaling (wrong). (A) Inverse (wrong).
A solid disk and a hollow ring with the same mass and radius roll down the same incline (without slipping). Which reaches the bottom first?
Answer: D — The disk (less of its mass at the rim → smaller I → more of total energy goes to translational KE rather than rotational KE)
Total KE = (1/2)mv² + (1/2)Iω². With rolling constraint ω = v/r, more I means less v at the bottom. Disk I = (1/2)mr², ring I = mr². Disk has less I, so it goes faster. Common classroom demonstration. Mathematical result: a/g = sin θ / (1 + I/(mr²)).
6 sample cards from the 212 in the bank.
What is gravitational potential energy near Earth?
U_g = mgh, where h is height above a reference.
Banked curve angle for friction-free turn?
tan θ = v²/(rg).
Why do you bend your knees when landing?
Increases time over which momentum changes — reduces force on body (impulse-momentum).
A ball is thrown horizontally at 10 m/s from a 20-m cliff. Time to land?
20 = ½(9.8)t² → t ≈ 2.02 s.
Velocity at top of vertical motion (no air resistance)?
Zero, instantaneously. Acceleration is still −g.
What is the period of a 1-m pendulum on Earth?
T = 2π√(1/9.8) ≈ 2.0 s.
These samples are a small slice. The full bank runs flashcards, multiple choice and timed mock exams with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.
The AP Physics 1 bank holds 362 items: 150 multiple-choice questions, 212 flashcards. 18 of them are on this page to read free, with no signup.
Yes. Every multiple-choice item carries a written rationale that states the controlling principle behind the correct answer and then addresses each wrong option in turn — why it tempts and precisely where it fails. Knowing why the plausible answer was wrong is worth more than knowing which letter was right.
College Board AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description — 7 CED units: Kinematics; Dynamics (Forces); Circular Motion & Gravitation; Energy; Momentum; Simple Harmonic Motion & Waves; Torque & Rotational Motion
The samples on this page are free to read in full, rationales included, with no account. The complete 362-item bank, the timed mock exams and per-chapter progress tracking are part of CoStudy on the web and in the iOS app.
Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Banks are written against the certifying body's published exam outline and re-checked when that outline changes — exams get renumbered, retired and reweighted, and a bank written to a superseded outline teaches the wrong proportions. Figures that are re-indexed annually are deliberately not asserted as rules; the questions test the governing principle instead.
This bank is written against the College Board's published exam material. Check the AP Course and Exam Descriptions for the current outline, fees and eligibility rules — those change, and the certifying body is the only authority on them. CoStudy is not affiliated with the College Board.