AP Physics

Content Area	Physics B	Physics C
	Percentage Goals for Examinations
I. Newtonian Mechanics	35%	50%
A. Kinematics (including vectors, vector algebra, components of vectors, coordinate systems, displacement, velocity, and acceleration) Motion in one dimension Motion in two dimensions including projectile motion	7%	9%
B. Newton's laws of motion Static equilibrium (first law) Dynamics of a single particle (second law) Systems of two or more bodies (third law)	9%	10%
C. Work, energy, power Work and work-energy theorem Forces and potential energy Conservation of energy Power	5%	7%
D. Systems of particles, linear momentum Center of mass Impulse and momentum Conservation of linear momentum, collisions	4%	6%
E. Circular motion and rotation Uniform circular motion Torque and rotational statics Rotational kinematics and dynamics Angular momentum and its conservation	4%	9%
F. Oscillations and gravitation Simple harmonic motion (dynamics and energy relationships) Mass on a spring Pendulum and other oscillations Newton's law of gravity Orbits of planets and satellites Circular General	6%	9%
II. Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics	15%	N/A
A. Fluid Mechanics Hydrostatic pressure Buoyancy Fluid flow continuity Bernoulli's equation	6%
B. Temperature and heat Mechanical equivalent of heat Heat transfer and thermal expansion	2%
C. Kinetic theory and thermodynamics Ideal gases Kinetic model Ideal gas law Laws of thermodynamics First law (including processes on pV diagrams) Second law (including heat engines)	7%
III. Electricity and Magnetism	25%	50%
A. Electrostatics Charge and Coulomb's law Electric field and electric potential (including point charges) Gauss's law Fields and potentials of other charge distributions	5%	15%
B. Conductors, capacitors, dielectrics Electrostatics with conductors Capacitors Capacitance Parallel plate Spherical and cylindrical Dielectrics	4%	7%
C. Electric circuits Current, resistance, power Steady-state direct current circuits with batteries and resistors only Capacitors in circuits Steady state Transients in RC circuits	7%	10%
D. Magnetic Fields Forces on moving charges in magnetic fields Forces on current-carrying wires in magnetic fields Fields of long current-carrying wires Biot-Savart's law and Ampere's law	4%	10%
E. Electromagnetism Electromagnetic induction (including Faraday's law and Lenz's law) Inductance (including LR and LC circuits) Maxwell's equations	5%	8%
IV. Waves and Optics	15%	N/A
A. Wave motion (including sound) Traveling waves Wave propagation Standing waves Superposition	5%
B. Physical optics Interference and diffraction Dispersion of light and the electromagnetic spectrum	5%
C. Geometric optics Reflection and refraction Mirrors Lenses	5%
V. Atomic and Nuclear Physics	10%	N/A
A. Atomic physics and quantum effects Photons, the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, x-rays Atomic energy levels Wave-particle duality	7%
B. Nuclear physics Nuclear reactions (including conservation of mass number and charge) Mass-energy equivalence	3%

THE AP PHYSICS B ARCHIVES

Ch.1: Physics Intro.	Ch.2: Linear Motion.		Ch.3: 2-Dim Motion.
Ch.4&5: Newton's Laws.	Ch.6&7: Work/Momentum.		Ch.8&9: Rotary Motion.
Ch.10: SHM.	Ch.11: Fluids.		Ch.12&13: Temp.&Heat.
Ch.14&15: Thermodynamics.	Semester Review.		Ch.16: Waves&Sound.
Ch.17: Wave Superposition.	Ch.18: Electric Fields.		Ch.19: Electric Potential.
Ch.20: Electric Circuits.	Ch.21&22: Magnetism.		Ch.24: Electromagnetic Waves.
Ch.25-26-27: Geometric Optics.		Ch.29-30-31-32: Atomic/Nuclear.

Comparison of Topics in Physics B and Physics C