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About the Course
Have you ever wondered how the interactions of microscopic particles cause observable phenomena like static electricity, thermodynamic processes, nuclear reactions, and atomic emission lines? In AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based, you’ll learn about thermodynamics, electricity and magnetics, and quantum, atomic, and nuclear physics. While learning about the key course concepts, you’ll do hands-on laboratory work to investigate specific phenomena.
AP Physics Revisions 2024-25
We revised the 4 AP Physics courses and exams for the 2024-25 school year.
Skills You'll Learn
Creating representations that depict physical phenomena
Conducting analyses to derive, calculate, estimate, or predict
Describing experimental procedures, analyzing data, and supporting claims
Equivalency and Prerequisites
College Course Equivalent
A second-semester introductory college course in algebra-based physics.
Recommended Prerequisites
You should have completed AP Physics 1 or a comparable introductory physics course and should have taken or be concurrently taking precalculus or an equivalent course.
Exam Date
About the Units
The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.
Course Content
Unit 9: Thermodynamics
You’ll study heat, temperature, and thermal energy in contexts such as heat engines, heat pumps, and refrigerators.
Topics may include:
- Thermodynamic systems
- Pressure, thermal equilibrium, and the Ideal Gas Law
- Thermodynamics and forces
- Heat and energy transfer
- Thermodynamics and collisions
- Probability, thermal equilibrium, and entropy
On The Exam
15%–18% of exam score
Unit 10: Electric Force, Field, and Potential
You’ll begin your study of electromagnetism by getting familiar with fundamental concepts such as electric charge and electric forces.
Topics may include:
- Electric systems and charge
- Charge distribution: Friction, conduction, and induction
- Electric permittivity
- Electric forces and free-body diagrams
- Gravitational and electromagnetic forces
- Electric charges and fields
- Electric flux
- Conservation of electric energy
On The Exam
15%–18% of exam score
Unit 11: Electric Circuits
You’ll continue to examine the behavior of charged particles to learn about the components of a circuit, the path that an electric current travels on.
Topics may include:
- Definition and conservation of electric charge
- Resistivity and resistance
- Resistance and capacitance
- Kirchhoff’s loop rule
- Kirchhoff’s junction rule and the conservation of electric charge
On The Exam
15%–18% of exam score
Unit 12: Magnetism and Electromagnetism
You’ll build on your knowledge of electrostatic forces and fields to explore the relationships between moving electric charges—electric currents—and the magnetic forces and fields they generate.
Topics may include:
- Magnetic systems
- Magnetic permeability and magnetic dipole moment
- Vector and scalar fields
- Monopole and dipole fields
- Magnetic fields and forces
- Forces review
- Magnetic flux
On The Exam
12%–15% of exam score
Unit 13: Geometric Optics
You’ll be introduced to the different ways of thinking about how light interacts with materials, and how images are formed by mirrors and lenses.
Topics may include:
- Refraction, reflection, and absorption
- Images from lenses and mirrors
On The Exam
12%–15% of exam score
Unit 14: Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics
You’ll be introduced to the study of waves, including ways to quantify a wave, such as amplitude, wavelength, period, frequency, and wave speed, and how light can be modeled as a wave.
Topics may include:
- Periodic waves
- Electromagnetic waves
- Sound
- Doppler Effect
- Interference and diffraction
On The Exam
12%–15% of exam score
Unit 15: Modern Physics
You’ll be introduced to the concepts of modern physics and learn how these new models can resolve the conflicts and questions that Newtonian physics could not answer.
Topics may include:
- Radioactive decay
- Energy in modern physics (energy in radioactive decay and E = mc2)
- Mass–energy equivalence
- Blackbody radiation
- Properties of waves and particles
- Photoelectric effect
On The Exam
12%–15% of exam score
Credit and Placement
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Course Resources
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AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based can lead to a wide range of careers and college majors