5 Steps to a 5: AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based 2023

by Christopher Bruhn

Overview

AP Teachers’ #1 Choice!

Ready to succeed in your AP course and ace your exam? Our 5 Steps to a 5 guides explain the tough stuff, offer tons of practice and explanations, and help you make the most efficient use of your study time. 5 Steps to a 5: AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based is more than a review guide, it’s a system that has helped thousands of students walk into test day feeling prepared and confident.

Everything you Need for a 5:

• 3 full-length practice tests that align with the latest College Board requirements
• Hundreds of practice exercises with answer explanations
• Comprehensive overview of all test topics
• Proven strategies from seasoned AP educators

A Great In-class Supplement:

• 5 Steps is an ideal companion to your main AP text
• Includes an AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based Teacher’s Manual that offers excellent guidance to educators for better use of the 5 Steps resources

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781264506095
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	08/22/2022
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Christopher Bruhn has taught all varieties of AP Physics over 25 years and is a certified College Board consultant. He currently teaches at Haltom, TX, and continues to work with students and train teachers across the country.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

About the Author xi

Introduction: The Five-Step Program xiii

Step 1 Set Up Your Study Program

1 How to Approach Your AP Physics Course 3

Ignore Your Grade 4

Don't Bang Your Head Against a Brick Wall 4

Work with Other People 5

Ask Questions When Appropriate 5

Keep an Even Temper 5

Don't Cram 6

2 What You Need to Know About the AP Physics 2 Exam 7

Some Frequently Asked Questions About the AP Physics 2 Exam 8

3 Building Your Personal Attack Plan 15

Memorization and Cramming Won't Help 15

Building a Plan That Is Right for You 16

Plan A I'm Starting in September 17

Plan B I'm Starting in January 17

Plan C It's Spring Break and I Just Got Started! 18

Step 2 Determine Your Test Readiness

4 Test Yourself: AP Physics 2 Fundamentals 23

AP Physics 2 Fundamentals Self-Assessment 23

Answers to AP Physics 2 Fundamentals Self-Assessment 28

What Do I Know, and What Don't I Know? 34

5 Test Yourself: AP Physics 2 Question Types 35

AP Physics 2 Question-Types Self-Assessment 36

Answers to AP Physics 2 Question-Types Assessment 45

Step 3 Develop Strategies for Success

6 General Strategies 51

What Do I Need to Remember from AP Physics 1? 52

Tools You Can Use 52

Get to Know the Relationships 54

What Information Can We Get from a Graph? 55

Ranking Task Skills 59

7 Strategies for the Multiple-Choice Questions 61

Multiple-Choice Basics 62

How to Get Better at Multiple-Choice Problems 62

Multiple-Correct Questions 63

Time: Pace Yourself! 63

Additional Strategies and Words of Wisdom 64

8 Strategies for the Free-Response Questions 65

The Structure of the Free-Response Section 66

Getting Off to a Good Start 66

Lab Questions 67

Practice Designing a Lab 68

Paragraph-Length Arguments 69

Student-Contention Questions 70

Qualitative-Quantitative Transition (QQT) Questions 71

What the Exam Reader Looks For 73

Final Advice About the Free-Response Section 74

Step 4 Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

9 Fluid Mechanics 77

How the Nano-World Influences the Fluid World We Live In 79

Density 80

Pressure 80

Static Fluids 81

Applications of Static Fluids 82

Barometer 84

Buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle 85

Dynamic Fluids-Continuity 86

Dynamic Fluids-Bernoulli's Equation 87

Practice Problems 91

Solutions to Practice Problems 95

Rapid Review 98

10 Thermodynamics and Gases 99

Start Small-Atomic Behavior That Produces Thermal Results 100

Heat, Temperature, and Power 102

Heat Transfer 103

Kinetic Theory of Gases 104

Ideal Gas Law 105

First Law of Thermodynamics 107

PV Diagrams 108

Round and Round We Go: Cycles 112

Four Special Processes (Paths) on a PV Diagram 113

Entropy 114

Practice Problems 115

Solutions to Practice Problems 120

Rapid Review 124

11 Electric Force, Field, and Potential 125

Electric Charge 127

Quanta of Charge, Conservation of Charge, and How Charge Moves Around 127

Charge Distribution on Different Objects 129

Electric Fields 130

Force of an Electric Field 130

Electric Field Vector Diagrams 131

Electric Potential 132

Equipotential Isolines 134

Special Geometries for Electrostatics 137

Electric Fields Around a Point Charge and a Charged Conducting Sphere 141

Electric Potential Associated with a Point Charge and a Charged Conducting Sphere 142

The Force Between Two Charges 143

Mechanics and Charges 143

Practice Problems 145

Solutions to Practice Problems 153

Rapid Review 159

12 Electric Circuits 161

Current 162

Resistance and Ohm's Law 163

Ohmic Versus Nonohmic 165

Resistors in Series and in Parallel 166

The V-I-R Chart 167

Kirchhoff's Rules 170

Circuits from an Experimental Point of View 174

Real Batteries and Internal Resistance 175

Changes in a Circuit-Switches 176

Capacitors 178

Parallel and Series Capacitors 181

RC Circuits 184

Practice Problems 188

Solutions to Practice Problems 193

Rapid Review 195

13 Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction 197

Magnetic Fields 198

Magnetic Dipoles in a Magnetic Field 200

Magnetic Field Around a Straight Current-Carrying Wire 201

Force on a Moving Charged Particle 202

Magnetic Force on a Wire 205

Force Between Two Parallel Wires 207

Charges in a Magnetic Field and the Mass Spectrometer 208

Particles Moving Through Both Magnetic and Electric Fields 210

Magnetic Flux 212

Electromagnetic Induction 213

Magnetic Behavior of Materials 216

Practice Problems 217

Solutions to Practice Problems 222

Rapid Review 225

14 Geometric and Physics Optics 227

Transverse and Longitudinal Waves 228

The Wave Equation 229

Interference 230

Electromagnetic Waves 231

Polarization 232

Diffraction and the Point-Source Model 232

Single and Double Slits 233

Index of Refraction 235

Thin Films 236

Wave Behavior at Boundaries 238

Reflection and Mirrors 238

Snell's Law and the Critical Angle 241

Lenses 244

Practice Problems 248

Solutions to Practice Problems 255

Rapid Review 263

15 Quantum, Atomic, and Nuclear Physics 265

What Is Modern Physics? 266

Space, Time, the Speed of Light, and E = mc² 266

Subatomic Particles 267

The Electron-Volt 268

Photons 268

Photoelectric Effect 269

Photon Momentum 272

De Broglie Wavelength and Wave Functions 273

Bohr Model of the Atom and Energy Levels in an Atom 276

Three Types of Nuclear Decay Processes 278

E = mc² and Conservation During Nuclear Reactions 280

Half-Life 281

Other Nuclear Reactions 282

Mass Defect, Binding Energy, and the Strong Nuclear Force 283

Practice Problems 285

Solutions to Practice Problems 289

Rapid Review 293

Step 5 Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

The AP Physics 2 Practice Exams 297

Taking the Practice Exams 297

Test-Taking Strategies 298

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 1: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 301

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 1: Section 2 (Free Response) 314

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 1: Solutions: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 319

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 1: Solutions: Section 2 (Free Response) 323

How to Score Practice Exam 1 332

AP Physics 1 Practice Exam 2: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 335

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 2: Section 2 (Free Response) 348

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 2: Solutions: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 353

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 2: Solutions: Section 2 (Free Response) 358

How to Score Practice Exam 2 365

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 3: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 369

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 3: Section 2 (Free Response) 384

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 3: Solutions: Section 1 (Multiple Choice) 390

AP Physics 2 Practice Exam 3: Solutions: Section 2 (Free Response) 396

How to Score Practice Exam 3 403

Words of Encouragement 404

Appendix

Constants 407

AP Physics 2 Equations 408