Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
About the Author xiii
Introduction: The Five-Step Program xv
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 4
Ask Questions When Appropriate 5
Keep an Even Temper 5
Don't Cram 5
Never Forget, Physics is "Phun" 5
2 What You Need to Know About the AP Physics C Exams 7
Background Information 7
Some Frequently Asked Questions About the AP Physics C Exams 8
3 How to Plan Your Time 15
What Should I Study? 15
Understand Physics First, Then AP Physics C 17
A Word About Calculus 18
Three Different Study Schedules 19
Step 2 Determine Your Test Readiness
4 Fundamentals Quizzes 25
Mechanics Quiz 25
Electricity and Magnetism Quiz 26
Answers to Mechanics Quiz 27
Answers to Electricity and Magnetism Quiz 29
What Do I Know, and What Don't I Know? 30
5 Take a Diagnostic Test 31
Diagnostic Test 32
Answers and Explanations 36
Interpretation: How Ready Are You? 38
Step 3 Develop Strategies for Success
6 Memorizing Equations in the Shower 41
Can You Ace This Quiz? 41
So, How Did You Do? 42
Equations Are Crucial 42
What About the Free-Response Section? 42
Treat Equations Like Vocabulary 43
Answer Key to Practice Quiz 46
7 How to Approach Each Question Type 47
How to Approach the Multiple-Choice Section 48
How to Approach the Free-Response Section 55
Lab Questions 59
8 Extra Drill on Difficult but Frequently Tested Topics 63
Tension 64
The Answers 65
Electric and Magnetic Fields 66
The Answers 67
Inclined Planes 69
The Answers 70
Motion Graphs 72
The Answers 73
Simple Circuits 75
The Answers 76
Step 4 Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High
9 Kinematics, 81
Introduction to Motion in a Straight Line 82
Graphical Analysis of Motion 82
Algebraic Analysis of Motion 85
What If Acceleration Isn't Constant? 88
Air Resistance and the First-Order Differential Equation 89
Practice Problems 91
Solutions to Practice Problems 92
Rapid Review 93
10 Forces and Newton's Laws 94
Describing Forces: Free-Body Diagrams 95
Determining the Net Force 97
Newton's Third Law 98
Forces at Angles 98
This Chapter Was Not as Easy as You Thought 102
Practice Problems 102
Solutions to Practice Problems 104
Rapid Review 105
11 Momentum 106
Momentum and Impulse 107
Conservation of Momentum 108
Motion of the Center of Mass 109
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions 110
Two-Dimensional Collisions 111
Practice Problems 112
Solutions to Practice Problems 113
Rapid Review 113
12 Energy Conservation 114
Kinetic Energy and the Work-Energy Theorem 115
Potential Energy 117
Conservation of Energy: Problem-Solving Approach 117
Springs 119
Power 120
Potential Energy vs. Displacement Graphs 120
Practice Problems 122
Solutions to Practice Problems 123
Rapid Review 124
13 Gravitation and Circular Motion 125
Velocity and Acceleration in Circular Motion 126
Centripetal Acceleration 126
Mass on a String 127
Car on a Curve 128
Newton's Law of Gravitation 129
Kepler's Laws 130
Practice Problems 132
Solutions to Practice Problems 133
Rapid Review 134
14 Rotational Motion 135
Rotational Kinematics 136
Rotational Inertia 138
Torque 139
Newton's Second Law for Rotation 141
Rotational Kinetic Energy 143
Angular Momentum and Its Conservation 144
Practice Problems 145
Solutions to Practice Problems 147
Rapid Review 148
15 Simple Harmonic Motion 149
Amplitude, Period, and Frequency 150
Vibrating Mass on a Spring 151
Pendulums 152
Practice Problems 155
Solutions to Practice Problems 156
Rapid Review 157
16 Electrostatics 158
Electric Charge 159
Electric Fields 160
Force of an Electric Field 161
Electric Potential 162
Special Geometries for Electrostatics 165
Gauss's Law 169
Practice Problems 171
Solutions to Practice Problems 172
Rapid Review 173
17 Circuits 174
Current 175
Resistance and Ohms Law 175
Resistors in Series and in Parallel 177
The V-I-R Chart 179
Kirchoff's Laws 181
Circuits from an Experimental Point of View 184
RC Circuits: Steady-State Behavior 186
RC Circuits: Transitional Behavior 187
Inductors in Circuits 189
Other Circuits 189
Practice Problems 191
Solutions to Practice Problems 192
Rapid Review 193
18 Magnetism 195
Magnetic Fields 196
Long, Straight, Current-Carrying Wires 198
Moving Charged Particles 199
Mass Spectrometry: More Charges Moving Through Magnetic Fields 202
Induced EMF 204
The Biot-Savart Law and Amperes Law 207
Practice Problems 210
Solutions to Practice Problems 211
Rapid Review 212
Step 5 Build Your Test-Taking Confidence
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 1-Multiple-Choice Questions 215
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 1-Free-Response Questions 225
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1-Multiple-Choice Questions 229
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1-Free-Response Questions 239
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 1-Multiple-Choice Solutions 242
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 1-Free-Response Solutions 246
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1-Multiple-Choice Solutions 250
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1-Free-Response Solutions 254
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 2-Multiple-Choice Questions 257
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 2-Free-Response Questions 266
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2-Multiple-Choke Questions 269
Physics O-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2-Free-Response Questions 278
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 2-Multiple-Choice Solutions 281
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 2-Free-Response Solutions 285
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2-Multiple-Choice Solutions 290
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2-Free-Response Solutions 294
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 3-Multiple-Choice Questions 301
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 3-Free-Response Questions 312
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 3-Multiple-Choice Questions 317
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 3-Free-Response Questions 328
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 3-Multiple-Choice Solutions 330
Physics C-Mechanics Practice Exam 3-Free-Response Solutions 333
Physics C-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 3-Multiple-Choice Solutions 338
Physics G-Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 3-Free-Response Solutions 342
Appendixes
Constants 349
Physics C Equations 350
Four-Minute Drill Prompts 352
Web Sites 353
Glossary 354
Bibliography 356
The Pantheon of Pizza 357
