AP Physics 1

Algebra-based mechanics, and now fluids

AP Physics 1 is the College Board's algebra-based introduction to classical mechanics — and, since the 2024–25 redesign, to fluids. No calculus is required: every relationship on the exam is expressed in algebra and trigonometry, and a two-page equation sheet is provided. This journey walks the redesigned Course and Exam Description end to end — how the exam is built and how to read units and graphs, then kinematics, forces, circular motion and gravitation, energy, momentum, torque and rotation, angular momentum, and the newly added fluids unit — and closes with a clinic on the four free-response question types. Every stage grounds an idea in a real moment of physics history, from Galileo's falling bodies to Cavendish weighing the Earth.