5 Steps to a 5: AP Physics C 2020

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Introduction: The Five-Step Program
STEP 1 Set Up Your Study Program
1 How to Approach Your AP Physics Course
Ignore Your Grade
Don’t Bang Your Head Against a Brick Wall
Work with Other People
Ask Questions When Appropriate
Keep an Even Temper
Don’t Cram
Never Forget, Physics is “Phun,”
2 What You Need to Know About the AP Physics C Exams
Background Information
Some Frequently Asked Questions About the AP Physics C Exams
3 How to Plan Your Time
What Should I Study?
Understand Physics First, Then AP Physics C
A Word About Calculus
Three Different Study Schedules
STEP 2 Determine Your Test Readiness
4 Fundamentals Quizzes
Mechanics Quiz
Electricity and Magnetism Quiz
Answers to Mechanics Quiz
Answers to Electricity and Magnetism Quiz
What Do I Know, and What Don’t I Know?
5 Take a Diagnostic Test
Diagnostic Test
Answers and Explanations
Interpretation: How Ready Are You?
STEP 3 Develop Strategies for Success
6 Memorizing Equations in the Shower
Can You Ace This Quiz?
So, How Did You Do?
Equations Are Crucial
What About the Free-Response Section?
Treat Equations Like Vocabulary
Answer Key to Practice Quiz
7 How to Approach Each Question Type
How to Approach the Multiple-Choice Section
How to Approach the Free-Response Section
Lab Questions
8 Extra Drill on Difficult but Frequently Tested Topics
Tension
The Answers
Electric and Magnetic Fields
The Answers
Inclined Planes
The Answers
Motion Graphs
The Answers
Simple Circuits
The Answers
STEP 4 Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High
9 Free-Body Diagrams and Equilibrium
What Is a Free-Body Diagram?
Equilibrium
Normal Force
Tension
Friction
Inclined Planes
Torque
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
10 Kinematics
Velocity, Acceleration, and Displacement
Constant-Acceleration Kinematics Equations
Constant-Acceleration Kinematics Problem-Solving
Freefall
What If Acceleration Isn’t Constant?
Projectile Motion
Motion Graphs
Air Resistance and the First-Order Differential Equation
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
11 Newton’s Second Law, Fnet = ma
The Four-Step Problem-Solving Process
Only Net Force Equals ma
Fnet on Inclines
Fnet for a Pulley
Newton’s Third Law
This Chapter Was Not as Easy as You Thought
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
12 Momentum
Momentum and Impulse
Conservation of Momentum
Motion of the Center of Mass
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
Two-Dimensional Collisions
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
13 Energy Conservation
Kinetic Energy and the Work-Energy Theorem
Potential Energy
Conservation of Energy: Problem-Solving Approach
Springs
Power
Potential Energy vs. Displacement Graphs
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
14 Gravitation and Circular Motion
Velocity and Acceleration in Circular Motion
Centripetal Acceleration
Mass on a String
Car on a Curve
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Kepler’s Laws
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
15 Rotational Motion
Rotational Kinematics
Rotational Inertia
Newton’s Second Law for Rotation
Rotational Kinetic Energy
Angular Momentum and Its Conservation
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
16 Simple Harmonic Motion
Amplitude, Period, and Frequency
Vibrating Mass on a Spring
Pendulums
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
17 Electrostatics
Electric Charge
Electric Fields
Force of an Electric Field
Electric Potential
Special Geometries for Electrostatics
Gauss’s Law
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
18 Circuits
Current
Resistance and Ohm’s Law
Resistors in Series and in Parallel
The V-I-R Chart
Kirchoff’s Laws
Circuits from an Experimental Point of View
RC Circuits: Steady-State Behavior
RC Circuits: Transitional Behavior
Inductors in Circuits
Other Circuits
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
19 Magnetism
Magnetic Fields
Long, Straight, Current-Carrying Wires
Moving Charged Particles
Mass Spectrometry: More Charges Moving Through Magnetic Fields
Induced EMF
The Biot-Savart Law and Ampère’s Law
Practice Problems
Solutions to Practice Problems
Rapid Review
STEP 5 Build Your Test-Taking Confidence
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 1—Multiple-Choice Questions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 1—Free-Response Questions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1—Multiple-Choice Questions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1—Free-Response Questions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 1—Multiple-Choice Solutions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 1—Free-Response Solutions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1—Multiple-Choice Solutions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 1—Free-Response Solutions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 2—Multiple-Choice Questions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 2—Free-Response Questions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2—Multiple-Choice Questions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2—Free-Response Questions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 2—Multiple-Choice Solutions
Physics C—Mechanics Practice Exam 2—Free-Response Solutions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2—Multiple-Choice Solutions
Physics C—Electricity and Magnetism Practice Exam 2—Free-Response Solutions
Appendices
Constants
Physics C Equations
Four-Minute Drill Prompts
Web Sites
Glossary
Bibliography
The Pantheon of Pizza