Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B was an Advanced Placement Physics course equivalent to a year-long introductory college course in basic physics concepts. High school students studied

Newtonian mechanics Newton's laws of motion are three basic Scientific law, laws of classical mechanics that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws can be paraphrased as follows: # A body remains at re ...

electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...

fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

, thermal physics,

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (r ...

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultra ...

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas ...

ic and

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

in preparation for a cumulative exam given each May. The course was algebra-based and involved

algebra Algebra () is one of the areas of mathematics, broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathem ...

and trigonometry to solve various physics problems. This course also helped prepare students for the SAT Subject Test in Physics, also administered by the College Board. The last AP Physics B examination was administered in May 2014. The College Board discontinued AP Physics B, replacing it with AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2, in the 2014–2015 school year.

Exam

The exam consisted of a 70 MCQ section, followed by a 6-7 FRQ section. Each section was 90 minutes and was worth 50% of the final score. The MCQ section banned calculators, while the FRQ allowed calculators and a list of common formulas. Overall, the exam was configured to approximately cover a set percentage of each of the five target categories:

Purpose

According to the College Board web site, the Physics B course provided "a foundation in physics for students in the life sciences, a pre medical career path, and some applied sciences, as well as other fields not directly related to science."

Discontinuation

Starting in the 2014–2015 school year, AP Physics B was no longer offered, and AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 took its place. Like AP Physics B, both are algebra-based, and both are designed to be taught as year-long courses.

Grade distribution

The grade distributions for the Physics B scores from 2010 until its discontinuation in 2014 are as follows:

References

External links

College Board Course Description: Physics
{{College Board Advanced Placement Physics education Standardized tests