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Physics

Free Physics study guide: 10 units with summaries, key ideas, flashcards and 195 practice questions with step-by-step solutions.

Lines up with: AP Physics 1 (8 units incl. Fluids); AP Physics 2 (circuits).

Units

1. UNIT 01

   Kinematics

   Kinematics describes motion without asking what causes it. With constant acceleration, four equations handle almost every problem.
2. UNIT 02

   Forces and Newton's laws

   Forces change motion. Newton's laws connect the net force on an object to its acceleration.
3. UNIT 03

   Work, energy and power

   Energy is the ability to do work. Without friction, mechanical energy is conserved, which makes many motion problems quick.
4. UNIT 04

   Momentum

   Momentum is mass in motion. In any collision with no outside force, total momentum before equals total momentum after.
5. UNIT 05

   Circular motion, gravity and rotation

   Objects moving in circles need a center-seeking force. Rotation has its own versions of force (torque), mass (rotational inertia) and momentum.
6. UNIT 06

   Oscillations and waves

   Things that vibrate back and forth create waves, which carry energy without carrying matter.
7. UNIT 07

   Electricity and circuits

   Electric charges push and pull, and moving charges make current. Ohm's law and the rules for series and parallel circuits solve most circuit problems.
8. UNIT 08

   Fluids

   Fluids are liquids and gases. Pressure grows with depth, buoyancy pushes objects up, and faster-moving fluid has lower pressure.
9. UNIT 09

   Light and optics

   Light is an electromagnetic wave that reflects, refracts, diffracts and interferes, and mirrors and lenses use these behaviors to form images.
10. UNIT 10

    Modern and nuclear physics

    Energy comes in quanta, matter and light behave as both waves and particles, and nuclear reactions convert mass into energy.