AP Physics B
{{Short description|Advanced Placement course and exam}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2025}}
{{Advanced Placement}}
Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B was a physics course administered by the College Board as part of its Advanced Placement program. It was equivalent to a year-long introductory university course covering Newtonian mechanics, electromagnetism, fluid mechanics, thermal physics, waves, optics, and modern physics. The course was algebra-based and heavily computational;{{cite web|url=http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_physb.html?physicsb|title=AP Physics B|year=2011|work=AP Central|publisher=College Board|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702141730/http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_physb.html?physicsb|archive-date=2 July 2011 |url-status=live|access-date=July 24, 2011}} in 2015, it was replaced by the more concept-focused AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2.
Exam
The exam consisted of a 70 multiple-choice question (MCQ) section, followed by a 6–7 free-response question (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:{{cite web |url=http://collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/physics_b/topic.html?physicsb |title=AP: Physics B: Topic Outline |publisher=Collegeboard.com |access-date=December 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040819185754/http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/physics_b/topic.html?physicsb |archive-date=August 19, 2004 |url-status=dead }}
| class="wikitable"
!align="center"|Topic !align="center"|Percent |
| align="center"
!Newtonian Mechanics |35% |
| align="center"
!Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics |15% |
| align="center"
!Electricity and Magnetism |25% |
| align="center"
!Waves and Optics |15% |
| align="center"
!Atomic and Nuclear Physics |10% |
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."{{cite web|url=http://collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/physics/ap-cd-physics-0607.pdf |title=2006, 2007 AP Physics Course Description |access-date=December 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210223217/http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/physics/ap-cd-physics-0607.pdf |archive-date=February 10, 2012 }}
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.{{Cite web|url=http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/science/physics|title = About AP - AP Central | College Board|date = 11 June 2018}}
Grade distribution
The grade distributions for the Physics B scores from 2010 until its discontinuation in 2014 are as follows:
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Score |
|---|
| align="center"
!5 |14.8% |16.4% |16.3% |16.6% |15.8% |
| align="center"
!4 |18.5% |19.2% |19.3% |19.9% |18.5% |
| align="center"
!3 |26.1% |25.9% |26.4% |26.1% |26.5% |
| align="center"
!2 |18.6% |17.3% |16.8% |16.3% |17% |
| align="center"
!1 |21.9% |21.3% |21.3% |21.1% |22.3% |
| align="center"
!% of Scores 3 or Higher |59.4% |61.5% |62.0% |62.6% |60.8% |
| align="center"
!Mean |2.85 |2.92 |2.93 |2.95 |2.89 |
| align="center"
!Standard Deviation |1.35 |1.37 |1.36 |1.37 |1.37 |
| align="center"
!Number of Students |67,312 |75,648 |80,584 |89,263 |93,574 |
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100601132803/http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/physics/ap-cd-physics-0708.pdf College Board Course Description: Physics]
{{College Board}}