Getting ready for the AP Physics 1 exam? These 20 free practice questions cover key ideas from across the course, from kinematics to rotation, each with a step-by-step explanation. Try each question first, then tap Show answer to check your work.
The questions are written in the style of the multiple-choice section of the exam. Use g = 10 m/s² unless a question says otherwise.
What the AP Physics 1 exam covers
- Kinematics: position, velocity, acceleration and projectile motion
- Force and translational dynamics: Newton’s laws, friction, and circular motion
- Work, energy and power: kinetic and potential energy, conservation of energy and power
- Linear momentum: impulse, collisions and conservation of momentum
- Torque and rotational dynamics: torque, rotational inertia and equilibrium
- Energy and momentum of rotating systems: rotational kinetic energy and angular momentum
- Oscillations: springs, pendulums and simple harmonic motion
- Fluids: pressure, buoyancy and fluid flow
How to use these questions
Work through the questions without notes, and write out each step the way you would on test day. Physics questions reward clear setup: draw a diagram, list what you know, and pick the right relationship before you calculate.
Check the explanation for every question, even the ones you get right. Many AP Physics 1 questions test whether you can reason about a situation, not just plug numbers into an equation.
Practice questions
Question 1
A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly at 2 m/s² for 5 seconds. How far does it travel during this time?
A. 10 m
B. 25 m
C. 50 m
D. 100 m
Show answer
Answer: B. Use the kinematics equation for an object starting from rest: distance equals one-half times acceleration times time squared. That’s one-half times 2 m/s² times (5 s)², which equals 25 m.
Question 2
Ball X is dropped from the edge of a table at the same moment ball Y is launched horizontally from the same height. Ignoring air resistance, which ball hits the floor first?
A. Ball X
B. Ball Y
C. They hit the floor at the same time
D. It depends on how fast ball Y is launched
Show answer
Answer: C. Horizontal and vertical motion are independent. Both balls start with zero vertical velocity and fall the same height under the same acceleration due to gravity, so they reach the floor at the same time. Ball Y simply lands farther away.
Question 3
A 4 kg box on a level floor is pushed with a horizontal force of 20 N. The friction force on the box is 8 N. What is the box’s acceleration?
A. 2 m/s²
B. 3 m/s²
C. 5 m/s²
D. 7 m/s²
Show answer
Answer: B. The net force is 20 N minus 8 N, which equals 12 N. By Newton’s second law, acceleration equals net force divided by mass: 12 N divided by 4 kg equals 3 m/s².
Question 4
A small car collides head-on with a large truck. During the collision, how does the force the truck exerts on the car compare with the force the car exerts on the truck?
A. The truck exerts a larger force
B. The car exerts a larger force
C. The forces are equal in size and opposite in direction
D. The forces depend on which vehicle was moving faster
Show answer
Answer: C. By Newton’s third law, the two forces in an interaction pair are always equal in size and opposite in direction. The car experiences a much larger acceleration because it has less mass, but the forces are the same size.
Question 5
A car drives around a flat, unbanked curve at constant speed. What force provides the centripetal force that keeps the car moving in a circle?
A. Gravity
B. The normal force
C. Static friction between the tires and the road
D. The car’s engine
Show answer
Answer: C. On a flat curve, the only horizontal force pointing toward the center of the circle is static friction between the tires and the road. That friction provides the centripetal force. Gravity and the normal force are vertical.
Question 6
A 2 kg ball is dropped from rest from a height of 5 m. Ignoring air resistance, what is its speed just before it hits the ground?
A. 5 m/s
B. 7 m/s
C. 10 m/s
D. 50 m/s
Show answer
Answer: C. By conservation of energy, the gravitational potential energy at the top becomes kinetic energy at the bottom: mgh equals one-half mv². The mass cancels, so v equals the square root of 2gh, which is the square root of 2 times 10 times 5, or the square root of 100. The speed is 10 m/s.
Question 7
A student lifts a 50 kg barbell straight up a distance of 2 m at constant speed in 4 seconds. What is the average power the student supplies?
A. 100 W
B. 250 W
C. 400 W
D. 1,000 W
Show answer
Answer: B. At constant speed, the lifting force equals the weight: 50 kg times 10 m/s² equals 500 N. Work equals force times distance: 500 N times 2 m equals 1,000 J. Power equals work divided by time: 1,000 J divided by 4 s equals 250 W.
Question 8
A 2 kg cart moving at 3 m/s collides with a 1 kg cart at rest. The carts stick together. What is their speed right after the collision?
A. 1 m/s
B. 1.5 m/s
C. 2 m/s
D. 3 m/s
Show answer
Answer: C. Momentum is conserved. The total momentum before the collision is 2 kg times 3 m/s, which equals 6 kg·m/s. After the collision, the combined mass is 3 kg, so the speed is 6 kg·m/s divided by 3 kg, which equals 2 m/s. Kinetic energy is not conserved in this perfectly inelastic collision.
Question 9
A 30 kg child sits 2 m from the pivot of a balanced seesaw. How far from the pivot, on the other side, must a 40 kg child sit to keep the seesaw balanced?
A. 1.0 m
B. 1.5 m
C. 2.0 m
D. 2.7 m
Show answer
Answer: B. For rotational equilibrium, the torques on each side must be equal. Torque equals force times distance from the pivot. Setting 30 kg times g times 2 m equal to 40 kg times g times d, the g values cancel, so 60 equals 40d and d equals 1.5 m.
Question 10
The length of a simple pendulum is made four times longer. What happens to its period of oscillation?
A. It stays the same
B. It doubles
C. It becomes four times longer
D. It is cut in half
Show answer
Answer: B. The period of a simple pendulum is proportional to the square root of its length. Multiplying the length by 4 multiplies the period by the square root of 4, which is 2. The period doubles. The mass of the pendulum bob does not affect the period.
More practice from the AP+ workbook
These next 10 questions come straight from our AP+ Review Workbook, with the same explanations you’ll find in its answer key.
Question 11
A net force of 20 N produces an acceleration of 2.5 m/s² in an object. Find the object’s mass.
A. 2.0 kg
B. 4.0 kg
C. 8.0 kg
D. 50 kg
Show answer
Answer: C. From Newton’s second law, m = F/a = 20 N ÷ 2.5 m/s² = 8.0 kg.
Question 12
In elastic potential energy, U = ½kx². If the stretch x triples while k stays constant, the stored energy
A. triples
B. increases 6×
C. increases 9×
D. stays the same
Show answer
Answer: C. Elastic energy depends on x squared. Tripling x multiplies the energy by 3² = 9.
Question 13
For a chosen system, which condition is sufficient for the system’s total momentum to remain constant during an interaction?
A. The net external impulse on the system is zero or negligible
B. The total kinetic energy is conserved
C. All internal forces are zero
D. All interacting objects have equal mass
Show answer
Answer: A. Total momentum stays constant when the net external impulse on the system is zero or negligible. Internal forces can be large; they cancel in pairs. Kinetic energy does not need to be conserved.
Question 14
For an object in projectile motion, if the launch speed doubles (same angle), the maximum height
A. doubles
B. quadruples
C. stays the same
D. is cut in half
Show answer
Answer: B. Maximum height is proportional to the square of the vertical launch speed. Doubling the speed multiplies the height by 2² = 4.
Question 15
A box is at rest on a horizontal table. Which pair of forces are Newton’s third law pairs?
A. Weight of box and normal force from table on box
B. Normal force from table on box and normal force from box on table
C. Weight of box and weight of table
D. Applied force and friction
Show answer
Answer: B. Third law pairs act on different objects and are the same type of force. The table pushes up on the box, and the box pushes down on the table. Weight and normal force both act on the box, so they are not a third law pair, even though they balance here.
Question 16
A merry-go-round with I = 40 kg·m² is given an angular acceleration of 0.50 rad/s² by a net torque. Find the torque.
A. 20 N·m
B. 40 N·m
C. 0.0125 N·m
D. 80 N·m
Show answer
Answer: A. Use the rotational form of Newton’s second law: τ = Iα = (40 kg·m²)(0.50 rad/s²) = 20 N·m.
Question 17
A disk (I = 0.80 kg·m²) rotating at 4.0 rad/s experiences a torque that brings it to rest in 2.0 s. Find the torque’s magnitude.
A. 0.4 N·m
B. 1.6 N·m
C. 3.2 N·m
D. 6.4 N·m
Show answer
Answer: B. Angular acceleration α = Δω/Δt = (0 − 4.0)/2.0 = −2.0 rad/s². Torque magnitude = I|α| = 0.80 × 2.0 = 1.6 N·m.
Question 18
If the spring constant k of a mass-spring oscillator is quadrupled while the mass stays the same, the period of oscillation
A. doubles
B. is cut in half
C. quadruples
D. stays the same
Show answer
Answer: B. The period of a mass-spring system is proportional to 1/√k. Quadrupling k divides the period by √4 = 2, so it is cut in half.
Question 19
Water flows steadily through a horizontal pipe. Section 1 has cross-sectional area 0.020 m² and flow speed 1.0 m/s. Section 2 has area 0.0050 m². What is the speed of the water in Section 2?
A. 0.25 m/s
B. 1.0 m/s
C. 4.0 m/s
D. 16 m/s
Show answer
Answer: C. By the continuity equation, A₁v₁ = A₂v₂. So v₂ = (0.020 ÷ 0.0050)(1.0 m/s) = 4.0 m/s. A narrower pipe means faster flow.
Question 20
According to Bernoulli’s principle, in a horizontal pipe, where fluid speed is highest, pressure is
A. highest
B. lowest
C. unaffected
D. equal to atmospheric pressure
Show answer
Answer: B. At the same height, faster-moving fluid has lower pressure. In the pipe above, the narrow Section 2 has the fastest flow and the lowest pressure.
How did you do?
If you got 17 or more right, you have a strong foundation. Focus your review on the explanations for any you missed. If you got 12 to 16 right, you’re on track, but a few topics need more practice. If you got 11 or fewer right, start with the unit reviews before doing more practice questions.
Our AP+ Physics 1 Review Workbook covers every unit with clear summaries, worked examples and full exam-style practice with answers and step-by-step explanations. It’s available as an instant PDF download or a paperback.
See the AP+ Physics 1 Review Workbook →
Studying for more than one AP exam? Browse the full AP+ Exam Prep series.
Frequently asked questions
Are these questions like the real AP Physics 1 exam?
They’re written in the style of the multiple-choice section and cover the same units and reasoning skills. Official practice materials from the College Board are also worth using alongside them.
What’s the best way to study for AP Physics 1?
Focus on understanding concepts, not just memorizing equations. Draw diagrams, explain your reasoning in words, and practice mixed questions from different units regularly.
When is the AP Physics 1 exam?
AP exams are given each May. Check the College Board’s AP website for the current exam schedule.
AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this page or our workbooks.