The visual guide to
AP® Physics C: Mechanics
7 units, 113 topics. Each topic is explained in writing, drawn as a lesson you can watch, and checked with practice questions.
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Each unit is as wide as its share of the exam's multiple-choice section.Filled: topics you've opened.
Unit 1Kinematics
- Scalars and Vectors
- Components and Unit Vectors
- Position and Displacement
- Average Velocity and Average Acceleration
- Instantaneous Velocity as a Derivative
- Recovering Motion by Integration
- Reading Motion Graphs
- Areas Under Kinematics Graphs
- The Constant-Acceleration Equations
- Free Fall
- Reference Frames
- Working Relative Motion Problems
- Independence of Perpendicular Motions
- Projectile Motion
- Two-Dimensional Motion with Vector Calculus
Unit 2Force and Translational Dynamics
- Choosing a System
- Center of Mass of Point Masses
- Center of Mass by Integration
- Motion of the Center of Mass
- Forces as Interactions
- Drawing Free-Body Diagrams
- Tilted Axes and Inclined Planes
- Newton's Third Law Pairs
- Tension, Strings and Ideal Pulleys
- Connected Systems and Atwood Machines
- Equilibrium and Newton's First Law
- Inertia and Inertial Frames
- Newton's Second Law
- Second Law with Changing Forces
- Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
- Gravitational Fields
- Apparent Weight and the Equivalence Principle
- Shell Theorem and Gravity Inside a Planet
- Kinetic Friction
- Static Friction
- Friction in Multi-Force Problems
- Hooke's Law
- Springs in Series and Parallel
- Drag and Terminal Velocity
- Solving the Drag Differential Equation
- Falling with Drag
- Centripetal Acceleration
- Vertical Circles, Banked Curves and Conical Pendulums
- Kepler's Third Law for Circular Orbits
Unit 3Work, Energy, and Power
- Translational Kinetic Energy
- The Work-Energy Theorem
- Work Done by a Constant Force
- The Dot Product
- Work Done by a Variable Force
- Conservative and Nonconservative Forces
- Gravitational Potential Energy Near Earth
- Elastic Potential Energy
- Force from a Potential Energy Curve
- Gravitational Potential Energy Far from a Planet
- Conservation of Mechanical Energy
- Choosing a System for Energy
- Power
- Instantaneous Power
Unit 4Linear Momentum
- Linear Momentum
- Momentum and Newton's Second Law
- Momentum of a System
- Impulse and the Impulse-Momentum Theorem
- Impulse from a Force-Time Graph
- Momentum in Two Dimensions
- Conservation of Linear Momentum
- Explosions and Recoil
- When Momentum Is and Is Not Conserved
- Perfectly Inelastic Collisions
- Elastic Collisions
- Two-Dimensional Collisions
Unit 5Torque and Rotational Dynamics
- Angular Position, Velocity and Acceleration
- Constant Angular Acceleration
- Angular Motion Graphs
- Connecting Linear and Angular Quantities
- Tangential and Centripetal Acceleration on a Rotating Body
- Torque and the Lever Arm
- Torque as a Cross Product
- What Rotational Inertia Measures
- Rotational Inertia by Integration: Rods
- Rotational Inertia of Rings, Disks and Shells
- The Parallel Axis Theorem
- Rotational Equilibrium
- Statics of Ladders, Signs and Beams
- Torque, Rotational Inertia and Angular Acceleration
- Combined Translation and Rotation Problems
Unit 6Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems
- Rotational Kinetic Energy
- Total Kinetic Energy of a Moving, Spinning Body
- Work Done by a Torque
- The Rotational Work-Energy Theorem
- Angular Momentum of a Rigid Body
- Angular Momentum of a Particle Moving in a Straight Line
- Angular Impulse
- Conservation of Angular Momentum
- Rotational Collisions
- Angular Momentum in Orbits
- Rolling Without Slipping
- Racing Objects Down a Ramp
- Rolling While Slipping
- Circular Orbits
- Elliptical Orbits and Escape
Unit 7Oscillations
- What Makes Motion Simple Harmonic
- Equilibrium and Restoring Forces
- Period, Frequency and Angular Frequency
- The Mass-Spring Oscillator
- The Simple Pendulum
- The Equations of Simple Harmonic Motion
- Velocity and Acceleration in SHM
- The Differential Equation of SHM and Resonance
- Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion
- Energy Graphs and Amplitude
- The Physical Pendulum
- Deriving a Pendulum Period from Rotational Dynamics
- The Torsion Pendulum and Real Oscillators