AP Physics C: Mechanics study guide
AP Physics C: Mechanics · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
AP Physics C: Mechanics is a calculus-based, college-level physics course and its end-of-course AP Exam. The course is described as equivalent to a semester-long introductory calculus-based college physics course and is especially appropriate for students planning to specialize or major in a physical science or engineering. The AP Physics C: Mechanics study guide has 7 sections and about 2,095 words.
01Kinematics
Kinematics describes motion without asking what causes it. You need fluency with position, displacement, velocity and acceleration as vectors, and with the calculus links v = dx/dt and a = dv/dt; the constant-acceleration equations are valid only when a is constant, and integration is needed when it is not.
292 words, about 1 min02Force and Translational Dynamics
Newton's three laws anchor this domain: an object accelerates only under a net external force, a = F net/m, and forces come in equal-and-opposite pairs acting on different bodies. Skill with free-body diagrams is the highest-value investment: isolate the object, draw only forces on it (weight, normal, tension, friction, applied, spring), then resolve along convenient axes.
307 words, about 2 min03Work, Energy, and Power
Work is energy transferred by a force: W = F d cos θ for a constant force, or the integral of F·dr in general. The work-energy theorem, W net = ΔK, bridges dynamics and energy.
306 words, about 2 min04Linear Momentum
Momentum p = mv is a vector, and impulse J = ∫F dt = Δp equals the area under a force-time graph. For a chosen system, momentum is conserved whenever the net external impulse is negligible - typically during brief collisions where internal forces dwarf gravity or friction.
294 words, about 1 min05Torque and Rotational Dynamics
Torque measures a force's ability to rotate a body about a chosen axis: τ = r F sin θ, with the sign set by the right-hand rule or a stated convention. The rotational analogue of Newton's second law is τ net = I α, where the moment of inertia I = Σ m r² depends on both the mass distribution and the chosen axis; the parallel-axis theorem, I = I cm + M d², shifts I between axes.
301 words, about 2 min06Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems
Rotation carries kinetic energy ½Iω² and angular momentum L = Iω about a fixed axis, and for a rolling body the total is K = ½mv² + ½Iω². Rolling without slipping links the two motions through v = ωR.
302 words, about 2 min07Oscillations
Simple harmonic motion arises whenever a restoring force is proportional to displacement: F = −kx, giving a = −(k/m)x and the solution x = A cos(ωt + φ), with ω = sqrt(k/m) and T = 2π sqrt(m/k). A mass on an ideal spring and a small-angle pendulum (T = 2π sqrt(L/g)) are the standard models.
293 words, about 1 min