USA
AP Physics 2
Exam-style practice for AP Physics 2, units 9 to 15: thermodynamics, electric force, field and potential, circuits, magnetism and induction, geometric optics, waves and physical optics, and modern physics. Mechanics belongs to AP Physics 1 and is not on this path.
29 skills · g = 9.8 m/s²
Conventions
- This path follows units 9 to 15 of the AP Physics 2 course in effect since Fall 2024.
- The first law uses the AP convention ΔU = Q + W, where W is the work done on the gas.
- The Doppler effect is qualitative on this course. The path leaves out quantitative Doppler and has no qualitative Doppler drill yet.
- Problems use g = 9.8 m/s².
- Physics Zen is independent exam-style practice, not official exam material.
Units on this path
Thermodynamics
- Specific Heat: Find the heat a temperature change needs, and the final temperature of a mixture
- Gas Laws: Apply the ideal gas law and the combined gas law, always in kelvin
- First Law: Track internal energy against the heat added and the work a gas does
Electric Force, Field, and Potential
- Charge & Coulomb's Law: Find the force between two charges and count the electrons behind a charge
- Electric Field: Get the field from a force on a test charge and from a source charge at a distance
- Electric Potential: Work out potential, potential energy and the speed a charge picks up across a voltage
- Charge, Capacitance & Energy: Connect charge, voltage, plate geometry and stored energy
Electric Circuits
- Ohm's Law & Resistance: Relate voltage, current and resistance, and find resistance from a wire's dimensions
- Series & Parallel: Combine resistors in series and in parallel, and split the current between branches
- Electrical Power: Find power three ways, and the energy in kilowatt hours a device uses
- Kirchhoff's Rules: Apply the junction and loop rules to a circuit with two sources
- RC Charging & Discharging: Use time constants and exponential voltage changes
Magnetism and Electromagnetism
- Magnetic Field of a Current: Find the field around a straight wire and inside a solenoid, and add the fields of two wires
- Magnetic Force: Find the force on a moving charge and on a current-carrying wire in a field
- Electromagnetic Induction: Use Faraday's law to get the EMF a changing flux induces in a coil
Geometric Optics
- Reflection & Refraction: Apply Snell's law, find the critical angle and the speed of light in a medium
- Lenses & Mirrors: Use the thin lens equation for image distance, magnification and image type
Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics
- Wave Speed & Frequency: Link speed, frequency and wavelength, and find the speed of a wave on a string
- Wave Graphs & Interference: Read wave graphs against position and time, use the sine-wave equation, and find where two sources reinforce or cancel
- Electromagnetic Spectrum: Turn wavelength into frequency for light and radio, place a wave in its band, and send light through polarisers
- Sound & Doppler: Time an echo, adjust the speed of sound for temperature, and shift a frequency
- Standing Waves: Find the harmonics of a string and of open and closed pipes
- Double-Slit Interference: Find fringe spacing and infer wavelengths
- Diffraction & Gratings: Read slit patterns and diffraction orders
Modern Physics
- Photons & Photoelectric Effect: Get a photon's energy from its wavelength and the electrons it can knock loose
- Matter Waves & X-rays: Find the de Broglie wavelength of a particle, the cutoff of an X-ray tube and the spacing from a Bragg reflection
- Energy Levels: Find the photon an atomic transition emits, in electronvolts and in nanometres
- Radioactive Decay: Halve an activity across half-lives and name the nuclide a decay leaves behind
- Mass-Energy: Convert a mass defect into energy and find the binding energy per nucleon
How Physics Zen helps
The AP Physics 2 path drills 29 skills across the seven current units, with generated values, instant checking and worked solutions. Problems keep to the course limits: the first law with the work done on the gas, RC circuits in their initial and final states, and no quantitative Doppler.
Topics on this path
- Electrostatics
- Circuits
- Capacitors & RC Circuits
- Magnetism & Induction
- Waves & Sound
- Optics
- Wave Optics
- Heat & Temperature
- Laws of Thermodynamics
- Quantum Physics
- Nuclear Physics
Physics Zen is an independent practice tool. It is not affiliated with College Board, the IQB, the French Ministry of Education or any other exam board.
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