📚 AP Physics 1 Exam Content Changes and Prep Tips | AP 物理1 考试范围变动与备考建议
Beginning in May 2025, the AP Physics 1 exam will undergo the most significant content and format revision since its launch. The College Board has removed the entire unit on electric charge and circuits, removed mechanical waves and sound, and instead introduced a brand-new requirement: fluid mechanics. At the same time, the exam structure is shifting to fewer multiple-choice questions, a streamlined free-response section, and a sharper focus on scientific argumentation. Understanding exactly what has changed is the first step toward earning a top score under the new framework.
从2025年5月起，AP 物理1 考试将迎来自设立以来最大幅度的内容与形式调整。College Board 删除了电荷与电路整章内容，移除了机械波与声学，同时新增了流体力学的学习要求。与此同时，考试结构也发生了变化——选择题数量减少，自由问答题精简，更加强调科学论证能力。准确把握这些变动，是在新考纲下冲击高分的首要前提。
1. Big Picture: What Is Changing? | 全局概览：变更一览
The 2025 AP Physics 1 exam reflects a deliberate shift away from electricity and toward extended mechanics. The course now covers eight content units instead of the previous ten, and the wave unit has been cut completely. The exam no longer tests Coulomb’s law, electric fields, Ohm’s law, series and parallel circuits, or the Doppler effect. Instead, students must demonstrate proficiency with pressure, buoyancy, the continuity equation, and Bernoulli’s principle. In addition, the question counts and time allocations are being restructured to give more weight to science practices such as experimental design and translation between representations.
2025年 AP 物理1 考试反映出一个刻意的转向——从电学内容回归到更深入的力学体系。课程框架从原来的十个单元缩减为八个，波与声学单元完全移除。考试不再考查库仑定律、电场、欧姆定律、串并联电路或多普勒效应，转而要求学生掌握压强、浮力、连续性方程与伯努利原理。同时，题量、时间配比也重新调整，实验设计、不同表征之间的转换等科学实践能力被赋予了更高分值。
2. Topics Removed: Charge, Circuits, and Waves | 删除内容：电荷、电路与波
The three units that have been entirely removed from AP Physics 1 are: Electric Charge and Electric Force (old Unit 8), DC Circuits (old Unit 9), and Mechanical Waves and Sound (old Unit 10). This means you will not encounter questions on charging by conduction or induction, electric field lines, resistance, resistivity, Kirchhoff’s rules, wave interference, standing waves in strings and tubes, or the Doppler shift. While these topics remain important parts of physics, they are no longer assessed on the Algebra-Based AP Physics 1 exam.
被完整移除的三个单元是：电荷与电场力（原 Unit 8）、直流电路（原 Unit 9），以及机械波与声学（原 Unit 10）。这意味着试卷中将不会出现接触起电、感应起电、电场线、电阻与电阻率、基尔霍夫定律、波的干涉、弦与管中的驻波，以及多普勒效应等考点。这些内容虽然仍是物理学的重要部分，但已不在 Algebra-Based AP 物理1 的考查范围内。
3. New Content: Fluid Mechanics | 新增内容：流体力学
Fluid mechanics has been added as Unit 8. Students are expected to calculate pressure at a depth using P = P₀ + ρgh, apply Archimedes’ principle to floating and submerged objects, and use the continuity equation A₁v₁ = A₂v₂ and Bernoulli’s equation P₁ + ½ρv₁² + ρgy₁ = P₂ + ½ρv₂² + ρgy₂ to analyze ideal fluid flow. Qualitative reasoning about how pressure and speed change along a streamline is just as important as algebraic manipulation. The inclusion of fluids brings AP Physics 1 closer to a full first-semester college physics curriculum and emphasizes connections to earlier topics such as Newton’s laws and energy conservation.
流体力学被新增为第八单元。学生需要掌握用 P = P₀ + ρgh 计算液体内部压强，运用阿基米德原理分析浮体与沉体，并借助连续性方程 A₁v₁ = A₂v₂ 以及伯努利方程 P₁ + ½ρv₁² + ρgy₁ = P₂ + ½ρv₂² + ρgy₂ 来讨论理想流体的流动。对沿流线压强与流速变化的定性分析，其重要性与定量计算相当。流体力学的加入使 AP 物理1 更贴近大学第一学期物理课程的全貌，并强化了与牛顿定律、能量守恒等前期知识的关联。
4. Updated Unit Breakdown | 调整后的单元结构
The eight units in the new framework are:
新框架下的八个单元依次为：
| Unit | English Title | 中文标题 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinematics | 运动学 |
| 2 | Force and Translational Dynamics | 力与平动动力学 |
| 3 | Work, Energy, and Power | 功、能与功率 |
| 4 | Linear Momentum | 线性动量 |
| 5 | Torque and Rotational Dynamics | 力矩与转动动力学 |
| 6 | Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems | 转动系统的能量与动量 |
| 7 | Oscillations | 振动与振荡 |
| 8 | Fluids | 流体 |
Notice that rotational motion is now split into two dedicated units (5 and 6), giving extra depth to angular momentum and rotational kinetic energy. Oscillations still covers simple harmonic motion, but the wave propagation and sound topics that used to accompany it have been dropped.
值得注意的是，转动内容被分成了两个独立单元（Unit 5 和 Unit 6），角动量与转动动能由此得到更深入的展开。振荡单元依然涵盖简谐运动，但原先配套的波传播与声学内容已被删除。
5. Exam Format Overhaul | 考试形式变化
The multiple-choice section is being shortened from 50 questions in 90 minutes to 40 questions in 80 minutes. This change reduces the raw number of points while keeping the same 50% weight. The free-response section shrinks from 5 questions in 90 minutes to 4 questions in 100 minutes, still counting for 50% of the score. More time per FRQ means the College Board expects deeper responses, clearer justifications, and multi-step reasoning that connects several units.
选择题部分将从原来的 90 分钟 50 题缩减为 80 分钟 40 题。题量减少，但所占分值比例仍为 50%。自由问答题部分由原先的 90 分钟 5 题改为 100 分钟 4 题，同样占比 50%。每题可用的时间增加，这意味着 College Board 期望考生写出更深入的解答、提供更清晰的论证，并展现跨单元的、多步推演能力。
6. New FRQ Types and Scoring | 新型自由问答题与评分
The four FRQs now follow a fixed pattern:
四道问答题现在有了固定的题型分工：
- Experimental Design (12 points) – you design an experiment, identify variables, describe how to reduce uncertainty, and analyze hypothetical data.
- 定量/定性转换 (12 points) – you move between algebraic, graphical, and verbal descriptions of a physical situation.
- Paragraph Argument Short Answer (7 points) – you write a concise paragraph defending a physical claim with coherent reasoning.
- Short Answer (7 points) – typical multi-part problem that may require calculations, explanation, or both.
对应的中文说明：
- 实验设计题 (12分) —— 设计实验、界定变量、描述减小不确定度的方法，并分析虚拟数据。
- 定性/定量转换题 (12分) —— 在代数式、图像和文字描述之间灵活切换，解释物理情境。
- 段落论证简答题 (7分) —— 用连贯的逻辑写一段话，为某一物理主张进行辩护。
- 简答题 (7分) —— 常见的多步计算与阐述题，可同时包含定量与定性要求。
This structure rewards clear communication as heavily as correct algebra. Blanket equations without explanation will lose points, while a logical narrative with a minor arithmetic slip can still earn substantial credit.
这种结构使得文字表达的清晰度与计算正确性几乎同样重要。只列出公式却无解释会严重失分，而逻辑通顺的叙述哪怕存在微小计算失误，也能获得可观分数。
7. Emphasis on Skills and Science Practices | 学科实践与技能倾斜
The updated course framework places greater emphasis on seven science practices: modeling, mathematical routines, scientific questioning, experimental methods, data analysis, argumentation, and making connections. For example, when you encounter a fluid flow problem, you may need to sketch a streamline diagram (modeling), apply the continuity equation (mathematical routines), explain how velocity changes when the pipe narrows (argumentation), and link pressure differences to earlier energy conservation ideas (making connections). Exam questions are designed to blend these practices within a single scenario.
更新后的课程框架更突出七项科学实践：建模、数学工具运用、科学提问、实验方法、数据分析、论证以及建立联系。举例来说，遇到一道流体流动题，你可能需要画出流线示意图（建模）、套用连续性方程（数学工具运用）、解释管道缩窄时流速如何变化（论证），并将压差与先前的能量守恒概念联系起来（建立联系）。题目往往会在同一个情境中融合多项实践。
8. Study Plan for the New Curriculum | 基于新考纲的学习计划
Start by auditing your current strengths against the eight new units. If you have already studied charge and circuits, set those notes aside — they will not be tested. Devote at least two to three weeks to fluids, working from textbook chapters that cover hydrostatic pressure, buoyancy, and ideal fluid dynamics. Revisit rotation with fresh awareness that angular momentum and rotational kinetic energy now form a separate unit, so you need more practice with problems that involve both torque and energy methods. Since waves have been removed, any practice time previously allocated to standing waves or Doppler shift can be redirected to experimental design drills and paragraph argument writing.
首先对照新的八个单元，梳理自己的强项与短板。如果之前花时间学习了电荷与电路，可将这部分笔记收起来——考题中不会出现。至少为流体内容安排两到三周，集中研读涵盖静液压强、浮力与理想流体动力学的教材章节。重新审视转动部分，由于角动量与转动动能现已成为一个独立单元，需要更多练习同时涉及力矩与能量方法的问题。波与声学既已移除，原先分配给驻波、多普勒效应的训练时间，正好可以转移到实验设计演练与段落论证写作上。
9. Recommended Resources | 备考资源推荐
The College Board’s official AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description (CED) for Fall 2024 is the most authoritative source — it carries the updated unit weights, learning objectives, and sample questions. AP Classroom will release new progress checks and practice exams aligned with the 2025 format. Use these early and often. For fluid mechanics, introductory college physics texts such as ‘College Physics’ (Serway & Vuille) or ‘University Physics’ (Young & Freedman) offer clear derivations and worked examples. Since many older AP Physics 1 review books still include circuits and waves, be selective: only use materials that explicitly state they are updated for the 2025 exam or that separate the removed topics into an appendix.
College Board 发布的 2024 年秋季版 AP 物理1 课程与考试说明（CED）是最权威的依据，内含更新后的单元权重、学习目标与样题。AP Classroom 将推出与 2025 年考试相匹配的新进程检查与模拟题，务必及早且反复使用。关于流体力学，大学入门教材如《College Physics》(Serway & Vuille) 或《University Physics》(Young & Freedman) 提供了清晰的推导与例题。需留意，许多旧版 AP 物理1 备考书仍包含电路与波动内容，挑选材料时只应使用明确标注已按 2025 年考纲更新、或将删除章节单独列于附录的版本。
10. Key Strategies for Success | 高分关键策略
Practice writing short, structured paragraphs that answer ‘Explain why’ prompts using claim-evidence-reasoning frameworks. Cement your qualitative understanding of fluids: be able to predict whether pressure rises or falls when a pipe widens without doing algebra, and then verify with Bernoulli’s equation. For experimental design, rehearse how to measure quantities like the density of an unknown fluid, how to reduce parallax error, and how to linearize a curved graph. Finally, simulate whole exams under timed conditions using the new 40‑MCQ / 4‑FRQ format so that pacing and mental stamina become second nature well before test day.
练习撰写结构清晰的小段文字，按照“主张—证据—推理”框架来回答“请解释原因”类题目。巩固对流体现象的定性理解：做到不依赖公式也能判断管道扩张时压强是升是降，再用伯努利方程加以验证。对于实验设计题，反复演练如何测量未知液体密度、如何减小视差误差、如何将曲线图像线性化。最后，用新的 40 道选择题 + 4 道问答题的模式进行完整的限时模拟，确保做题节奏与心理耐力在考前就化为本能。
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