2 on AP® Physics 1: How to Retake, Improve, and Pass the Exam | Albert.io (2024)

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• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Receiving a 2 on the AP® Physics 1 exam can be disheartening, especially when you may have spent months learning difficult material. However, it may be possible to improve your exam score. And while you may feel that a 2 on the AP® Physics I exam is a below average performance, note that over 60% of test-takers scored a 1 or 2 on the 2016 AP® Physics 1 exam. So don’t panic! Just keep reading to decide whether to retake the exam and learn how to improve your AP® exam score if you do.

Scoring Criteria

First, it is important to analyze the scoring criteria to understand your score and where you went wrong. According to Collegeboard, a 2 on the AP® Physics 1 exam suggests to colleges that you are “possibly qualified” but that there are some gaps in your knowledge of the curriculum.

The AP® Physics 1 exam is broken into two equally-weighted sections: multiple choice and free response. In the multiple choice section, there are 45 questions with one correct answer and five questions with two correct answers. In the free response section, there is one experimental design question, one qualitative/quantitative translation, and three short answer questions. The multiple choice questions are scored by machine. The free response questions are scored by AP® teachers and college faculty at an annual AP® grading event.

The scoring process is a complicated one; one component of the score setting process involves comparing AP® exam results with real college students’ results in comparable college classes in the United States. If you scored a 2, you may have done well with the multiple choice questions but struggled with the the free response section, or vice versa. Or you may have botched the experimental design question and some of the short answers, but performed well on the rest of the exam. A 2 suggests that you had serious issues with some parts of the exam, but not necessarily all sections.

Steps to Improve Your Score

If you’re not satisfied with your score and want to retake the exam and improve it, here are some methods to help.

1. Reflect on your performance and take a look at the solutions to determine which sections you struggled with. Figuring out where exactly you made your mistakes will help you guide your preparation efforts before you retake the AP® Physics 1 exam. You usually have until mid-September to request your free response booklets. It is recommended you request the booklet in order to compare your answers to the solutions and determine what your specific mistakes were. Try to identify patterns in your incorrect answers. For example, perhaps you are weaker at the notoriously difficult multiple-select questions or the experimental design. By doing this, you can isolate specific portions of the course material where you need to direct your studying efforts rather than practice all types of questions. If, after looking at the solutions, you are convinced that your score should be higher than it is, you have until the end of October to request a multiple-choice re-score.
2. CollegeBoard’s AP® Physics 1 website contains lots of valuable information and resources. Click through the site to better understand the exam and how the test-makers suggest you study for it. There is a list of tips that you should consider taking a look at in order to guide your preparation when you retake the exam. There is also a list of career areas and a list of college majors that taking the AP® Physics 1 exam can prepare you for. Read through these lists to determine whether any of these areas interest you — if they do, you may find it worthwhile to retake the AP® exam and improve your AP® exam score.
3. Make sure you are comfortable with all the topics covered on the exam. There are 10 in total:
   • Kinematics
   • Dynamics: Newton’s Laws
   • Circular Motion and Universal Law of Gravitation
   • Simple Harmonic Motion: Simple Pendulum and Mass-Spring Systems
   • Impulse
   • Linear Momentum, and Conservation of Linear Momentum: Collisions
   • Work, Energy, and Conservation of Energy
   • Rotational Motion: Torque, Rotational Kinematics and Energy, Rotational Dynamics, and Conservation of Angular Momentum
   • Electrostatics: Electric Charge and Electric Force
   • DC Circuits: Resistors Only
   • Mechanical Waves and Sound

It is possible that you may not have covered all 10 topics in significant depth, or paid too much attention to a few while neglecting others. It is also possible that your high school AP® class did not cover all topics thoroughly— make sure you utilize your textbooks and prep books to fill in any gaps. A common technique is to work through each topic one-by-one. Read and understand subsections, and then work through practice problems to test your understanding. After you finish one section, complete a complete topic review where you practice all types of questions to make sure you haven’t forgotten some of the earlier material. After you finish reviewing all 10 topics, take a full practice test. From your results, you will be able to isolate your weaknesses and spend the rest of time focusing on these weak points will help you improve your AP® exam score.

4. Read and understand the equations in the given formula sheet. The AP® Physics 1 exam is an especially difficult one with a variety of complex problems you need to be able to solve. There are a myriad of helpful formulas that you don’t have to memorize because they are provided to you. Figure out which formulas you have at your disposal, and more importantly, which ones you don’t and will have to remember when you retake the AP® Physics 1 exam. Instead of trying to memorize every new formula you come across, be mindful that many formulas can be derived from others. Try to boil results down to a few core formulas, which you can manipulate to derive other formulas. Do not simply memorize without understanding what the equations and constants mean — the deeper your understanding, the better you will be able to manipulate and apply formulas to different types of problems. A valuable strategy to improve your score could be to attempt to solve problems without looking at the formula sheet more than once. This will help you build an intuitive understanding of which formulas to use when and reduce your dependence on simply plugging and chugging.
5. Use online resources to hone your skills. Simply searching concepts you’re having trouble grasping can yield clear explanations. A particularly good resource is Albert. Use Albert to read about tips from students who have taken the AP® Physics 1 exam and learn through interactive practice to improve your AP® exam score. Albert offers custom feedback into how you are improving, strong and weak areas, and how you stack up against peers. You can also watch video explanations to tougher problems to prepare you when you retake the exam.
6. Use a step wise method to solve problems, especially in the free response section. Use a methodical approach and do not make any logical or mathematical leaps — if you are solving the problem correctly, each step should make sense. Draw diagrams for complicated problems when you have trouble figuring out where to start. Label vectors on your plots and include all data given in the problem statement. When you make progress in solving the problem, make sure to record intermediate results to so you don’t lose any info you’ll need later.
7. Create a study plan! This is an aspect of preparation that is often neglected. Schedule time to study on certain days and outline what material you plan to cover during each study session. Set bi-weekly milestones that you believe are essential to scoring higher this time around. If you find yourself falling behind, it may be time to revamp your study tactics or simply put in more hours. A common technique is to study with your peers; other students can keep you on task and help you understand concepts you are struggling with. And make sure you take breaks and do not burn out. Studying too much will inevitably lead to fatigue and nonproductive work. Because there is so much material, it is crucial to set a reasonable pace and quiz yourself often to ensure you are truly absorbing what you are learning.
   A well-known study tactic is to spend 20 minutes studying, followed by a 10 minute break where you get up from your desk and get the blood flowing. Try not to gravitate to your smartphone or computer during this time, as it is quite easy to lose track of time and procrastinate. Instead, go for a walk, grab a snack, or stretch.

Next Steps and Timeline

You took your AP® Physics 1 exam in May and received your score sometime in July. Unfortunately, the AP® exams are only offered annually, each May. If you have already graduated high school and are planning to attend college then retaking is likely infeasible. However, if you are still going to be in high school by September, you have plenty of time to prepare for the next exam.

If you are planning to take the exam in the United States, the fee is $93. If you are not taking the exam in the United States, the fee is $123. If you have significant financial need, you may be eligible for a $31 CollegeBoard fee reduction, in addition to state or federal level aid, which you can receive after consulting with your AP® coordinator. Sending scores to colleges after your first free report costs $15. Because of the expenditure involved, it is financially in your best interest to retake the exam only if you are prepared to put in the preparation needed to improve.

Make sure you register to take the AP® exam by the end of March. If you have a disability, you usually need to register by mid-February. After you take the exam in May, you have until mid-June to send a request to cancel or withhold your exam score. Your scores are available to you in July — make sure you send them to all colleges you are applying to before their respective deadlines. You will have to pay $23 per score report if you need to expedite the score reports to colleges, so stay diligent and keep track of deadlines.

Only retake the AP® Physics 1 exam if you are seriously prepared to devote the necessary time and resources to study. It is a difficult and comprehensive test that will require many hours of preparation. And because you received a 2 on the AP® Physics 1 exam, it is likely you will have to spend more time preparing than you did last time to improve your AP® exam score.

Start preparing as early as September before the exam, as this will allow you to work the material systematically without rushing through topics and cramming. Make sure your course load for the year isn’t too heavy and you don’t have too many other AP® exams that you need to take as well. If you aren’t planning on using physics in college (i.e. if you are not planning to be a STEM major), then it may not be worth the extra effort to spend months studying in order to retake the AP® Physics 1 test.

Keep in mind what score you want. If you will know which college you will attend before the exam date, check your college’s AP® credit guidelines to see what minimum score you need to in order to receive college credit. If that score seems unattainable given your current progress, it may be worthwhile to cut your losses and focus on other exams.

Hopefully, you have realized that a 2 on the AP® Physics 1 exam is surely not the end of the world. It may be in your best interest to retake the test, and there are definitely a few things you can do in order to improve your score in your next attempt. While the exam is undoubtedly a challenging one, every year thousands of students take this course and score a 3 or higher. The benefits to doing well go well beyond college credit: you gain tremendous experience with higher-level physics and build a foundation that will prove integral to your future academic success. Focus on the big picture and ideas and really try to enjoy each problem instead of getting lost in the details. What is truly amazing about physics is that the problems are closely related to real-life scenarios. You can apply some intuition about what you expect to happen in the natural world to help you come to a solution. If you are passionate about physics and put in the time to work on your weaknesses, you can expect a higher score after retaking the AP® Physics 1 exam.

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