Aim for FivePhysics 2

Exam guide

The AP® Physics 2: Algebra-Based exam

When it is, how it's set up, what's on it, how students have scored, and a straight answer on how hard it is.

Your exam:

Checked against College Board's website in October 2026.

When is the 2027 exam?

Date
, session 1 (usually morning). Your AP coordinator sets the exact start time.
Length
3 hours
How you take it
Hybrid digital: multiple choice in the Bluebook testing app, free response handwritten in a paper booklet.
Calculator
A four-function, scientific or graphing calculator, on the whole exam. Bluebook has scientific and graphing calculators built in.
Reference sheet
An equation sheet (the table of information) with constants and equations, printed and in Bluebook.

See every exam on one page in the 2027 exam calendar.

New

What's new for the May 2027 exam

College Board changed 4 things about the Physics 2 exam. Open one to see what it means for you.

  • Multiple choice has 42 questions in 85 minutes

    The multiple choice section goes from 40 questions in 80 minutes to 42 questions in 85 minutes.

    See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · CED clarifications, p. 1 (Exam Overview))

  • Free response is 95 minutes

    You get 95 minutes for the free-response section instead of 100.

    See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · CED clarifications, p. 2 (Exam Overview))

  • Updated equation sheet conventions

    Some of the conventions in the equation sheet's reference information were updated, so practice with the current sheet, not one from an older exam.

    See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · CED clarifications, p. 2 (Appendix I))

  • Radioactive decay includes dropping to a lower energy level

    Knowledge statement 15.7.B.1 now says radioactive decay can also take a nucleus to a lower energy level of the same nucleus, not only turn it into different nuclei.

    See College Board's announcement (opens in a new tab) (apcentral.collegeboard.org · CED clarifications, p. 1 (Unit Guides))

Updated October 3, 2026 from College Board's pages. All 2027 exam changes

How the exam is set up

The sections of the 2027 Physics 2 exam
SectionQuestionsTimeShare of score
Multiple choice42 questions1 hour 25 minutes50%
Free responseMathematical routines, translating between representations, experimental design and analysis, and a question that links a qualitative explanation to the math.4 questions1 hour 35 minutes50%

What's on the exam

College Board says roughly how much of the exam comes from each unit. The biggest are Unit 9, Thermodynamics (15–18%), Unit 10, Electric Force, Field, and Potential (15–18%) and Unit 11, Electric Circuits (15–18%).

  1. Unit 9Thermodynamics15–18%
  2. Unit 10Electric Force, Field, and Potential15–18%
  3. Unit 11Electric Circuits15–18%
  4. Unit 12Magnetism and Electromagnetism12–15%
  5. Unit 13Geometric Optics12–15%
  6. Unit 14Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics12–15%
  7. Unit 15Modern Physics12–15%

How it's scored

Multiple choice is scored by computer, and a wrong answer costs you nothing, so answer every question. The free-response answers are scored in June by AP teachers and college professors, using a rubric.

Each section's points are weighted by its share of the score, added up, and turned into a score from 1 to 5. College Board doesn't publish exactly how many points each score needs, and the cutoffs can change a little from year to year.

Want a rough idea of where you stand? Try the Physics 2 score calculator with your practice test results. For the 1 to 5 scale and college credit, see how AP scores work.

How students scored in 2026

AP® Physics 2: Algebra-Based scores in 2026, percent of students
Score of 5
20%
Score of 4
29%
Score of 3
23%
Score of 2
21%
Score of 1
7%

Scores of 3 or higher (72% of students) have green bars; 2s and 1s have gray ones. A 3 is where many colleges start to give credit.

In 2026, 72% of students scored 3 or higher, and 20% got a 5. The most common score was a 4.

In 2025, 24,211 students took the exam. 72.6% scored 3 or higher, 21.8% got a 5, and the average score was 3.38. College Board hasn't published the 2026 number of students or average score yet.

The 2027 exam has some changes (see what's new above), so these scores came from a slightly different exam.

Source: College Board's AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based score distributions. Percentages are College Board's, rounded, so they may not add to exactly 100. Compare every course.

Is AP® Physics 2: Algebra-Based hard?

Judging by pass rates alone, Physics 2 is about in the middle. In 2026, 72% of students scored 3 or higher: tied for the 13th highest pass rate of the 27 exams on this site. 20% got a 5, tied for the 7th highest share of 5s.

Physics 2 covers a wide mix: thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics, waves and modern physics.

The free response asks you to explain in words and design experiments as well as calculate.

Pass rates show how students did, not exactly how hard the material is. They also depend on who takes each exam and how much they prepared. See every course's pass rate.

Get ready on this site

Where these facts come from

College Board runs the exams and can change the rules. If something here doesn't match their site, trust their site.