Unit guides
AP® Physics C: Mechanics
Unit guides with several great videos for every topic, flashcards, and exam-style practice questions with every answer explained.
What's new for the May 2027 exam
College Board changed 2 things about the Physics C: Mechanics exam. Open one to see what it means for you.
Multiple choice has 42 questions in 85 minutesExam format
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 minutesTiming
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. 1 (Exam Overview))
Updated October 3, 2026 from College Board's pages. All 2027 exam changes
7 units · 41 topics · 270 videos
Study and practice
Flashcards
217 cards with the terms and ideas you need to know cold. The ones you find hard come back sooner.
Multiple choice practice
408 exam-style questions, timed like the real exam, with every answer explained.
Practice exam
The whole multiple choice section: 42 questions in 1 hour 25 minutes, weighted by unit like the real exam. A fresh mix every time.
Must-know sheet
The facts, rules and terms to know cold on exam day, on one page. Filter it by unit, or print it.
Free-response practice
24 free-response questions like the ones on the exam. Score your answer with the rubric and a model answer, or sign in for free AI scoring.
Pick a unit
Unit 1
10–15% of examKinematics
5 topics · 34 videos
- Vectors have a direction; scalars don't
- Derivatives take you from position to velocity to acceleration
- Integrals, or areas under graphs, take you back the other way
- The constant-acceleration equations only work when acceleration really is constant
- Perpendicular directions of motion can be analyzed separately
Unit 2
20–25% of examForce and Translational Dynamics
10 topics · 64 videos
- Every force is an interaction between two objects
- Net external force sets the acceleration of a system's center of mass
- Free-body diagrams turn a situation into equations
- Velocity-dependent forces lead to differential equations and terminal velocity
- Moving in a circle takes a net force toward the center
Unit 3
15–25% of examWork, Energy, and Power
5 topics · 34 videos
- Work transfers energy into or out of a system
- Net work equals the change in kinetic energy
- A conservative force points toward lower potential energy:
- Energy is always conserved; your choice of system decides whether it stays constant
- Power is the rate of energy transfer
Unit 4
10–20% of examLinear Momentum
4 topics · 28 videos
- Momentum is a vector:
- Impulse equals change in momentum
- With no net external force, a system's total momentum stays constant
- Kinetic energy is conserved only in elastic collisions
- The center of mass of an isolated system moves at constant velocity
Unit 5
10–15% of examTorque and Rotational Dynamics
6 topics · 39 videos
- Every straight-line motion idea has a rotational twin
- Points on a rigid object share one angular velocity but move at different speeds
- Only the perpendicular part of a force makes a torque
- Rotational inertia depends on where the mass is, not just how much there is
- Net torque equals rotational inertia times angular acceleration
Unit 6
10–15% of examEnergy and Momentum of Rotating Systems
6 topics · 38 videos
- Spinning objects store kinetic energy too
- A torque acting through an angle does work
- With no net external torque, angular momentum is conserved
- Rolling objects have both translational and rotational kinetic energy
- Orbits follow conservation of energy and angular momentum
Unit 7
10–15% of examOscillations
5 topics · 33 videos
- A restoring force proportional to displacement produces SHM
- In SHM the period doesn't depend on the amplitude
- Position, velocity and acceleration in SHM are sine and cosine curves
- Energy trades between kinetic and potential while the total stays constant
- Pendulums are SHM only for small angles
About the exam
The basics of the 2027 Physics C: Mechanics exam, from College Board's official exam page.
AP® Physics C: Mechanics exam
- Date
- , session 1 (usually morning)
- Length
- 3 hours
- How you take it
- Hybrid digital: multiple choice in Bluebook, free response handwritten in a booklet
- Multiple choice
- 42 questions, 1 hour 25 minutes, 50% of your score
- Free response
- 4 questions, 1 hour 35 minutes, 50% of your scoreMathematical routines, translating between representations, experimental design and analysis, and a question that links a qualitative explanation to the math.
- 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.
Guides to the exam
- What's new on the 2027 AP® exams
Every change College Board has announced for the May 2027 exams, course by course: question types, timing, scoring and digital testing, plus what's coming next.
- How AP® scores work
What each score from 1 to 5 means, how your score is worked out, when scores come out, and how to find out what credit a college gives.
- The AP® exam format
How digital testing in Bluebook works, what the multiple choice and free response sections are like, the calculator rules, and each course's exam at a glance.
- How to study for an AP® exam
A realistic plan from three months out to exam day, and how to use unit guides, videos, flashcards and practice questions to raise your score.
- The 2027 AP® exam calendar
Every 2027 exam date from College Board's official schedule, plus late testing, score release and other deadlines to put in your calendar.
- AP® exam questions, answered
Short answers to the questions students ask most: what the exams cost, whether you can retake one, who sees your scores, and how to use this site.