Exam guide
The AP® Physics 1: 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 2 (usually afternoon). 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.
What's new for the May 2027 exam
College Board changed 2 things about the Physics 1 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
How the exam is set up
| Section | Questions | Time | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 42 questions | 1 hour 25 minutes | 50% |
| Free responseMathematical routines, translating between representations, experimental design and analysis, and a question that links a qualitative explanation to the math. | 4 questions | 1 hour 35 minutes | 50% |
What's on the exam
College Board says roughly how much of the exam comes from each unit. The biggest are Unit 2, Force and Translational Dynamics (18–23%) and Unit 3, Work, Energy, and Power (18–23%).
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 1 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
- Score of 5
- 19%
- Score of 4
- 24%
- Score of 3
- 25%
- Score of 2
- 15%
- Score of 1
- 17%
Scores of 3 or higher (68% of students) have green bars; 2s and 1s have gray ones. A 3 is where many colleges start to give credit.
In 2026, 68% of students scored 3 or higher, and 19% got a 5. The most common score was a 3.
In 2025, 174,401 students took the exam. 67.3% scored 3 or higher, 19.8% got a 5, and the average score was 3.12. 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 1: Algebra-Based score distributions. Percentages are College Board's, rounded, so they may not add to exactly 100. Compare every course.
Is AP® Physics 1: Algebra-Based hard?
Judging by pass rates alone, Physics 1 is about in the middle. In 2026, 68% of students scored 3 or higher: tied for the 18th highest pass rate of the 27 exams on this site. 19% got a 5, tied for the 11th highest share of 5s.
Physics 1 tests whether you understand the ideas, not just whether you can use a formula.
The free response asks you to move between words, diagrams, graphs and equations, and to design and analyze experiments.
You get an equation sheet, so focus on knowing when to use each equation, not memorizing it.
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
- Practice examA full, timed multiple choice section: 42 questions, weighted by unit like the real one.
- Score calculatorPut in your practice results to see roughly what score they'd earn.
- Practice by unitExam-style multiple choice for each unit, with every answer explained.
- Free-response practiceQuestions like the ones on the exam, with a rubric and a model answer.
- Must-know sheetYour one-page cram sheet: the facts and terms to know cold on exam day.
- FlashcardsThe terms and ideas for every unit.
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.
- AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based exam page (College Board)
- 2027 AP Exam Dates (College Board)
- Past AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based Score Distributions (College Board)