Course III · Open courseware
AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
From a minus sign that does the work of an arrow to a yo-yo that loses the race by spinning: the mechanics of AP Physics 1, from motion on a line to rolling bodies, told as one connected story.
6 units · 18 chapters · free
01
Kinematics
3 chapters- 01Vectors and Motion Along a LineA speedometer says 60 and a GPS says −60, and neither is wrong. On a line, a minus sign does the whole job of an arrow.
- 02Motion Graphs and the Constant-Acceleration EquationsOne velocity–time triangle already contains the famous kinematics equations: its slope is one of them and its area is another.
- 03Reference Frames and Motion in Two DimensionsPeople on a moving walkway disagree with people on the floor about your speed, yet everyone agrees about your acceleration. And a tossed coin drifts sideways and falls at the same time, neither motion noticing the other.
02
Force and Translational Dynamics
6 chapters- 04Systems, the Center of Mass, and Free-Body DiagramsA tumbling diver is a whirl of limbs, yet one point inside her traces a perfect parabola. Which point, and why does it get to ignore all the whirling?
- 05Newton's Third Law, Tension, and EquilibriumThe floor pushes up on you exactly as hard as you push down on it — always, even in the middle of a jump. So how does anyone ever leave the ground?
- 06Newton's Second Law and Connected SystemsChain an empty cart behind a loaded one and push: the two feel very different net forces yet share one acceleration. Which system do you write the law for?
- 07Gravitation, Weight, and Apparent WeightA bathroom scale in a falling elevator reads zero while gravity pulls exactly as hard as ever. What does a scale actually measure?
- 08Friction and Spring ForcesStatic friction grows to match whatever tries to slide the box — until it can't. A spring is the opposite kind of honest: its force is fixed by how far you stretched it.
- 09Circular Motion and Circular OrbitsNothing pushes you outward on a spinning ride; the wall pushes inward and your body just tries to go straight. The same fact fixes the length of a planet's year.
03
Work, Energy, and Power
3 chapters- 10Kinetic Energy and WorkA sideways push can shove as hard as it likes and never change an object's speed. Only the part of a force along the motion trades energy.
- 11Potential EnergyA drawn bow holds energy with nothing moving. Where is it kept, and why do you get to decide where zero is?
- 12Conservation of Energy and PowerDrop a ball. Put Earth inside the system and stored energy turns into motion; leave Earth outside and the same fall is work done from beyond the boundary. Both accountings are right.
04
Linear Momentum
2 chapters- 13Momentum and ImpulseCatch a raw egg by stopping it dead and it bursts; let your hand ride backward and it survives. The momentum change was the same either way — all you bought was time.
- 14Conservation of Momentum and CollisionsTwo carts collide and each one's numbers change wildly, yet the total refuses to move. Whether kinetic energy survives the collision is a separate question.
05
Torque and Rotational Dynamics
3 chapters- 15Rotational KinematicsEvery point on a spinning record shares one angular velocity, yet the rim moves faster than the middle. Swap angle for position and all of kinematics replays itself.
- 16Torque and Rotational InertiaHeave on a wrench right at the bolt head and nothing turns; slide your hand to the end and the bolt gives. And a broom spun end over end resists far more than the same broom spun about its handle.
- 17Rotational Equilibrium and Newton's Second Law for RotationA diving board holds perfectly still with a swimmer on its tip, and the anchor at its back end is pulling the board down, not up. Stillness takes two separate promises.
06