Cavic Physics

A world of teaching Physics and Astronomy

Category: exam review

Taking the AP Physics Exam at Home: Top 5 Tips

April 28, 2020 /

We are all facing challenges and new territory this year. For the first time, students will be taking a shortened AP exam from the comfort of their homes. Whether you are student preparing to take the AP Physics exam or a teacher guiding students, it is important that we think about how we can be ready.

I previously posted tips for the AP Physics 1 and 2 FRQs, but this post will be more targeted to the unique challenge of taking the exam at home.

Many college exams are open book / open note, so these tips may help you even if you aren’t taking the AP Physics exam this year!

1. Use Student-Created Notes

This will be the very first time that the AP Physics exam is open note! While some students may think this means the exam will be easy and they will be able to find the answers online, that is not the case. You can be sure that College Board will give scenarios that are still challenging and require critical thinking.

Remember that students can still use the AP equation sheet, but they can also use other materials. Class notes and student-created fact sheets will be much more beneficial than internet searches. Students should make sure that they are familiar with the notes they are using, so notes they have taken themselves is the best way to go.

2. Prepare Your Resources

Having a notebook full of class notes might be helpful, but it also might be time consuming to flip through a ton of material. Think smarter when preparing resources to help you.

Remember that resources are there to jog your memory or reinforce what you already know, not give the exact answer. Don’t waste time searching for answers. Here are a few things students can do to help prepare their resources:

  • Use tabs to mark sections / concepts in a notebook
  • Rewrite the equation sheet in a more user-friendly manner or how the equations were learned in class
  • Create one page concept “Cliff Notes” sheets
  • Create a FRQ checklist of top tips
My sample kinematics review sheet to help students prepare for the AP Physics exam
Here is a sample 1D kinematics “Cliff Notes” I created to help students. Top pitfalls or reminders is a great way to remember those common errors!

3. Have an Exam Day Plan

Students will have the option of typing responses or working on paper and submitting a photo. I recommend for AP Physics that students work on paper – this is more in line with what we have been practicing all year. Make sure your cell phone is charged and the camera works if you are using it to photograph your answers. Practice making sure your images come out clear.

College Board has indicated that they will have a tutorial video before the exam day on how the upload process works. Make sure to watch that and know exactly what you are doing.

4. Familiarize Yourself with the AP Physics Exam Format

College Board has all up to date exam information published here.

The 2020 AP Physics 1 and 2 exams will have two free response questions: one qualitative-quantitative translation and one paragraph length response. Students will have 25 minutes to respond to question 1 and 5 minutes to upload their response. Then, they will have 15 minutes for question 2 and 5 minutes of upload time.

AP Physics C will have the same timing, but slightly different question format. Question 1 will be the long-form question with an increased emphasis on analysis and explanations. Question 2 will be a shortened experimental design question.

Remember that not all of the content taught will be on the exam. Don’t focus on the wrong topics. For example, AP Physics 2 will not have any optics or modern physics.

5. Practice AP Physics Exam Day Conditions

At this point, students have reviewed and reviewed and hopefully have main idea down. Now, we need practice. However, not just any practice will suffice. Students need to practice in a timed setting where they cannot just look up the answer when they are stuck.

A sample of the resources available for the AP Physics exam on College Board's website
The AP Exam pages have previously released exam questions, along with scoring guides and sample responses. The sample responses and chief reader report always have great insight into what makes a good free response!

Here are some tips for practicing smarter:

  • Use previously released AP Physics exam questions
  • Set a timer when working on the problem
  • Do NOT look up the answer if you are stuck. Keep working and try writing something.
  • Use the scoring guide or a video, such as the ones College Board is producing, to score the FRQ.
  • Score yourself realistically – no “kinda” points

A review of Albert.io

July 15, 2019 /

I discovered the site Learnerator several years ago while looking for good AP style questions for my students. I was blown away by the attention to detail in the questions, and how closely they modeled the questions on the AP exam. But then, it went away. Learnerator became Albert.io, and the site moved to a paid model.

After a few years of begging my school to buy the license, we decided to purchase Albert.io for every AP class offered at our school. Many teachers didn’t really use it this past school year, but I found it one of the most beneficial tools for my students.

My students either loved or hated it. I think the hate stemmed from the difficulty of the questions, which, hello, is the point. The ones that embraced it really got a lot out of the platform.

Implementation

One of the frustrations students had with Albert.io this school year was its implementation. Many teachers assigned 100+ questions at a time. Albert’s questions are in depth, challenging, and require students to go back and review their reasoning for the answers. This simply does not work if students are assigned 150 questions to do in one week.

I implement Albert in two ways.

Albert.io as homework

First, I do use it as homework. When I assign Albert as homework in AP Physics, I usually assign 20 questions to do over a few days. We go over some of the top missed questions in class before the assignment is due. When I grade the assignment, I either grade it for completion or half completion, half correction.

Sample assignment data from albert.io in my AP Physics course
Here is an assignment summary from a homework assignment. I like being able to see the performance breakdown of each question.

Albert.io as extra practice

Second, I use it as supplementary problems. I create optional assignments, or students can work through at their own pace. Sometimes these count as extra credit, sometimes they are purely additional practice.

albert.io snapshot of student data
Here is a snapshot of my dashboard. I removed students’ names. I can see at a glance how each student is doing. This snapshot was taken during a week when I did not assign anything (just optional practice).

A student’s perspective

What really sets Albert.io apart is the results. They have results and testimonials on their website, but I want to share some personal data from my AP exam review period.

I’ve discussed my AP exam review style a little bit here. I like to give students choices in how they prepare for the National Exam. About two months before the AP Physics exam, I surveyed my students to help inform how to best conduct review. First, I asked them about how they prefer to review.

Student feedback on AP review
Actual results from my AP Physics students.

42.1% of students said they get the most out of review when they do practice problems with a group, and another 31.6% said when they take practice multiple choice (and free response) and make corrections on their answers. Both of these are possible with Albert.io, which is why I think this happened:

Student feedback on how albert.io is the most beneficial review tool we have used

Students overwhelmingly selected Albert.io as the most beneficial tool for review we used. Even though they complain about it at times, it really is the best review tool we have at our disposal. The style of questions for AP Physics 1 and 2 are the closest I have seen to the rigor of the AP exam.

If you or your school is able to purchase Albert.io, I highly recommend it. However, don’t overuse it and give students choices on how much they need to do. While I don’t have my pass rate data to share yet, I am excited to see if it made a real difference in exam results. If I am going off of what student’s said, they thought the exam was cake compared to the rigor they were used to on Albert. And that’s the best I can hope for.

Data tracking for AP Physics

May 25, 2017 /

I previously shared that I started doing Multiple Choice Mondays and FRQ Fridays every week going into the AP exam. Here is a sample score tracking sheet my students used to track their progress. It was helpful and motivating for them to see their progress over time.

Score Tracker

Reviewing for the AP Physics exam

May 4, 2017 /

My AP Physics 1 and 2 students took the National Exam last week. I think I am just as worn out as they are. I decided to try something new this year while reviewing for the AP Physics exam. Instead of giving my students a ton of practice questions, as usual, we tried a diverse and personalized review. My students felt prepared, so I am hoping this review style really reinforced their learning.

First, we did Multiple Choice Monday and FRQ Friday every week for the two months before the exam. We used a score tracker (which I wrote about later here!) to help students visualize how they were performing and where they needed improvement.

Second, the month before the exam I gave my students a practice test and scored them on each topic. Then, they had a Canvas module to review. I like to call this a “personalized menu,” or sometimes it is called a playlist. Students chose from 20-30 different assignments, encompassing all the topics on the exam. Assignments varied from multiple choice questions, FRQs, virtual labs, review videos, review lecture notes, etc. Students chose assignments based on their needs and preferred learning style, with a goal of earning 100 points however they see fit.

Here is a sample of some of the options available for the review:

reviewmodule1reviewmodule

This style of reviewing for the AP Physics exam was much more targeted and personalized than other things I have tried. I got to work with students in small groups on specific learning objectives they struggled with. We will see how their scores reflect this enhanced review opportunity! I will definitely try this style of review in the future.

I gave them the 2016 exam as practice last week. 100% passed. I hope that is reflective of their performance this year!

Dina Cavicchia, creator of Cavic Physics, is a Physics teacher from Orlando, Florida. She has taught Physics for ten years. Her teaching experience includes AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, Honors and Standard level Physics, and Honors Astronomy. Her passions include all things space, science advocacy, and teaching science through collaborative learning. Connect with Dina on Twitter. Check out Dina’s Physics and Astronomy resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

© 2024 Cavic Physics

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑