AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

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Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (also known as AP Physics C: E&M or AP E&M) is an introductory physics course administered by the College Board as part of its Advanced Placement program. It is intended to serve as a proxy for a second-semester calculus-based university course in electricity and magnetism. The content of Physics C: E&M overlaps with that of AP Physics 2, but Physics 2 is algebra-based and covers additional topics outside of electromagnetism, while Physics C is calculus-based and only covers electromagnetism. Physics C: E&M may be combined with its mechanics counterpart to form a year-long course that prepares for both exams.

History[edit]

Before 1973, the topics of AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism were covered in a singular AP Physics C exam, which included mechanics, electricity, magnetism, optics, fluids, and modern physics. In 1973, this exam was discontinued and two new exams were created which each covered Newtonian mechanics and electromagnetism.

Before 2006, test-takers paid only once and were given the choice of taking either one or two parts of the Physics C test. This was changed so now test-takers have to pay twice to take both parts of the AP Physics C test.

Before the 2024-25 school year, the multiple choice and free response section were each allotted 45 minutes, with 35 questions for the former and 3 questions for the latter. This made AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, along with Mechanics, the shortest exams offered by Collegeboard. Unlike other exams, the AP Physics C exams also had 5 options that test-takers could choose from rather than the typical 4. This was changed in an announcement made by collegeboard in the February of 2024 regarding changes to their AP Physics courses for the 2024-25 school year onward, which explained that the multiple choice sections would have 40 questions and the free response sections would have 4 questions. To compensate, Collegeboard allotted 80 minutes for the multiple choice section and 100 minutes for the free response section, making the exams as long as the ones for AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2.

Curriculum[edit]

E&M is equivalent to an introductory college course in electricity and magnetism for physics or engineering majors.[1] The course modules are:[1]

Topic Exam Weighting
Electric Charges, Fields, and Gauss's Law 15-25%
Electric Potential 10-20%
Conductors and Capacitors 10-15%
Electric Circuits 15-25%
Magnetic Fields and Electromagnetism 10-20%
Electromagnetic Induction 10-20%

Methods of calculus are used wherever appropriate in formulating physical principles and in applying them to physical problems. Therefore, students should have completed or be concurrently enrolled in a calculus class.[1]

Starting in the 2024-25 school year, all units in AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism are numbered sequentially after the 7 units in AP Physics C: Mechanics. This starts with Electric Charges, Fields, and Gauss's Law as unit 8 and ends with Electromagnetic Induction as unit 13.

Exam[edit]

Section Questions Time Exam Weighting
Section I: Multiple Choice 40 MCQ 1 hour 20 minutes 50%
Section 2: Free Response 4 FRQ 1 hour 40 minutes 50%

The course culminates in an optional exam for which high-performing students may receive some credit towards their college coursework, depending on the institution.[2]

Science Practices Assessed[edit]

Multiple Choice and Free Response Sections of the AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism exam are also assessed on scientific practices. Below are tables representing the practices assessed and their weighting for both parts of the exam

Section 1: Multiple Choice
Science Practice Exam Weighting
2. Mathematical Routines 65-85%
3. Experimental Design and Analysis 20-35%
Section 2: Free Response
Science Practice Exam Weighting
1. Creating Representations 20-35%
2. Mathematical Routines 40-45%
3. Scientific Questioning and Argumentation 30-35%

Grade distribution[edit]

The grade distributions for the Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism scores since 2010 were:

Score 2010[3] 2011[4] 2012[5] 2013[6] 2014[7] 2015[8] 2016[9] 2017[10] 2018[11] 2019[12] 2020[13] 2021[14] 2022[15] 2023[16]
5 32.0% 32.0% 35.1% 31.7% 33.5% 28.5% 32% 28.1% 35% 34.6% 40.4% 32.6% 31.5% 33.6%
4 25.2% 24.5% 24.0% 24.1% 25.1% 24.9% 22.6% 25.1% 23.1% 22.6% 22.4% 23.1% 23.6% 23.5%
3 13.1% 14.1% 13.9% 13.7% 12.2% 13.7% 13.5% 15.6% 13.7% 13.9% 11.6% 13.8% 14.3% 13.1%
2 17.4% 17.7% 16.5% 19% 17.6% 19.8% 19.3% 18.2% 17.3% 17.8% 16.2% 18.0% 18.1% 17.9%
1 12.3% 11.7% 10.5% 11.6% 11.6% 13.1% 12.6% 13% 10.9% 11.1% 9.5% 12.5% 12.5% 11.9%
% of Scores 3 or Higher 70.3% 70.6% 73.0% 69.5% 70.8% 67.1% 68.1% 68.8% 71.8% 71.1% 74.4% 69.5% 69.4% 70.2%
Mean 3.47 3.47 3.57 3.46 3.51 3.36 3.42 3.37 3.54 3.52 3.68 3.45 3.44 3.49
Standard Deviation 1.41 1.39 1.38 1.40 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.39 1.40 1.40 1.38 1.42 1.41 1.41
Number of Students 14,191 15,185 17,380 19,380 20,765 22,789 23,347 24,249 25,074 25,342 23,655 20,471 19,978 24,179

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c AP® PHYSICS C: ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM (PDF), College Board, December 2016, retrieved January 30, 2017
  2. ^ "Credit & Placement". AP Students. The College Board. 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  3. ^ 2010 Physics C: E&M score distribution
  4. ^ 2011 Physics C: E&M score distribution
  5. ^ 2012 Physics C: E&M score distribution
  6. ^ 2013 Student Score Distributions
  7. ^ 2014 Student Score Distributions
  8. ^ 2015 AP Exam Score Distributions
  9. ^ Total Registration. "2016 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  10. ^ Total Registration. "2017 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  11. ^ Total Registration. "2018 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.TotalRegistration.net. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  12. ^ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  13. ^ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Total Registration (2022-06-22). "2022 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  16. ^ Total Registration (2023-06-15). "2023 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2023-06-16.

External links[edit]


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