Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B was a physics course administered by the College Board as part of its Advanced Placement program. It was equivalent to a year-long introductory university course covering Newtonian mechanics, electromagnetism, fluid mechanics, thermal physics, waves, optics, and modern physics. The course was algebra-based and heavily computational; in 2015, it was replaced by the more concept-focused AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2.
Exam
The exam consisted of a 70 multiple-choice question (MCQ) section, followed by a 6–7 free-response question (FRQ) section. Each section was 90 minutes and was worth 50% of the final score. The MCQ section banned calculators, while the FRQ allowed calculators and a list of common formulas. Overall, the exam was configured to approximately cover a set percentage of each of the five target categories:
TopicPercentNewtonian Mechanics35%Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics15%Electricity and Magnetism25%Waves and Optics15%Atomic and Nuclear Physics10%
Purpose
According to the College Board web site, the Physics B course provided "a foundation in physics for students in the life sciences, a pre medical career path, and some applied sciences, as well as other fields not directly related to science."
Discontinuation Starting in the 2014–2015 school year, AP Physics B was no longer offered, and AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 took its place. Like AP Physics B, both are algebra-based, and both are designed to be taught as year-long courses.
Grade distribution The grade distributions for the Physics B scores from 2010 until its discontinuation in 2014 are as follows: Score20102010 AP Scores Distribution20112011 AP Scores Distribution20122012 AP Scores Distribution20132013 AP Exam Score Distributions20142014 Student Score Distributions514.8%16.4%16.3%16.6%15.8%418.5%19.2%19.3%19.9%18.5%326.1%25.9%26.4%26.1%26.5%218.6%17.3%16.8%16.3%17%121.9%21.3%21.3%21.1%22.3%% of Scores 3 or Higher59.4%61.5%62.0%62.6%60.8%Mean2.852.922.932.952.89Standard Deviation1.351.371.361.371.37Number of Students67,31275,64880,58489,26393,574
References
External links College Board Course Description: Physics