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Unit 1: Kinematics

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are position, velocity and acceleration defined as rates of change, and how do we calculate them for motion with constant acceleration?

Topic 1.2 Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration: define displacement, velocity and acceleration as rates of change, and apply the kinematic equations to one-dimensional motion with constant acceleration.
A focused answer to AP Physics 1 Topic 1.2, covering displacement, velocity and acceleration as rates of change, the difference between average and instantaneous quantities, and the kinematic equations for constant acceleration, with full worked examples.
10 min answer →

Why does the velocity of an object depend on who is observing it, and how do we convert a velocity from one frame of reference to another?

Topic 1.4 Reference Frames and Relative Motion: explain how measured position and velocity depend on the observer's reference frame, and combine velocities for relative motion along one dimension.
A focused answer to AP Physics 1 Topic 1.4, covering reference frames, inertial frames, how velocity depends on the observer, and how to add and subtract velocities to find relative velocity in one dimension, with full worked examples.
9 min answer →

How can the same motion be described by words, equations and graphs, and what do the slopes and areas of motion graphs tell us?

Topic 1.3 Representing Motion: translate between verbal, mathematical and graphical representations of motion, and interpret the slopes and areas of position-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs.
A focused answer to AP Physics 1 Topic 1.3, covering position-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs, what their slopes and areas represent, and how to translate between graphical, verbal and algebraic descriptions of motion, with full worked examples.
10 min answer →

How do we distinguish quantities that have only size from quantities that also have direction, and why does the difference matter for describing motion?

Topic 1.1 Scalars and Vectors in One Dimension: distinguish scalar and vector quantities, and add and subtract vectors along a single dimension using a chosen sign convention.
A focused answer to AP Physics 1 Topic 1.1, covering the difference between scalar and vector quantities, sign conventions for one-dimensional vectors, and how to add and subtract vectors along a line, with full worked examples.
9 min answer →

How do we resolve a vector into components, and how does treating the horizontal and vertical motions independently let us analyze projectile motion?

Topic 1.5 Vectors and Motion in Two Dimensions: resolve vectors into perpendicular components, and analyze two-dimensional motion, including projectiles, by treating the horizontal and vertical motions independently.
A focused answer to AP Physics 1 Topic 1.5, covering vector components, adding vectors in two dimensions, and projectile motion analyzed as independent horizontal (constant velocity) and vertical (constant acceleration) motions, with full worked examples.
11 min answer →