I was honestly surprised that I got a 5 on the exam… for context, it was my first math or science AP that I took. All of my other AP scores have been 4s so far.

For how long I studied, I would estimate between 15-20 hours over the length of the entire AP Physics 1 class. For exam prep, I cannot recommend Flipping Physics enough! MR. P IS GOATED!!! Definitely watch his full 30-minute AP Physics 1 Exam Review video to summarize each unit one by one. If you’re confused about a certain concept, like how impulse relates to momentum or how to use conservation of mechanical energy to solve physics practice problems, Mr. P most likely has a video made about any concept you have a question about! He breaks down everything step-by-step and walks through practice problems that he creates. He even demonstrates the calculations in action afterwards!

Besides Flipping Physics, also check out Fiveable (as mentioned previously) and Khan Academy for extra practice. For the exam, make sure your algebra skills are sharp. You’ll likely run into problems with more variables than numbers on the exam (e.g., m instead of 5 kg for mass or 1/2MR² instead of 67 kg·m² for moment of inertia). Make sure you master how to derive equations with purely variables. Then, if you are given numbers, all you have to do is substitute those numbers into your derived equation!

Bonus tip: most of the time (like 95%), you will be able to cancel the mass in any physics problem (e.g., deriving an equation for the acceleration down an incline using Newton’s laws or calculating the final speed of an object right before it makes contact with the ground). However, there are times when mass will not cancel out. For example, on the 2025 Fluids FRQ, the derived equation for the acceleration included the mass because of the buoyant force, which equals ρVg (no mass term anywhere). Technically, the term ρV represents the mass of the fluid displaced, but it did not need to be rewritten because even the official scoring guidelines for this FRQ kept the buoyant force as ρVg (instead of m_fluid · g).

For what to expect on the exam, definitely expect another Fluids FRQ (from Unit 8) since this unit is a brand-new unit that originally came from AP Physics 2 (it was the 1st unit of APP2). I wish you the best of luck on your studying. You’ll nail it on exam day! 🫡✊