Should I focus on understanding concepts or memorizing formulas?

Understanding concepts, without question. Memorizing formulas without understanding them is one of the least effective ways to prepare for the AP Physics 1 exam.

The AP exam gives you a formula sheet

If all you do is memorize F = ma or KE = ½mv², that won't get you anywhere. The formulas are right there on the reference table. What the exam tests is whether you know when to use each formula, why it applies, and how to combine multiple principles to solve complex problems. That requires understanding, not memorization.

Why memorization fails

• Memorized formulas break under pressure. If you've memorized that the kinetic energy formula has a ½ in it but don't understand why, you can't adapt when a problem asks you about work-energy theorem, or when energy is lost to friction, or when you need to combine kinetic and potential energy. Understanding lets you derive what you need. Memorization leaves you helpless when the problem doesn't match your flashcards. This is the same reason Anki doesn't work well for physics.

• The AP FRQs explicitly test understanding. Free Response Questions ask you to "explain," "justify," and "derive." You can't explain why conservation of momentum applies if you've only memorized p = mv. You need to understand what momentum is, why it's conserved in certain collisions, and what conditions must be true.

• Understanding is more efficient. When you understand how physics concepts connect - that force causes acceleration, which changes velocity, which changes position - you're learning one framework that applies to hundreds of problems. When you memorize formulas, you're learning hundreds of disconnected facts.

Fluency vs memorization

Some things do benefit from fluency, which is different from memorization. You should be so familiar with the core equations that you can use them without hesitation. But that fluency comes from solving lots of problems, not from staring at a list of formulas.

PhysicsGraph is built around conceptual understanding followed by problem practice. Our lessons teach you why each equation works, and then you practice using it in varied contexts until it becomes second nature. The formula knowledge comes as a side effect of genuine understanding.