What math do I need to know for AP Physics 1?

AP Physics 1 is algebra-based, so you don't need calculus. But you do need to be comfortable with algebra, basic trig, and some geometry.

What you need (and what you don't)

Math area	What you need	What you don't need
Algebra	Solving for variables, systems of two equations, fractions, proportional reasoning	Logarithms, complex numbers, matrices
Trigonometry	Sine, cosine, tangent; vector components	Trig identities, inverse trig functions
Geometry	Angles, circles, right triangles	Proofs, 3D geometry
Graphs	Slope interpretation, area under curves	Formal calculus

You'll constantly be rearranging formulas, so algebra needs to be fluent - not something you're fighting with. For trig, the main thing is breaking forces and velocities into components. You need to look at an angled surface or a vector and comfortably find horizontal and vertical parts. We do have some lessons on that, so if you're a little rusty on the trig you can brush up on it there.

For graphs, understanding what the slope and area under a curve represent physically is critical for the AP exam. For example, the slope of a position-time graph gives velocity, and the area under a force-time graph gives impulse.

The hidden bottleneck

If your algebra is shaky, that's actually the biggest bottleneck most students face. They think they're bad at physics when they're really just slow at algebra, which makes every problem take three times as long and feel impossibly hard.

The good news is that PhysicsGraph will give you lots of practice with algebra - so if you understand your algebra, but are just slow at it, you'll end up much better after completing our course than when you started. However, if you don't understand the algebra at all, you'll need to brush up on it before starting PhysicsGraph.