Practice Exams

Most of test prep is just understanding the material… but it’s still important to train on the test format itself, so that you don’t lose points over technicalities or poor time management.

That’s why we provide 3 full-length practice tests.

We format these tests exactly like the AP exam:

• 40 multiple choice questions and 4 free response questions
• We distribute our topic coverage the same way as the exam
• The UI is very similar to the BlueBook software you’ll use on the test

Even better, we’ll use your results to pinpoint weaknesses and give you the most efficient study plan leading up to the test.

Why PhysicsGraph uses the same test format as AP exams

We don’t want you to face anything new on exam day. Everything you see that day, you should have already seen before.

This includes the physics concepts, of course, but it also includes the test format and the user interface for taking the test. Even if you’re fast and it only takes you 5 minutes to adjust to the format, that’s 5 minutes that you could have spent solving physics problems.

That’s why our practice tests follow the same format as the AP Physics 1 exam:

• Section 1: 40 multiple choice questions, with a time limit of 80 minutes
• Break (they give 10 minutes, we allow as much time as you need)
• Section 2: 4 free response questions, with a time limit of 100 minutes (we add 5 minutes to do your uploads)

By taking two our practice tests under test conditions, you’ll figure out how you perform for extended periods of time under pressure. This is valuable information, and should make you much less nervous on test day!

We also have built our UI to be very similar to the BlueBook software you’ll be using on test day. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough to help you gain some familiarity.

How the AP exam distributes topic coverage

It’s not just the interface that we keep the same - we also distribute our topic coverage the same way as the AP test.

The College Board tells you ahead of time that the questions will be drawn from the following units at these exact percentage ranges. We translate that into an acceptable range of multiple choice questions and make sure the number of questions we ask in each practice test is within that range.

How we pinpoint weaknesses and increase your study efficiency

Your practice test performance should be used to focus your study on where you’re weak. That is how you will increase your score the fastest!

We do this by linking each multiple choice question and each FRQ part to a topic. If you miss the point, that’s a sign that you need review, so we trigger a review of that topic.

How it works:

• Quick review of topics you missed
• If you fail a review, retake the lesson
• If you do poorly enough on the reviews and lesson retakes, that’s a sign that you may not understand the surrounding material, so it prioritizes reviews of those topics as well

This precision targeting will help you maximize your efficiency in the days and week before the test.

How to use the tests most efficiently

There are two “final” practice exams that cover the entire course, and one mid-term practice exam that covers part of the course.

We recommend taking the mid-term and the first final exam as soon as they become available.

Then, about a week before the AP Physics 1 official exam, take your second practice exam.

If you do this, you’ll be refreshing your weak points right before the test, resulting in the highest possible score.