AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based score calculator 2027

How the Physics 1 exam is built

Section I: Multiple choice42 questions · 50 %

Discrete questions and sets on a stimulus or data set. Calculator allowed. (85 minutes)

Section II, Q1: Mathematical routines1 question · 10 of 40 points

Derive and calculate from a described situation; the 2025 scoring guidelines give it 10 points. (95 minutes for all four)

Section II, Q2: Translation between representations1 question · 12 of 40 points

Move between diagrams, graphs, equations and words; the longest question at 12 points. (shared)

Section II, Q3: Experimental design and analysis1 question · 10 of 40 points

Plan a procedure, then analyse data or a graph from it. (shared)

Section II, Q4: Qualitative/quantitative translation1 question · 8 of 40 points

Argue in words, then show the same claim in mathematics, or the reverse. (shared)

The College Board page for May 2027 lists 42 multiple-choice questions in 85 minutes and four free-response questions in 95 minutes. The four question types are fixed and so are their points: the 2026 course and exam description's scoring guidelines give 10, 12, 10 and 8, which the sheet uses as the 40-point maximum.

Fluids moved into Physics 1 with the 2024-25 revision and is 10 to 15 % of the multiple choice, so eight units are examined rather than seven. A calculator is allowed on both sections.

Source: College Board, AP exam page, read 10 Oct 2026.

Worked Physics 1 examples

28/42 multiple choice, 22/40 free response

33.3 + 27.5 = 60.8, an estimated 4. Two thirds of the multiple choice and a little over half the free-response points.

20/42, 14/40

23.8 + 17.5 = 41.3, an estimated 3 by 1.3 points. On the 2024 distribution, where 52.7 % of students scored below 3, this would have been a 2.

35/42, 32/40

41.7 + 40.0 = 81.7, a clear 5.

How Physics 1 scores were distributed

The 2024 and 2025 Physics 1 columns describe different standards. In 2024 more than half of students scored a 1 or a 2; in 2025 the 1 band fell from 26.6 % to 19.2 % and the 2 band from 26.1 % to 13.4 %, while the 5 band rose from 10.2 % to 19.8 %. The mean jumped from 2.59 to 3.12. The College Board's July 2025 post, which explains its move to evidence-based standard setting, lists Physics 1's 3-or-higher rate as 47 % in 2024 and 66 % in 2025 in its table.

Even after the reset, nearly one student in five scores a 1, the highest 1 rate among the AP sciences apart from Environmental Science.

Sources: College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2025, read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2024, read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, 2025 AP Exams: Scoring, Standards, and Security in a New Digital Era (Trevor Packer, 1 July 2025), read 10 Oct 2026.

What a Physics 1 score is worth for credit

Physics 1 credit is flat at Florida and Texas: a 3 earns the same course as a 5. Washington is the one that cares about the score, giving its calculus-free introductory course for a 3 and the first course of its algebra-based sequence for a 4. Engineering programs at all three generally require the calculus-based sequence, which Physics 1 does not replace.

Read from each university's own credit page on 10 Oct 2026: University of Florida, Exam Credit (undergraduate catalog); University of Texas at Austin, Student Testing Services, credit by exam; University of Washington, Advanced Placement exams for credit. Policies change; check the page linked in the table before you plan a schedule around a score.

How the Physics 1 curve on this sheet is estimated

The cutoffs printed under the sheet, 70 % for a 5, 55 % for a 4 and 40 % for a 3, were set against the 2025 distribution. The 2024 numbers would have put every line several points higher; the sheet follows the newer standard because it is the one the College Board says it will keep applying. These are estimates; the College Board does not publish cut scores.

A free-response point is worth 1.25 composite and a multiple-choice answer 1.19, so the two sections are close to interchangeable point for point. Within three composite points of a line, read the result as either score.

Questions about the Physics 1 exam

How many points is each Physics 1 free-response question?

10 for mathematical routines, 12 for translation between representations, 10 for experimental design and analysis, and 8 for qualitative/quantitative translation, per the scoring guidelines in the College Board's course and exam description. 40 in total.

Why did Physics 1 scores jump in 2025?

The College Board's July 2025 post describes its move to evidence-based standard setting and lists Physics 1's 3-or-higher rate as 47 % in 2024 and 66 % in 2025. The exam format did not change between those years; the score boundaries did.

Is fluids on the Physics 1 exam?

Yes. Since the 2024-25 revision, fluids is unit 8 and the College Board's exam description weights it at 10 to 15 % of the multiple-choice section.

Can I use a calculator?

Yes, on both sections: a four-function, scientific or graphing calculator.

Does Physics 1 earn engineering credit?

At the three universities on this page it earns the algebra-based course, not the calculus-based one engineering programs require. Physics C: Mechanics is the exam that maps to those.