AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based score calculator 2027

How the Physics 2 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 the same structure as Physics 1: 42 multiple-choice questions in 85 minutes, four free-response questions of fixed type in 95 minutes. The 2025 scoring statistics give the free-response points as 10, 12, 10 and 8, the same as the other three physics exams.

The content differs completely. Physics 2 assumes Physics 1 and spends its time on fluids and thermodynamics, circuits and fields, waves and optics, and quantum and nuclear physics.

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

Worked Physics 2 examples

30/42 multiple choice, 26/40 free response

35.7 + 32.5 = 68.2, an estimated 4, 3.8 points short of a 5 at 72. Three more free-response points would cross.

24/42, 18/40

28.6 + 22.5 = 51.1, an estimated 3 with 7 points of margin.

How Physics 2 scores were distributed

Physics 2 reshuffled between 2024 and 2025 without the pass rate moving much: the 3 band shrank from 33.4 % to 22.0 % while the 4 band grew from 18.0 % to 28.8 % and the 5 band from 19.1 % to 21.8 %. The 3-or-higher rate edged up from 70.5 % to 72.6 % and the mean from 3.20 to 3.38.

The low 1 rate (7.2 %) is the signature of a second-year course: students who continue to Physics 2 have already passed Physics 1, and the distribution shows it.

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.

What a Physics 2 score is worth for credit

Physics 2 maps to the second semester of algebra-based physics at all three universities, and at Florida and Texas the score does not matter beyond passing. Washington gives its introductory course for a 3 and the sequence course for a 4, and treats Physics 1 and 2 together as a full year.

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 2 curve on this sheet is estimated

The cutoffs under the sheet, 72 % for a 5 and 58 % for a 4, are the site's standard estimate and are slightly stricter than the Physics 1 lines because Physics 2's published distribution has fewer low scores and a larger 4 band. The College Board does not publish cut scores, and with only 24,000 students the real boundaries can move more from year to year than on a large exam.

A free-response point is 1.25 composite and a multiple-choice answer 1.19. Read anything within three points of a line as either score.

Questions about the Physics 2 exam

Do I need Physics 1 before Physics 2?

The College Board designs Physics 2 as a second-year course that assumes Physics 1. Washington's credit page treats qualifying scores on both as a full-year sequence.

Are the free-response points the same as Physics 1?

Yes: 10, 12, 10 and 8 for the four fixed question types, per the 2025 scoring statistics. The sheet uses 40.

What topics are on Physics 2?

Fluids and thermodynamics, electric force, field and potential, circuits, magnetism and electromagnetic induction, waves and optics, and modern physics.

Is Physics 2 easier than Physics 1?

Its published distribution is kinder: 72.6 % at 3 or higher and 7.2 % at 1 in 2025, against 67.3 % and 19.2 % for Physics 1. The population is different, so that is not the same as the paper being easier.

Does Physics 2 earn engineering credit?

It maps to algebra-based courses at the three universities on this page. Engineering programs usually require the calculus-based sequence, which is Physics C.