AP Physics C: Mechanics score calculator 2027

How the Physics C Mech exam is built

Section I: Multiple choice42 questions · 50 %

Discrete questions and sets; calculus is expected. 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 same shell as Physics 1, 2 and C: E&M. The 2025 scoring statistics confirm the free-response points at 10, 12, 10 and 8.

The 2025 statistics also show how hard the last question was that year: the mean on the 8-point qualitative/quantitative translation question was 2.30, under 30 % of its points, where the 12-point translation question averaged 7.74.

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

Worked Physics C Mech examples

32/42 multiple choice, 26/40 free response

38.1 + 32.5 = 70.6, an estimated 5 with 2.6 points of margin.

24/42, 16/40

28.6 + 20.0 = 48.6, an estimated 3. Little over half the multiple choice and 40 % of the free-response points lands 5 points short of a 4.

The 2025 pattern: 10/10, 10/12, 7/10, 2/8 on the free response

29 of 40 free-response points is 36.3 composite. With 30/42 on the multiple choice (35.7) that is 72.0, a 5, even with almost nothing on question 4.

How Physics C Mech scores were distributed

Mechanics went the other way from most AP exams in 2025. The share of 5s fell from 28.5 % to 21.7 %, the 3-or-higher rate from 76.3 % to 73.2 %, and the mean from 3.50 to 3.30. The 3 band grew from 20.9 % to 27.5 % and became the most common score.

That is the first full year of the revised three-hour format with four free-response questions. Mechanics is still comfortably above the all-subject average for 5s (18.0 % in 2025) and its 1 rate, 10.8 %, is about half of Physics 1's.

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 C Mech score is worth for credit

The calculus-based course is the prize, and at Florida and Washington it starts at a 4; a 3 gets the algebra-based course instead. Texas offers the calculus-based options from a 3 but leaves the choice to the advisor.

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 C Mech curve on this sheet is estimated

The cutoffs under the sheet, 68 % for a 5, 54 % for a 4 and 40 % for a 3, are estimates set against the 2025 distribution and the released scoring guidelines. They are two points lower than the Physics 1 lines because Mechanics' published distribution has a larger top band even after its 2025 fall. The College Board does not publish cut scores and sets them fresh each year.

On a 40-point free-response section each point is worth 1.25 composite, and the 2025 statistics show students averaging under 30 % on the last question, so the margin usually comes from the first three. Within three points of a line, read the result as either score.

Questions about the Physics C Mech exam

How much calculus is on Physics C: Mechanics?

Derivatives and integrals appear in both sections: velocity and acceleration from position functions, work from a variable force, moments of inertia by integration. Calculus AB covers what is needed; many students take it concurrently.

How long is the exam now?

3 hours: 85 minutes of multiple choice and 95 minutes of free response, per the College Board page. Before the 2024-25 revision it was 90 minutes.

What are the four free-response questions worth?

10, 12, 10 and 8 points, per the 2025 scoring statistics: mathematical routines, translation between representations, experimental design and analysis, and qualitative/quantitative translation.

Does a 3 earn engineering physics credit?

Not at Florida or Washington, where a 3 earns the algebra-based course and the calculus-based one needs a 4. Texas lists calculus-based options from a 3, subject to advising.

Why did the 5 rate drop in 2025?

The published distribution shows 21.7 % at 5 against 28.5 % in 2024. 2025 was the first full year of the revised exam. The College Board has not published a reason on the distribution PDF.