Essential AP Physics Formulas

Physics squad, where you at? I won't lie, physics ain't my strong suit but I signed up for AP Physics to push my boundaries. You guys got any tips on which formulas are essential to focus on?

Physics can definitely be a challenging subject, but it is also rewarding and immensely instrumental in understanding how the world around us works. For AP physics, here are several key formulas you should have a good grasp on:

1. Newton's Second Law: F = ma. This is a foundational formula in physics used to calculate the force acting on an object when we know its mass and acceleration.

2. Conservation of Energy: KEinitial + PEinitial = KEfinal + PEfinal. This formula helps you understand how energy is transferred from one form to another, particularly between kinetic and potential energy.

3. Kinematic equations: These are a set of four equations that relate displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time and are extremely important in understanding problems related to motion. They are as follows:

- vf = vi + at

- s = vit + 0.5at^2

- vf^2 = vi^2 + 2as

- s = 0.5(vi + vf)t

4. For Electricity, Ohm's law: V = IR is extremely important. It relates voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R).

5. Coulomb's Law: F = kq1q2/r^2 is really useful in electrostatics. It says that the force between two charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

6. For circular motion, centripetal force and acceleration are vital concepts. The formulas are F = mv^2/r for centripetal force and a = v^2/r for centripetal acceleration.

These are just the basics, but they will be instrumental in most of the topics you'll cover. Remember that understanding the principles behind the formulas will help you more than just memorizing them. Don't forget to work on lots of practice problems to get comfortable with these formulas. Best of luck with AP Physics!