In the United States, Advanced Placement (AP) Physics collectively refers to the College Board Advanced Placement Program courses and exams covering various areas of physics. Each course culminates in an optional exam for which high-performing students may receive some credit towards their college coursework, depending on which college or university they attend. One or more of these AP physics courses – taken along with courses in algebra, trigonometry, and a science that included laboratory components – also prepares students for the SAT Subject Test in Physics to fulfill entrance requirements at some U.S. colleges.
AP Physics B – discontinued in 2014 – was supposed to be equivalent to an introductory algebra-based college course in physics, with a laboratory component. The course was non-calculus-based, utilizing algebra and basic trigonometry to solve various physics problems. AP Physics B was divided into five different sections: Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics, Electricity and Magnetism, Waves and Optics, and Atomic and Nuclear Physics.
AP Physics B was replaced by AP Physics 1 and 2.
AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 were introduced in 2014. The courses were designed to emphasize critical thinking and reasoning as well as learning through inquiry. They remain as algebra-based courses that do not require students to have taken calculus.