Curriculum
The curriculum is roughly equivalent to the first semester of “College Physics.” It consists of 7 units of algebra and trigonometry-based mechanics, and one unit of fluids (which is really liquids, since gases play only a minor part in the College Board version). The biggest challenge is presented by Unit 2, Force and Translational Dynamics. It is very long (11 topics) and includes gravity, circular motion, and orbits.
Level
The CB says that the class is accessible for students concurrently enrolled in Algebra 2, but my experience has been that those students are overwhelmed by the amount of algebra required and the level of reasoning about functions. I suggest to most students that they should have been successful in Algebra 2 and be enrolled in a math class beyond that. AP Precalculus is a good pairing. In your district, things may be different.
Teaching Tips
Multiple Representations: Getting students to represent material in multiple ways (verbally, pictorially, graphically, and mathematically) is extremely helpful and the Translating Between Representations (TBR) Free Response Question on the AP Exam will assess this skill. This Blog Post suggests ways to use the TIPER books in class to promote these skills. The basic idea is to always think of class assignments as a Think-Pair-Share. This also works well for the AP Physics 1 Workbook assignments available in AP Classroom.
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