Physics

Physics — Grade 12

American Curriculum · Ages 17-18

Twelfth grade Physics is AP Physics 2, or AP Physics C for students taking calculus concurrently. AP Physics 2 continues from the first-year course into fluids, thermodynamics, electrostatics, circuits, magnetism, optics and modern physics. AP Physics C splits into Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism, both treated with calculus and both weighted heavily by engineering programmes.

The difficulty in Physics C is rarely the physics itself but the mathematics arriving at the same time — students meet integration in a physics problem before they are fluent in it in calculus class. Electricity and magnetism is where that shows most, and it is where targeted support during senior year makes the largest difference to a final score.

Key topics covered

• Fluids & Thermodynamics — Pressure, buoyancy, continuity, laws of thermodynamics and PV diagrams.
• Electrostatics — Coulomb's law, electric fields, potential and Gauss's law.
• Circuits — Capacitors, RC circuits, Kirchhoff's rules and steady-state analysis.
• Magnetism & Induction — Magnetic fields, forces on charges, Faraday's and Lenz's laws.
• Geometric & Physical Optics — Mirrors, lenses, interference and diffraction.
• Modern Physics — Photoelectric effect, atomic models, nuclear physics and relativity.
• Calculus in Physics — Derivatives and integrals applied to motion, fields and flux.