Survive AP Physics 1 - Claudia Alvarez

Hello everyone, today I am very fortunate to say that I have had the opportunity to invite into our website a very special guest, and that is Ms. Claudia Alvarez, my AP Physics 1 teacher! Ms. Claudia, who comes from Guatemala, is a high school teacher at a bilingual school in Hanoi, where she teaches AP Physics 1. Although this AP subject is frequently referred to as the hardest AP exam, the scores of her students are truly outstanding, where in the current school she is teaching, the average score on the test is over 4.7. Today, Ms. Claudia would provide helpful advice for those who are considering taking this class/exam. I really really hope that you can gain something out of it, because it was her (along with our self-studying) that got 75% of the students a 5 on AP Physics 1 last year (including me)!

The number one advice that I can give to my students is that they need to be passionate about the class they are learning. If you have the passion, the rest takes care of itself. If you don’t have the passion, don’t take the class just for the sake of taking it. Ask yourself why am I doing this?

Make sure you study for each quiz and review your quizzes afterward to make sure you fully understand the unit. Reviewing these old quizzes and problem sets will help you study for the tests as well.

Make sure you understand the questions you get wrong on tests and quizzes. Do a deep dive into the analysis of the questions: Ask yourself: What is it that I did not know to not get the question right?

Write down tips and corrections to mistakes even if you think you already know the information. This will help you remember everything you study.

Don't panic, if you get a bad grade on something or do not understand something there are plenty of resources to help you; talk to Ms. Claudia or ask your friends for help.

Try to finish problem sets in advance so you don’t have to rush the night before a quiz and can ask Ms. Claudia or your friends questions about topics you may not understand.

Copying the answers to problem sets won’t help you because you get more points for knowing the correct process than the final answer. Make sure you know how to do every problem on the problem sets before a test or quiz.

Make your own list of all of the equations (with short descriptions of what they are for in words) and important concepts & ideas the conservation rules in elastic and inelastic collisions.

Make sure you memorize every single equation.

Don’t panic or be intimidated by the score distributions or even your in-class exams. The tests are really difficult and sometimes tricky, but if you stay calm and really focus and remember your corrections, you will definitely be able to better understand the concepts and improve.

Always check your answer and make sure it makes sense, that it is answering exactly what is asked, that it's worded properly, and doesn't go against any laws or concepts you learned.

Always ask questions until it really makes sense to you.

If a question seems too easy, you’re probably not thinking enough. If the question seems immensely difficult, you’re probably panicking/overthinking it. Try to break down the question first into which topic it falls under, and try to list important/relevant concepts/equations-- usually something will pop in your brain.

Do the progress checks on the college board! Put in the effort so that when exam day comes, you can gauge which progress check topics you did worst on and review it right before.

Do a bunch of free response practice on your own. Find them online or ask Ms. Claudia.

Manage your time wisely during exams. If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip and come back later. Sometimes the other questions indirectly answer questions you’re stuck on.

Be motivated during the final stretch before the big day. This is arguably the most important time to put the time in and secure that 5.

Actually do the problem sets (like don’t cheat use them as practice)

Do the released questions from previous exams