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Phab Physics

AP Physics 1 · Unit 3 · No account needed

Interactive Unit Review: AP Physics 1 Unit 3

Work, Energy, and Power

This review covers AP Physics 1 Unit 3 on a roller coaster. A 40 kg cargo pod rides a coaster cart from a spring launcher, over a hill, around a loop, through a brake run, and up a lift hill back to the station.

14 questions in 5 stages · progress saves in this browser

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The coaster loop stage: a ghost cart with too much energy moves ahead of the real cart around the loop.
Loop · a speed that is too large puts the ghost cart ahead

How it works

Answer first, then watch your answer run.

You find the energy stored in a spring from the area under its force graph, use conservation of energy to find speeds, draw energy bar charts, find how far friction slides the cart, and calculate the work and power of a chain lift. When you answer, the stage runs, and a cyan ghost cart moves according to your answer beside the real cart.

  1. Answer the question. Each question asks for a number, a choice, a free-body diagram, or an energy bar chart. Hints and worked values are available when a step blocks you.
  2. Watch the stage run. The solid objects move according to the ideal solution, and the cyan ghost moves according to your answer.
  3. Read the feedback. Each common mistake gets its own explanation, and the final card lists the topics you missed on the first try.

What this review covers

5 stages from work, energy, and power.

Stage 1

Spring launcher

  • Spring energy as the area under a force graph
  • Spring potential energy becomes kinetic energy
  • Energy bar charts for a spring launch

Stage 2

First hill

  • Conservation of energy: speed at a height
  • Speed depends only on height

Stage 3

Loop

  • Conservation of energy in a vertical loop
  • Path independence of mechanical energy
  • Circular motion at the top of the loop (Unit 2 review)

Stage 4

Brake run

  • Work done by friction stops the cart
  • Energy bar charts with friction

Stage 5

Lift hill

  • Free-body diagram on a lift hill
  • Work done by a constant force
  • The work-energy theorem at constant speed
  • Power delivered by a force

Inside the review

A wrong answer shows what it would do.

The spring launcher stage: a 4000 N/m spring has pushed the cart off its platform, with the ghost cart moving with it.
Spring launcher · a correct launch speed keeps the ghost with the cart
The brake run stage: a ghost cart stops short of the real cart, with energy bars for kinetic and thermal energy.
Brake run · the ghost stops at the distance you enter

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For teachers

Share one link with your class.

Students do not need accounts. Progress saves in each student’s browser, so a class can finish the review over two periods, and the final card lists the topics each student missed on the first try. Results from this link are not sent to you.

In a Phab Physics class, this review is the Unit Mission at the end of Unit 3, alongside daily handouts, guided problems and practice with a class progress view. See the teacher guide.

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