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AP Physics C: Mechanics · Unit 2 · No account needed

Interactive Unit Review: AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2

Force and Translational Dynamics

This review covers AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 in one connected problem, with the calculus the course requires. A 40 kg cargo pod rides a launch sled driven by a force that changes with time, hangs from a spring scale, circles a test loop and a flat curve, reaches orbit, and returns under a parachute.

16 questions in 8 stages · progress saves in this browser

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The parachute return stage: a capsule falls with drag beside a height scale while a ghost capsule falls at the terminal speed the student entered.
Parachute return · drag that grows with speed sets the terminal speed

How it works

Answer first, then watch your answer run.

You integrate a time-varying force to find a speed, find the acceleration of a spring-supported mass, and decide when a falling object with linear drag approaches its terminal speed. When you answer, the stage runs, and a cyan ghost moves according to your answer beside the ideal solution, so a wrong answer shows exactly what it would do.

  1. Answer the question. Each question asks for a number, a choice, or a free-body diagram. 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

8 stages from force and translational dynamics.

Stage 1

Loading ramp

  • Free-body diagram on an incline
  • Newton’s second law with friction on an incline

Stage 2

Spring scale

  • Spring force and gravity together

Stage 3

Counterweight hoist

  • Connected objects over a pulley
  • Tension in a rope joining two accelerating masses

Stage 4

Launch sled

  • Velocity from a time-varying force

Stage 5

Test loop

  • Free-body diagram at the top of a vertical loop
  • Vertical circle: normal force at the top
  • Newton’s third law

Stage 6

Flat curve

  • Direction of the net force in circular motion
  • Static friction as the centripetal force

Stage 7

Orbit

  • Inverse-square gravity
  • Gravity as the centripetal force
  • Period of a circular orbit

Stage 8

Parachute return

  • Terminal speed with linear drag
  • Approach to terminal speed

Inside the review

A wrong answer shows what it would do.

The launch sled stage: a sled on a long rail, pushed by a force that grows with time, with a ghost sled far ahead.
Launch sled · the ghost reaches the speed your integral gives
The spring scale stage: a pod hanging from a spring, pulled 15 cm below its rest position, beside a ghost pod that moves with the student’s acceleration.
Spring scale · the ghost moves with the acceleration you enter

Start the review

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 2, alongside daily handouts, guided problems and practice with a class progress view. See the teacher guide.

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