Table

Table of
of Information
Information and
and Equation
Equation Tables
Tablesfor
forAP
AP® Physics Exams
Physics Exams

The accompanying Table of Information and Equation Tables will be provided to students when
they take the AP Physics Exams. Therefore, students may NOT bring their own copies of these
tables to the exam room, although they may use them throughout the year in their classes in
order to become familiar with their content.

Table of Information
For both the Physics B and Physics C Exams, the Table of Information is printed near the front
cover of the multiple-choice section and on the green insert provided with the free-response
section. The tables are identical for both exams except for one convention as noted.

Equation Tables
For both the Physics B and Physics C Exams, the equation tables for each exam are printed only
on the green insert provided with the free-response section. The equation tables may be used by
students when taking the free-response sections of both exams but NOT when taking the
multiple-choice sections.
The equations in the tables express the relationships that are encountered most frequently in
AP Physics courses and exams. However, the tables do not include all equations that might
possibly be used. For example, they do not include many equations that can be derived by
combining other equations in the tables. Nor do they include equations that are simply special
cases of any that are in the tables. Students are responsible for understanding the physical
principles that underlie each equation and for knowing the conditions for which each equation is
applicable.
The equation tables are grouped in sections according to the major content category in which
they appear. Within each section, the symbols used for the variables in that section are defined.
However, in some cases the same symbol is used to represent different quantities in different
tables. It should be noted that there is no uniform convention among textbooks for the symbols
used in writing equations. The equation tables follow many common conventions, but in some
cases consistency was sacrificed for the sake of clarity.
Some explanations about notation used in the equation tables:
1. The symbols used for physical constants are the same as those in the Table of
Information and are defined in the Table of Information rather than in the right-hand
columns of the tables.
2. Symbols in bold face represent vector quantities.
3. Subscripts on symbols in the equations are used to represent special cases of the
variables defined in the right-hand columns.
4. The symbol D before a variable in an equation specifically indicates a change in the
variable (i.e., final value minus initial value).
5. Several different symbols (e.g., d, r, s, h, A ) are used for linear dimensions such as
length. The particular symbol used in an equation is one that is commonly used for
that equation in textbooks.

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, and the acorn logo are registered
trademarks of the College Board.
 TABLE OF INFORMATION FOR 2008 and 2009
CONSTANTS AND CONVERSION FACTORS
Proton mass, m p 1.67 – 10 27 kg Electron charge magnitude, e 1.60 – 10 19 C
Neutron mass, mn 1.67 – 10 27 kg 1 electron volt, 1 eV 1.60 – 10 19 J
Electron mass, me 9.11 – 10 31 kg Speed of light, c 3.00 – 108 m s
Universal gravitational
Avogadro’s number, N 0 6.02 – 1023 mol-1
constant, G 6.67 – 10 11 m3 kg<s2
Acceleration due to gravity
Universal gas constant, R 8.31 J (mol<K)
at Earth’s surface, g 9.8 m s2
Boltzmann’s constant, k B 1.38 – 10 23 J K
1 unified atomic mass unit, 1u 1.66 – 10 27 kg 931 MeV c2
Planck’s constant, h 6.63 – 10 34 J <s 4.14 – 10 15 eV <s
hc 1.99 – 10 25 J <m 1.24 – 10 3 eV < nm
Vacuum permittivity, �0 8.85 – 10 12 C2 N <m 2
Coulomb’s law constant, k 1 4 p�0 9.0 – 109 N <m 2 C2
Vacuum permeability, m0 4 p – 10 7 (T <m) A
Magnetic constant, k „ m0 4 p 10 7 (T <m) A
1 atmosphere pressure, 1 atm 1.0 – 105 N m2 1.0 – 105 Pa

meter, m mole, mol watt, W farad, F

kilogram, kg hertz, Hz coulomb, C tesla, T
UNIT
second, s newton, N volt, V degree Celsius, ’C
SYMBOLS
ampere, A pascal, Pa ohm, W electron-volt, eV
kelvin, K joule, J henry, H

PREFIXES VALUES OF TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS FOR COMMON ANGLES

D
Factor Prefix Symbol q 0 30D 37D 45D 53D 60D 90D
109 giga G sin q 0 12 35 2 2 4 5 3 2 1
106 mega M cosq 1 3 2 4 5 2 2 35 12 0
103 kilo k tanq 0 3 3 3 4 1 43 3 ‡
2 centi c
10
The following conventions are used in this exam.
10 3 milli m I. Unless otherwise stated, the frame of reference of any problem is
10 6 micro m assumed to be inertial.
9 nano n II. The direction of any electric current is the direction of flow of positive
10
charge (conventional current).
12 pico p
10 III. For any isolated electric charge, the electric potential is defined as zero at
an infinite distance from the charge.
*IV. For mechanics and thermodynamics equations, W represents the work
done on a system.

*Not on the Table of Information for Physics C, since Thermodynamics is not a

Physics C topic.

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com (for AP professionals) and
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents (for students and parents).
 ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS B EQUATIONS FOR 2008 and 2009

NEWTONIAN MECHANICS ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

u u0  at a = acceleration 1 q1q2 A = area
F
F = force 4 p�0 r 2 B = magnetic field
1 2 f = frequency C = capacitance
x x0  u0 t  at F
2 h = height E d = distance
q
J = impulse E = electric field
u2 u02  2a  x  x0 
K = kinetic energy 1 q1q2 e = emf
UE qV
k = spring constant 4 p�0 r F = force
ÇF Fnet ma
A = length V I = current
F fric … m N m = mass Eavg  A = length
d
N = normal force P = power
1 q
ac
u2 P = power V
4 p�0 Ç rii Q = charge
r p = momentum i q = point charge
t r F sin q r = radius or distance Q R = resistance
C
T = period V r = distance
p mv t = time t = time
�0 A
U = potential energy C U = potential (stored) energy
J FDt Dp d
u = velocity or speed V = electric potential or
1 1
1 2 W = work done on a system Uc QV CV 2 potential difference
K mu 2 2
2 x = position u = velocity or speed
m = coefficient of friction DQ r = resistivity
DUg mgh I avg
q = angle Dt q = angle
W F Dr cos q t = torque rA fm = magnetic flux
R
A
W V IR
Pavg
Dt
P IV
P F u cos q Cp Ç Ci
i
Fs k x
1 1
Cs
ÇC
1 2 i i
Us kx
2 Rs Ç Ri
i
m
Ts 2p 1 1
k ÇR
Rp i i
A
Tp 2p
g FB qu B sin q

1 FB BI A sin q
T
f m0 I
B
2p r
Gm1m2
FG  fm BA cos q
r2
Gm1m2 Dfm
UG 
eavg 
Dt
r
e B Au

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com (for AP professionals) and
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents (for students and parents).
 ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS B EQUATIONS FOR 2008 and 2009

FLUID MECHANICS AND THERMAL PHYSICS WAVES AND OPTICS

P P0  r gh A = area u fl d = separation
e = efficiency f = frequency or
c
Fbuoy rVg F = force n focal length
u
h = depth h = height
A1u1 A2 u2 H = rate of heat transfer n 1 sin q1 n 2 sin q2 L = distance
k = thermal conductivity n2 M = magnification
1 sin qc m = an integer
P  r gy  ru 2 const. Kavg = average molecular n1
2 kinetic energy n = index of
1 1 1 refraction
DA a A 0 DT A = length 
si s0 f R = radius of
L = thickness
kA DT M = molar mass hi s
curvature
H
L n = number of moles M  i s = distance
h0 s0 u = speed
N = number of molecules
F P = pressure R x = position
P f
A Q = heat transferred to a 2 l = wavelength
system d sin q ml q = angle
PV nRT Nk BT
T = temperature
m lL
3 U = internal energy xm 
K avg k T d
2 B V = volume
3k BT u = velocity or speed GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY
3 RT
urms urms = root-mean-square
M m Rectangle A= area
velocity
A bh C= circumference
W  PDV W = work done on a system
Triangle V= volume
y = height 1
DU Q W A bh S = surface area
a = coefficient of linear 2
expansion b = base
W Circle h = height
e m = mass of molecule
QH A pr2 A= length
r = density C 2p r w= width
TH  TC Parallelepiped r = radius
ec
TH V Awh
Cylinder
V p r 2A
ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS S 2p r A  2p r 2
E hf pc E= energy Sphere
f = frequency 4 3
K max hf  f V pr
K= kinetic energy 3
h m= mass S 4p r 2
l p = momentum Right Triangle
p
l= wavelength a 2  b2 c 2
DE ( Dm ) c 2 f= work function
a
sin q c
c a
b q 90q
cos q
c b
a
tan q
b

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com (for AP professionals) and
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents (for students and parents).
 ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS C EQUATIONS FOR 2008 and 2009

MECHANICS ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

u u0  at a = acceleration 1 q1q2 A = area
F
F = force 4 p�0 r 2 B = magnetic field
1 2 f = frequency C = capacitance
x x0  u0 t  at
2 h = height F d = distance
E
I = rotational inertia q E = electric field
u2 u0 2  2a  x  x0 
J = impulse Q e = emf
ÇF Fnet ma K = kinetic energy vÔ E < d A �0 F = force
k = spring constant I = current
dp A = length dV J = current density
F E 
dt L = angular momentum dr L = inductance
m= mass A = length
q
J Ô F dt Dp N = normal force V
1
4 p�0 Ç rii n = number of loops of wire
P = power i per unit length
p mv N = number of charge carriers
p = momentum 1 q1q2
r = radius or distance UE qV per unit volume
F fric … m N 4 p�0 r
r = position vector P = power
T = period Q Q = charge
W Ô F<dr t = time
C
V q = point charge
U= potential energy R = resistance
K
1 2
mu k �0 A r = distance
2 u = velocity or speed C
d t = time
W= work done on a system
P
dW x = position Cp Ç Ci U = potential or stored energy
dt m= coefficient of friction
i V= electric potential
1 1 u = velocity or speed
P F<v q = angle
Cs
ÇC r = resistivity
t = torque i i
DUg mgh w = angular speed fm = magnetic flux
dQ
a = angular acceleration I k = dielectric constant
u 2 dt
ac w2 r
r 1 1
k x Uc QV CV 2
t r–F
Fs 2 2 vÔ B< d � m0 I

Çt t net Ia 1 2 rA m0 I d � – r
Us kx R
2 A dB
4p r3
I Ô r dm
2
Ç mr
2
2p 1 E rJ
T
w f
I Neud A
F Ô I d� – B
rcm Ç mr Ç m
m Bs m0 nI
u rw Ts 2p V IR
k
L r–p Iw Rs Ç Ri fm Ô B<dA
A i
Tp 2p
g d fm
K
1 2
Iw 1 1 e 
ÇR dt
2 Gm1m2 Rp i i
FG  rˆ dI
w w0  at r2 e L
P IV dt
Gm1m2 1 2
1 2 UG  FM qv – B UL LI
q q0  w0t  at r 2
2
© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com (for AP professionals) and
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents (for students and parents).
 ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS C EQUATIONS FOR 2008 and 2009

GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY CALCULUS

Rectangle A= area df d f du
A bh C= circumference dx du dx
V= volume d n
Triangle
S = surface area dx
x  nx n  1
1 b = base
A bh
d x
2 h = height
dx
e  ex
Circle A = length
w= width d 1
A pr2 1n x 
r = radius dx x
C 2p r
d
Parallelepiped sin x  cos x
dx
V Awh d
cos x   sin x
Cylinder dx
V p r 2A 1
Ôx
n
dx x n  1 , n › 1
n 1
S 2p r A  2p r 2
Ôe
x
dx ex
Sphere
4 3 dx
V
3
pr Ô x
ln x

S 4p r 2 Ô cos x dx sin x
Right Triangle
a2  b2 c2
Ô sin x dx  cos x

a c a
sin q
c
q 90q
b b
cos q
c
a
tan q
b

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com (for AP professionals) and
www.collegeboard.com/apstudents (for students and parents).