The free response section is half of your AP Physics 2 score and the part most students underprepare for. There are four FRQs with named task types, each testing a distinct skill, across 95 minutes. Physics 2 rewards a particular habit: derive the relationship symbolically, say how one quantity scales with another, and only then put numbers in. This page breaks down the format, what each task type wants from you, and the scoring patterns that show up year after year in the rubrics.
FRQs
4
One of each task type
Time
95 min
Roughly 24 min each
Rubric points
~40
Split not published
Section weight
50%
Equal with MCQ
The four task types
FRQ Section II
The point values below are the AP Physics 1 split, shown to give a sense of relative weight. The CED does not publish per-question values for Physics 2, so treat them as indicative rather than exact.
01
Mathematical Routines
~10 pts · 20 to 25 min · Symbolic and numeric problem solving
Use physics principles to analyze a scenario and predict an outcome. In Physics 2 this is usually a gas taken between two states, a compound circuit, a lens or mirror image, or an interference condition. You derive symbolically, then evaluate.
Write the starting relationship in symbols before substituting. The setup is its own scoring point, and a page that opens with numbers has already forfeited it.
State the constraint that earns any shortcut. "The container is rigid, so V cancels" is worth a point; using P/T constant without saying why is not.
Include units and a direction or a sign with every numerical answer. A magnitude with no direction on a field, a force or an image distance loses the point.
02
Translation Between Representations
~12 pts · 25 to 30 min · Connecting graphs, diagrams, and math
Move between PV diagrams, field maps, circuit diagrams, ray diagrams, graphs of V(r), I(t) or Φ(t), and equations. You are given the situation in one form and asked to redraw it in another, derive an equation, sketch a graph, and then reconcile them or predict what changes.
Field lines leave positive charge, end on negative, never cross, and are denser where the field is stronger. Equipotentials cross them at right angles. Readers check all four.
Ray diagrams: every principal ray starts at the tip of the object and bends once, at the line through the optic. Rays drawn from the base locate nothing.
Label every axis with a quantity and a unit, and match slopes and areas to the physics: the slope of a flux graph is the emf, the area under a PV curve is the work.
03
Experimental Design and Analysis
~10 pts · 25 to 30 min · Designing a procedure and analyzing data
Design a lab procedure to test a stated relationship, name what to measure with what equipment, then analyze data to draw a conclusion. Physics 2 labs are usually a gas in a syringe, a resistor network with a multimeter, a lens on an optical bench, or a diffraction grating on a metre stick, and the analysis nearly always linearizes: plot the right pair so the slope is the quantity you want.
Name specific equipment and what it measures (voltmeter across the element, ammeter in series with it, a pressure sensor on the syringe, a metre stick from grating to screen).
State what you would vary, what you would hold constant, and what you would measure, and vary ONE thing.
Linearize when asked. "Plot 1/si against 1/so; the intercept is 1/f" is the kind of answer the rubric rewards, and it wants the slope's or intercept's meaning stated, not just the plot.
04
Qualitative/Quantitative Translation
~8 pts · 15 to 20 min · Explanation backed by math
Explain a physical phenomenon in words, then back it up with a mathematical relationship. Lenz's law arguments, brightness comparisons when a bulb is removed, why a soap film looks dark, and "does the gas warm if it is compressed" all live here. The paragraph is graded against a rubric that lists each scoring point individually.
Use claim, evidence, reasoning structure. State the claim, cite the law or equation, explain why it applies to this scenario.
Address the prompt directly. Restating a law without tying it to the scenario scores nothing.
If two scenarios are compared, the paragraph must reference both explicitly, and if a direction is asked for, the paragraph must name it.
Five FRQ scoring patterns that show up every year
Drawn from published College Board rubrics
Setup before substitution. Mathematical Routines and Translation questions award a point for citing the starting relationship in symbols. Skip it and you cap your score before you compute anything.
Scaling is a separate skill from computing. "The separation doubles, so the force falls to a quarter" earns points that a correct final number alone does not. When a question asks how a quantity depends on another, answer with the dependence.
"Justify your answer" means cite physics. An answer with no justification scores zero on those parts even if numerically correct. Name the principle (the first law, Kirchhoff's loop rule, Snell's law, Faraday's law) and tie it to the scenario.
Linearization is testable. Roughly half of Experimental Design FRQs ask what to plot to get a straight line. Practice rewriting the thin-lens equation, the gas law and the decay law as lines and saying what each slope means.
Sign and direction conventions carry points. Work done ON the gas is positive under compression; a negative image distance means virtual; the force on a negative charge opposes the field; Lenz's law opposes the change. Mixing these up is the most common single-point loss on the exam.
Released FRQs and scoring guides
Official College Board materials
The College Board posts each year's FRQs along with scoring guidelines and sample student responses on AP Central. Work through at least the most recent three administrations. Older sets predate the current unit structure, so their fluids questions no longer belong to this course and their timing differs; the physics in every other question is unchanged, so they remain strong practice.
Because AP Physics 2 is algebra-based, prioritize released problems that ask for a symbolic relationship or a scaling argument over ones that are a single substitution.
Stop losing FRQ points to the same misconceptions
FRQ losses are rarely about not knowing the formula. They are almost always about a specific misconception: reading a signed charge product as a direction, using a two-variable gas rule on a three-variable process, opposing the flux rather than its change, or comparing a film's path difference with the wavelength it had in air. Diagnose which ones are costing you points.
Four. The AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based free response section has one of each named task type: Mathematical Routines, Translation Between Representations, Experimental Design and Analysis, and Qualitative/Quantitative Translation. Together they run 95 minutes and are worth about 40 rubric points.
How much is each FRQ worth?
The CED does not print per-question point values for this exam. The split used here is 10, 12, 10 and 8, taken from AP Physics 1, whose Section II has the same four task types, the same count and the same duration; treat it as approximate. What is settled is that the FRQ section as a whole contributes 50 percent of your composite score.
How long should I spend on each FRQ?
The section is 95 minutes for four questions, so roughly 24 minutes each. Give the Translation and Experimental Design questions a little more and the Qualitative/Quantitative one a little less.
Do I have to write paragraph-form responses?
The Qualitative/Quantitative Translation FRQ requires a written paragraph that follows a claim, evidence, reasoning structure. Other FRQs may include short justification prompts. Bullet points are acceptable for shorter justifications, but the paragraph response is graded as connected prose.
Do I need calculus on the FRQs?
No. Physics 2 is algebra-based, and every FRQ can be answered with algebra, trigonometry and proportional reasoning. What replaces calculus is symbolic derivation: expect to derive a relationship in symbols, state how one quantity scales with another, and justify the scaling before substituting numbers.
Are recent AP Physics 2 FRQs released?
Yes. Each administration's FRQs and scoring guidelines are posted on AP Central. The most recent sets are the ones that reflect the current four-task-type format and are the highest-fidelity practice you can do. Older sets predate the fluids move and the timing change, and the physics in them is otherwise unchanged.
