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Advanced Personalized Learning
Guiding Students to Become Self-Educators
Why I wrote Mastering AP Physics 1
For most of my life, prior to medical school, I was never particularly good at standardized tests. Then it came time to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). I took my first test with little preparation and performed terribly. I took a prep course for a few weeks, but saw that it was mostly content review and loaded with filler. Its sample questions did not adequately simulate the problems on the actual MCAT. I tried other study guides and eventually found a set that only covered the testable material, but even this did not improve my score. Finally, I discovered the true secret of standardized test preparation. The best way to prepare for a standardized test is to take old versions of that test and supplement knowledge gaps with review material specific to the test.
The biggest mistake most students make when preparing for a test is to learn as much as possible about the subject. This is not an efficient path and can actually interfere with your ability to get a high score. Your goal is not to learn all of physics, nor even to learn all of AP physics. Your goal is to learn the AP physics test.
This book will help you learn the patterns of the AP physics test by walking you through the recent exams and showing you the patterns in the free response section step-by-step. It also gives provides original free response passages that perfectly simulate the style of questions on the actual AP exam. Lastly, it efficiently covers all the information you need to memorize. Imagine having everything you need to know for projectile motion in one simple page.
How can this book help me?
1. Mastering AP Physics 1 will first review all the material on the AP test efficiently; it will not waste your time by teaching you topics that rarely show up. It focuses on the high yield topics and covers these topics in a "cheat sheet" style.
2. This review material is problems based. It often teaches you concepts within the context of a problem.
3. It will then walk you through step-by-step solutions to free response questions from previous AP Physics 1 exams. It breaks down each solution into sections so you can efficiently identify the part that is relevant to you. Perhaps you understand how to do the Algebra, but need help figuring out how to identify the right equation. No problem. These are different skills and each one is highlighted in great detail.
4. The book also discusses how to tackle each problem type from designing experiments to deriving equations.
5. Each problem also has a section which discusses how you should phrase your answer to maximize partial credit and gives tips on what the test graders are looking for.
6. Additional free response questions will give you extra practice to ensure that you have understood the concepts. These original free response questions cannot be found anywhere else.
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Do you tutor for the AP Physics test?
I do! Please see the prices on the "Classes Offered" page.
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