#AP Physics 2: Ultimate Study Guide 🚀

Hey there, future physics pro! Let's get you prepped for the AP Physics 2 exam. This guide is designed to be your best friend the night before the test – clear, concise, and super helpful. Let’s dive in!

#Revisiting Pressure

Remember pressure from earlier? It's all about force over an area. But now, we're focusing on gases, especially those in containers.

• Pressure (P): Force (F) applied over an Area (A) $P = \frac{F}{A}$

  • Measured in atmospheres (atm) or pascals (Pa).

  • More force = more pressure; more area = less pressure.

Gas molecules in constant motion collide with container walls, creating pressure.

• Why Pressure? Gas molecules are in constant, random motion. They collide with container walls, exerting a force. These collisions create the pressure we measure.

#Temperature and Kinetic Energy 🥵

Time for some key definitions. Let’s make sure we're clear on the vocab.

• Thermal Energy: Energy due to increased temperature, resulting in faster and more frequent collisions between gas atoms. It's basically kinetic energy at the molecular level.

• Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion. Thermal energy is a form of kinetic energy.

• Root Mean Square (RMS) Speed: A measure of the average speed of molecules. Think of it as a typical speed, not just a simple average. Both average kinetic energy and RMS speed can be described using the Boltzmann distribution.

Boltzmann distribution: Higher temperature = more molecules with higher speeds, but a broader distribution.

• Temperature: A measure of an object’s internal energy. It tells us how much thermal energy an object has. It’s directly related to kinetic energy:

  $KE_{avg} = \frac{3}{2}k_BT$

  Where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant (1.38 x 10^-23 J/K)

• Heat: The amount of thermal energy transferred from one object to another. Heat flows f...