Where do I get AP Physics 1 multiple choice test questions? The Big Amazing Resource. Update January 2019.

Testing isn't as simple as it used to be.  Over AP Physics B's 40+ years of existence, enough authentic multiple choice questions had been released to satisfy even the most prolific tester.  However, now that we've moved into the AP Physics 1 era, a lot of those questions are useless; even those that are in the spirit of the new exam need to be rephrased, especially to bring them down to four rather than five choices, and to minimize but not eliminate the questions that require calculation.

Of course, you can go to the College Board's official AP Physics 1 page via AP Central.  There you'll find some sample questions in a file conveniently marked "sample questions."  You can get more in the official "course and exam description.  Finally, if you've ever completed a course audit for AP Physics B or AP Physics 1, you'll be able to download the released practice exam.  Go to your account, go to "add a course," add AP Physics 1, and download the exam.

The 5 Steps to a 5: AP Physics 1 book includes a full practice exam, as well as some good questions at the end of the content chapters.  Or, try looking at the supplements to the Serway textbook's 10th edition; they've hired some seriously connected people to write sample questions for them.  And those of you who have attended my summer institutes or this past summer's open lab have a CD of materials.  Look in the "honors physics" folder, and then look at the quizzes.  Many of those daily quiz questions can be used either verbatim or with minimal revision.  

But the Big Amazing Resource for AP Physics 1 and 2 is the newest version of Matt Sckalor's AP Physics workbooks. About half a decade ago, Matt compiled every released AP Physics B multiple choice question into a single workbook, organized by topic.  Over the summer, a number of AP Physics consultants -- that is, people with intimate knowledge of the new courses -- rewrote these questions so that they meet the spirit of the new Physics 1 and 2 exams.  Now, this new and improved workbook is still not vetted by the committee.  It ain't perfect.  But it is a treasure trove for those who need to make some close-to-authentic tests.

How do I access this Amazing Resource?  The only way is to go through "Pretty Good Physics -- Secure."  Most of this blog's readers already have an account there.  If you don't, you should -- follow the link, and follow the instructions to sign up.  The process is simple but may take a few days, because it is critical that the site administrators verify that all members are honest-to-Bob physics teachers.  

Then, get into the site and search for "workbook."  Out will pop the new workbooks, all ready for you to copy and paste into your tests.

Do you know of another good resource?  Let us know in the comments.

Update January 2019: Okay, there's plenty of authentic AP Physics 1 and 2 questions available via your course audit - the College Board has released 40 of the 50 multiple choice from the international version of these exams each year since 2015.

But starting in 2019-20, audited AP teachers will have free access to a comprehensive online question bank that will include both released and unreleased items.  And more.  Stay tuned.  Still use the Big Amazing Resource, but it will be unnecessary shortly.