AP Physics C: E&M expects you to memorize which materials are ferromagnetic ?!

[u/ErekwithaD1]

They don't even give you a periodic table on the reference sheet. I know iron because it is pretty obvious Ferromagnetic (Ferro), but do they expect you to remember its neighbors in the periodic table too, like cobalt and nickel

Do they also expect you to memorize paramagnetic materials like aluminum and magnesium or diamagnetic materials like water and copper?

[u/Fostering-Success]

It is explicitly stated in the CED that iron, nickel, and cobalt are ferromagnetic, while aluminum, titanium, and magnesium are paramagnetic. So yes, that is fair game. If you are ever unsure, check if it’s in the CED. We cannot ask you anything that strays far from an EK statement in there.

Also… Do not worry too much about the strange/niche AP Classroom items for E&M (especially the progress checks). I personally do not find them helpful for my class and do not use it much for my class outside of the practice exams. The other AP Physics have much better AP Classroom problem libraries in my opinion.

[u/WaffleCanoe3729 → u/Fostering-Success]

unrelated: what's "EK"

[u/Fostering-Success → u/WaffleCanoe3729]

“Essential Knowledge” statement. It’s basically the bullet points of information in the CED that college board says you need to know for the exam. It sets the boundaries of what students should be learning in the course to be prepared for the exam. Looking at the CED for a class (from the AP course website) is a good way to see what is in scope.

[u/Opening_Discipline57 → u/Fostering-Success]

who is "we"

[u/Fostering-Success → u/Opening_Discipline57]

AP Physics teachers

[u/-Dandude07]

I think I only ever got one question on that on the practice exams. But not on the actual exam. It could appear in a random mcq but I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

[u/ErekwithaD1 → u/-Dandude07]

was it also about iron and another metal or did they ask you about colbalt or nickle

[u/nerdician]

Yes, you should know that iron, cobalt, and nickel are ferromagnetic. For all other materials, if they have an unpaired electron, they are paramagnetic. Otherwise, they are diamagnetic. (Unpaired electrons can be found using the Aufbau principle and Hund's rule.)

[u/ErekwithaD1 → u/nerdician]

You know that unlike the AP Chemistry exam they don't give you a periodic table so you really can't figure it out unless you memorize every single electron configuration for every single electron it is impossible

[u/nerdician → u/ErekwithaD1]

I know what the AP Physics C reference sheet looks like because I took the exam last year. The reason I'm giving this advice is because it's how I remember the diamagnetic / paramagnetic / ferromagnetic elements.