What Memes Are Perfect for AP Physics 2?

Well, well, well... give yourself a pat on the back for taking on AP Physics 2! Physics veteran or beginner, you shouldn't worry that much. I get it, physics can be overwhelming at times with equations, numbers, and concepts shoved in your face. You've come to the right place, however, if you're looking for some quiet and solace in the form of memes and inside jokes. (Bonus points if you throw them at the Biology and Chemistry kids for their confusion, ha!) 

Now sit back, relax, and fiddle with your handy dandy bar magnets as you scroll through the glorious memes for AP Physics 2 students like yourself!

🚨 Quick Note: All creators of these awesome memes and tweets are rightfully credited, but go show them some love! Also, most, if not all, pieces of advice given in this blog post shouldn't be taken seriously. Excellence comes first before all the clownery!

1. When in doubt, atmospheric pressure!

Image Courtesy of Reddit

When you begin your AP Physics 2 journey, you'll start with fluids and how they move. Pressure is one of the concepts tackled in this unit and you'll be oftentimes using it to calculate forces (buoyant or not) and areas of containers. 

The question is: what if they don't give a numerical value for pressure? Unless it's a closed system (no outside elements interacting with the system), then you can count on atmospheric pressure — pressure from the air around us (roughly 101,000 Pascals)! Easy fix, right?

2. Moses? Percy Jackson? Master waterbender? Say less🌊

Image Courtesy of Meme

For the nth time, let me repeat that physics is a conceptual course. That means that getting a solid score on a unit test essentially makes you a master of that subfield, whether it be fluids, thermodynamics, magnetism, or the like! 

Acing fluids is no small feat either with principles like Bernoulli's and Pascal's being paired with concepts on pressure, buoyancy, flow rate, and continuity. If you make it, own it. Next thing you know, you might be next in line to be the leader of the water benders in the North Pole or get scouted by House Poseidon from Camp Half-blood. 😉

3. THE 👏 LIFE 👏 HACK 👏 EVERYONE 👏 NEEDS 👏 TO 👏 KNOW.

Image Courtesy of Reddit

Physics doesn't stop within the classroom! One key takeaway from thermodynamics is that heat travels from hot/warm objects to cool ones. 

With the clever set-up above, tea won't even burn your tongue by the time it reaches the other end of the straw. "Who drinks tea with straws, anyway?" you ask? We don't talk about that. Either drink the tea or spill it, nothing in between. ☕

4. Ah, yes, semantics📚

Image Courtesy of Memedroid

Especially in thermodynamics, you gotta be careful with not skimming through what the question is asking! This is the literal example of one small mistake costing you a point on a test. 

"On" and "by" appears when talking about work done on closed systems. In a nutshell, work done on the system means something outside the system increased its internal energy while work done by the system means the system decreased its internal energy by doing work to something outside. Confused? Exactly. Read it over a couple more times. That's why we got the Joker here.

5. Ouch⚡

Image Courtesy of Reddit

Ah, the collective experience we've had at some point in our lives (maybe even today): you rub your feet across the carpet, touch the metallic doorknob, and feel that zap in your hand. Even after experiencing it multiple times, it's as if you're both used and not used to it, right? At least you can poke fun at it with this meme, knowing that everyone feels the same way.

6. Sorry lefties, but the right hand's where physics is at🧲

Image Courtesy of Reddit

Magnetism, unsurprisingly, is more than just playing around with bar magnets all day. With its close ties to electricity, you'll see an overlap of terms such as current, field, and magnetic/electric forces. 

The "holy trinity" you see above is none other than the Right-Hand Rules, where the various directions your fingers are pointing at representing different variables. What makes them hilarious is the way students pull out their hands in the middle of the test and do the hand motions for each rule. Switch quickly between one rule to another and you'll be good enough to pass as Naruto doing his Jutsu (ninja skills)!

7. Wanna go off someone while keeping it PG-13? Here 'ya go🤷

Image Courtesy of Picuki

If we wanna talk vocabulary, flux refers to the total magnetic field (the arrow going up) passing through a given area A (square). So... how are physics kids able to make a joke out of a highly specific concept? It's a combination of boredom, sleep deprivation, and creativity, bud. 

"Not giving a flux" is totally safe to say in class, but I highly not recommend yelling it out to distract the class. Keep it to yourself and your friends and the joke will continue living on. 

8. So what is light... REALLY? 💡

Image Courtesy of Reddit

If you studied waves last year in AP 1, you'll recall the distinction between mechanical (sound; can't travel through a vacuum) and electromagnetic waves. Light falls under the latter category but at the same time, it can be modeled as a particle called a photon.

That's light in a nutshell but the next time your teacher throws a curveball and ask, "is light a particle or a wave?" clear your throat and assertively say "weeeeeeell, it's both." 

9. Presenting... the Einstein-videogame crossover no one expected to exist!💥

Image Courtesy of Imgur

What better way's out there than to close the day with a meme on the Father of Modern Relativity himself! Albert Einstein would definitely be an awesome action game protagonist, kicking butt and all with his intellectual prowess.

Aaaaand that's a wrap, folks!

Now that sums up some of the top AP Physics 2 memes that can help you cope with the class anytime throughout the year. Maybe one of these memes might even pop up in your head during a test - what a lifesaver! As demonstrated by our good 'ole friend Homer above, physics is relevant even in our day-to-day lives from black hole sightings to people tripping on curbsides.

If you find or even create (whoa!) memes based on your personal experience, share them with your friends or tag @thinkfiveable on Instagram (stories or posts) or Twitter. We'd love to see your comedic take on the class!