AP Physics 1 & 2

AP Physics 1 is designed as an introductory, university level physics course that will consider motion, acceleration, orbital motion, rotational motion and momentum, electrostatics, DC circuits and waves.

• Kinematics and Dynamics

  • Students will learn how to model motion using mathematical tools and predict the motion of an object using these models in one and two dimensions. Students will also learn about Newton's laws of motion and how these will allow students to describe why or why not a system will accelerate.

• Circular Motion, Universal Gravitation and Simple Harmonic Motion

  • Students will explore the nature of objects undergoing uniform circular motion as well as how this applies to orbital systems such as the solar system. Additionally, students will consider the nature of systems that are undergoing simple harmonic motion such as a pendulum.

• Momentum and Energy

  • Students will consider the concept of momentum including the conservation of energy and how it can be applied to collisions. Additionally, students will consider energy and how using conservation of energy can allow students to address a variety of situations.

Course Outline

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AP Physics 2 is designed as a university level physics course that will build upon and extend concepts considered in AP Physics 1. In this course we will consider fluids, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics.

• Fluids

  • Students will consider several elements of fluids including pressure, density, buoyancy, hydraulics and fluid flow.

• Themodynamics

  • Students will consider the laws of thermodynamics including heat transfer and forces as well as the ideal gas law.

• Electric Force, Field and Potential

  • Students will explore electric and magnetic fields and develop an understanding of some of the implications of both. Additionally, they will consider how electric may impact charged particles.

• DC Circuits

  • Students will continue to explore DC circuits including the addition of capacitance.

• Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction

  • Students will consider the nature of magnetism including permanent and electromagnets. They will also consider motors and generators as they consider electromagnetic induction.

• Geometric Optics

  • Students will consider the nature of mirrors and lenses including determining the image the results in various optical systems. They will also consider reflection, refraction and absorption of light in various media.

• Modern and Nuclear Physics

  • Students will consider several of the key results in physics from the 20th and 21st centuries. This will include considering radiation, energy in modern physics, the photoelectric effect and wave functions.

Course Outline

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