About the Class

What is Physics?

The study of physics offers students a different way to view the world in which they live. By learning and applying the laws of motion and other physical laws, students can explain the behavior of matter and energy and reliably predict the outcome of manipulating variables influencing a physical system. Students work in teams during computer interfacing laboratories using standard physics models and equipment (ramps, pendulums, etc.) to both discover and confirm theoretical concepts learned during class instruction related to forces and motion, light and electromagnetic energy, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, and sound. For example, after orchestrating various collisions between lab bench carts of different masses and velocities, students collect and graph the motion data in search of patterns and trends consistent with the physics laws discussed during classes. Students are expected to employ the tools and language of mathematics when resolving and communicating solutions to physics problems. Increasing student capacity to critically analyze and relate phenomena of the physical world in terms of the fundamental laws of physics is the underlying objective of this course.  Offered at honors and college prep 1 levels.

Contact Information

Michael Wall, M.Ed.

Science Department

Andover High School

80 Shawsheen Rd.

Andover, MA 01810

Email: michael.wall@andoverma.us

Phone: (978) 247-5625