Physics is the study of the interaction of matter and energy.
But doesn't every science include studies of the ways that matter and energy interact?
Of course! So those sciences use the theories and laws developed in physics to help them explore a more specific topic: e.g., the behavior of electrons in chemistry, the structure of proteins in biology, the formation of igneous rock beds in geology, and the life cycles of stars in astronomy. Maybe a good way to think about it is that the point of physics is to define the rules that govern the universe, which other sciences can use in their more specific explorations.
In our class, we will focus on objects or phenomena that move in some way. This could mean a car moving down a hill, a pendulum swinging back-and-forth, the vibrations of molecules, electrons moving down a wire and electromagnetic waves moving outward through space.
Choosing to take a class in a topic you are unsure about can make some people uneasy. Here's a quick video explaining all the regions in the magical land of physics!
Please note: we spend nearly all of the year talking about only classical physics... what this gentleman discusses until the 3:40 mark. We hope to touch, very briefly, on relativity and some aspects of modern physics, but those topics are quite complicated and require much more time than we have here.
Enduring Understandings are statements of concepts of major importance in physics and its application to everyday life. Here are the big ideas of physics as written by the College Board for AP Physics:
Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and electric charge. Systems may have internal structure.
This big idea collects the properties of matter into one area so that they can be employed in other big ideas. The universe contains fundamental particles with no internal structure such as electrons, and systems built from fundamental particles, such as protons and neutrons.
Big Idea 2: Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
All of the fundamental forces, including the gravitational force and the electric and magnetic forces, are exerted “at a distance”; the two objects involved in the interaction do not “physically touch” each other.
Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
An object either has no internal structure or can be analyzed without reference to its internal structure. An interaction between two objects causes changes in the translational and/or rotational motion of each object.
Big Idea 4: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
A system is a collection of objects, and the interactions of such systems are an important aspect of understanding the physical world.
Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
Conservation laws constrain the possible behaviors of the objects in a system of any size, or the outcome of an interaction or a process.
Big Idea 6: Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena.
Classically, waves are a “disturbance” that propagates through space.