Syllabus

Course Introduction

Primary Textbook:

Giancoli, Douglas C. Physics – Principles and Applications, 6^th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hill, 2005

Supplementary Textbooks:

Etkina, Eugenia; Michael Gentile and Alan Van Heurelen. AP^©Edition College Physics. Pearson Education, Inc. 2014

Knight, Randy; Brian Jones and Stuart Field. AP^©Edition College Physics – A Strategic Approach. 3^rd edition. Pearson Education, Inc. 2015

Giordano, Nicholas J. College Physics – Reasoning and Relationships. 2^nd edition. Boston, MA. Cengage Learning 2015

About this course:

The AP Physics 1 course will meet for 41 minutes every day. Lab work is integral to the understanding of the concepts in this course. The AP Physics 1 Course has been designed by the College Board as a course equivalent to the algebra-based college-level physics class. At the end of the course, students will take the AP Physics 1 Exam, which will test their knowledge of both the concepts taught in the classroom and their use of the correct formulas.

The content for the course is based on six big ideas:

Big Idea 1:

Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal structure.

Big Idea 2:

Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.

Big Idea 3:

The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.

Big Idea 4:

Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.

Big Idea 5:

Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.

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.

Evaluation:

Students will get grades on homework, in-class work, quizzes, laboratory work, projects, and exams. Exams will consist of questions similar to ones students will see on the AP Exam. Homework assignments and quizzes will consist of problems from the textbook, supplements, and old AP Exams. Projects are long-term, and typically will involve groups of students developing a plan, collecting data and/or research, and presenting conclusions in a meaningful way. Laboratory work is student centered and inquiry based and is discussed below.

Grades will be determined by taking the number of points a student has earned and dividing it by the total number of points that the student could have achieved. This decimal is multiplied by 100, and that will be the student’s grade.

Topics Covered:

1. Kinematics (Big Idea 3)

a. Vectors/Scalars

b. One Dimensional Motion (including graphing position, velocity, and acceleration)

c. Two Dimensional Motion

2. Dynamics (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, and 4)

a. Newton’s Laws of Motion and Forces

3. Universal Law of Gravitation (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, and 4)

a. Circular Motion

4. Simple Harmonic Motion (Big Ideas 3 and 5)

a. Simple Pendulums

b. Mass-Spring Oscillators

5. Momentum (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5)

a. Impulse and Momentum

b. The Law of Conservation of Momentum

6. Energy (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5)

a. Work

b. Energy

c. Conservation of Energy

d. Power

7. Rotation (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5)

a. Rotational Kinematics

b. Rotational Energy

c. Torque and Rotational Dynamics

d. Angular Momentum

e. Conservation of Angular Momentum

8. Electrostatics (Big Ideas 1, 3, and 5)

a. Electric Charge

b. The Law of Conservation of Electric Charge

c. Electrostatic Forces

9. Circuits (Big Ideas 1 and 5)

a. Ohm’s Law

b. Kirchhoff’s Laws

c. Simple DC Circuits

10. Mechanical Waves and Sound (Big Idea 6)

Laboratory Activities:

Twenty five percent of the course will be lab work. Labs may take several in-class days to finish, and students may have to do work outside of class as well.

Students are expected to keep a lab notebook where they will maintain a record of their laboratory work. Lab reports will consist of the following components:

· Title

· Objective/Problem

· Design (if applicable): If the lab has no set procedure, what is to be done? Why are you doing it this way?

· Data: All data gathered in the lab will go here

· Calculations/Graphs: Calculations are done here. Any graphs that need to be made go here.

· Conclusion: Data analysis occurs here, and a statement made about what was learned in the lab. Error analysis also occurs here. Evaluation of the lab occurs here as well.

Every major unit will have an inquiry-based lab, and inquiry-based labs will make up no less than half of the laboratory work. Collectively, laboratory work will engage students in all required science practices.

Laboratory activities and simulations in this class are included the following table. The inquiry-based labs are noted in the second column.

Name

Open / Guided Inquiry?

Short Description

Science Practices

#1 Speed Lab

Students will to predict the point of collision of two carts with different speeds

2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Three Cars Racing Simulation

A computer simulation of three cars with different accelerations racing

1.4, 2.2, 4.3, 6.1

#2 Rocket Lab

Students will design an experiment to determine the initial velocity of an air powered rocket

1.2, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

#3 Marble in Cup Lab

Students will determine where a paper cup needs to be placed on the floor so that a marble rolled off the edge of a table will land in it.

1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.3

#4 Projectile Motion Lab

Using a projectile launcher students will be given a series of challenges such as placing a ring stand at the maximum height or placing a can at the point where the projectile will land

1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

#5 Newton’s 2^nd Law Lab

What is the relationship between the mass of a system and the acceleration of the system?

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#6 Coefficient of Friction

Students will determine the coefficient of friction between a block and various surfaces

1.1, 1.4, 2.2, 4.3, 6.1

Jupiter’s Moons

Students will do research on Jupiter and four of its moons. Based on this research, students will mathematically come up with the mass of Jupiter. They will compare this information to the accepted value.

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 7.1

#7 Pendulum Lab

What factors control the period of a simple pendulum?

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#8 Mass-Spring Oscillator Lab

Students must determine both the spring constant k of a spring and the mass of 3 unknown masses. Students must also investigate the conservation of mechanical energy of the system.

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#9 Conservation of Linear Momentum Lab

Using a track and collision carts, students will observe seven different collisions and make conclusions about momentum conservation

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 7.2

Two Ball Collision Simulation

Students will observe a simulation of two ball of the same or different sizes colliding. The elasticity of the collision can be varied.

1.1, 1.4, 2.2, 4.3, 6.1

#10 Introductory Circular Motion

When velocity is kept constant, what is the relationship between the radius of circular motion and the period? The speed? The Acceleration?

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#11 Centripetal Force Lab

Using a spinning rubber stopper to ift massed students will determine the relationship between the the acceleration of the stopper and the centripetal force

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#12 Conservation of Angular Momentum Lab

What is the relationship between the moment of inertia of a system and the angular momentum of a system?

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

Torque Simulation

Students will use a computer simulation to study rotational equilibrium

1.1, 1.4, 2.2, 4.3, 6.1

#13 Coulomb’s Law Lab

What is the store charge on a pair of balloons that are repelling each other?

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

Electrostatics Simulation

Using a computer simulation involving two charges explore the electorstatic forces between the charges, the accelerations of the charges, and how the force and acceleration changes with distance

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#14 Series and Parallel Lab

Using a number of resistors. Explore current and voltage in resistors hooked up to a power supply when resistors are wired in series or parallel with one another.

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#15 Standing waves on a Wire Lab

Students will vary the wavelength, frequency, and tension on a wire while looking a standing waves formed on the wire.

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

#16 Standing Sound Waves in a Tube Lab

Students will vary the frequency of sound coming out of a speaker to create standing waves in a tube to determine the speed of sound in the classroom.

1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4

Outside the Classroom Lab Experience:

In addition to labs, students will be required to do one exercise outside of the laboratory experience. Students may pick one of the following at the end of our rotation unit (end of mechanics):

· Students will use a video analysis program (Videopoint) to analyze the motion of a toy as it moves (either in a straight line or in a circle). Students will provide the toy and do their own videotaping. They will then present a description of the analysis both quantitatively and qualitatively, including graphs. Their presentation will be peer critiqued and/or questioned, and they will answer the questions with supporting evidence (3.A.1.1, 3.A.1.3, 1.C.1.1)

· Using an accelerometer app for their smart phone (SPARKvue is one), students will analyze accelerations they experience every day. They can take the data while moving down the hall between classes, while on the school bus, on an amusement park ride, or anything else they want (within reason – safety first!). Students will present a description of the motion they experienced (not only acceleration, but velocity and displacement, too), both quantitatively and quantitatively, including graphs. Their presentation will be peer critiqued and/or questioned, and they will answer the questions with supporting evidence. (3.A.1.1, 3.A.1.3, 1.C.1.1)

· Students will take two pictures – one of an object in translational equilibrium, and one of an object in rotational equilibrium. The objects also must have more than three forces acting on them. They will then construct free-body diagrams for each object, and determine the magnitude of each force acting on each object. For the object in rotational equilibrium, students will also find the magnitude of each torque acting on the object. Students will present their work in class. Their presentation will be peer critiqued and/or questioned, and they will answer the questions with supporting evidence. (3.B.1.3, 3.B.2.1, 3.F.1.1, 3.F.1.2, 3.F.1.5)

Real World Physics Solutions:

In order for students to become scientifically literate citizens, students are required to use their knowledge of physics while looking at a real world problem. Students may pick one of the following solutions:

· Students will pick a Hollywood movie and will point out three (or more) instances of bad physics. They will present this information to the class, describing the inaccuracies both qualitatively and quantitatively.

· Students will research a thrill ride at an amusement park. They will present information to the class on the safety features of the ride, and why they are in place.

· Students will present information to the class on noise pollution, and it’s danger to both human and animal life. They will also propose solutions to noise pollution problems.

· Students will go to the insurance institute of highway safety website (iihs.org) and will look at the safest cars in a crash. They will present information as to why

TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Regulation 3311-R

ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE COURSEWORK

Tulsa Public Schools’ students who enroll in courses provided through the College Board’s

Advanced Placement (AP) program or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization’s IB

program must take the associated examinations for those courses when eligible. Students

and parents/guardians shall be notified by the schools of this requirement through related

published materials and course selection procedures.

Students who decline to sit for these examinations forfeit the weighted grade eligibility for the courses taken. There is no minimum or passing score required on any examination to qualify for a weighted grade.