Physics is a course that is an inquiry based course that will focus on the following course goals with each unit covered.
Overall Course Goals
1. Students will demonstrate the ability to carry out scientific investigations, analyze data, communicate results and apply results to explain phenomena occurring in the units covered and outside of the laboratory.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply mathematical processes to solving problems.
Units Covered
Unit 1: One Dimensional Motion
Students will demonstrate the ability to define, describe, calculate and differentiate among position, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.
Standards: PS2 & PS2A
Unit 2: Force, Two-Dimensional Motion & Gravity
Students will demonstrate the ability to state and apply Newton's Three Laws of Motion.
Students will demonstrate the ability to apply vector concepts and vector math to appropriate physical situations.
Students will demonstrate the ability to describe the path of a projectile using motion equations and vector components.
Students will demonstrate the ability to describe the law of universal gravitation.
Standards: PS2 & PS2A
Unit 3: Energy and Momentum
Students will demonstrate the ability to apply thenconcepts of momentum, impulses, conservation and system to describe and numerically solve simple collision and explosion problems.
Students will demonstrate the ability to explain the relationship between work and energy.
Students will demonstrate the ability to discuss how energy in a system is transferred from one form to another or from one object to another and use the conservation of energy to solve problems.
Standards: PS3 & PS3A,B,C,D
Unit 4: Waves
Students will demonstrate the ability to describe common forms of waves in terms of basic wave characteristics and discuss the transportation and transformation of wave energy.
Students will demonstrate the ability to explain wave behavior including reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference and Doppler effect.
Standards: PS4 & PS4A
If time allows the following units are covered:
Electricity & Magnetism -
Students will demonstrate the ability to identify kinds of electric charges, analyze interactions between two charges objects and describe electric fields.
Students will demonstrate the ability to describe the characteristics of simple series and parallel circuits in terms of voltage, current and resistance.
Students will demonstrate the ability to apply the concepts of peer and energy in analyzing electrical circuits.
Students will demonstrate the ability to describe the causes of magnetism, the interaction of magnets and electromagnetic effects.
Standards: PS4 & PS4B