AP Physics Assignments 'B'

2013-2014

by Mr. Mirro

Physics Teacher

Westhampton Beach High School,

Westhampton Beach, NY 11978

Contact me: thephysicsteacher@gmail.com

Page last updated: March 28, 2014 @ 11:00 am

COURSE OVERVIEW

Advance Placement Physics B is an accelerated science program designed for the student who has advanced skills in math and science and intends to pursue a post-secondary education in the fields of Science, Pre-Medical, Engineering or Mathematics. This is a first-year course in college physics. Topics covered include mechanics, electricity and magnetism, sound and light. The student should be concurrently enrolled in Precalculus and have the approval of the Science department. Evaluation is based upon homework, tests, quizzes, laboratory work, midyear and final exams.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION

Class meetings will generally take three common forms, lab/activity, interactive lecture discussions, or problem solving/review. The design as such will allow students to experience and engage the subject conceptually, actively, and analytically. Individual classes may contain multiple elements of these models to suit the topic. Lab activities will be of two varieties: investigation or application. Investigation labs and activities will allow students to do just that – investigate a physical phenomenon, and draw conclusions from their measurements and observations. Investigation labs or activities may take place before any reading, or formal in-class discussion on the topic has begun in order to allow students to explore the subject and discover the principles via their own inquiry and collaborative group effort. Application labs and activities will provide students the opportunity to conduct experiments that involve the concepts they are studying as well as apply understanding of physics to solve practical problems. These labs will frequently be open-ended or contain an open-ended component challenging students to solve a problem by utilizing both their understanding of the topic as well as their critical thinking skills. Individual labs may contain both application and investigation elements. Most activities will require the student take their own notes and write their own procedure, observations, data, conclusions etc. All lab materials are to be kept in a notebook for reference. Classes will often begin with a starter exercise, which may be a problem or a demonstration of a discrepant event may be presented, and students will be asked to come up with a written explanation. Problem solving and review sessions may involve problems solving strategy and concepts to be reviewed by the class as a whole, or smaller group workshop sessions enabling peer interactive learning, facilitated by the instructor.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To utilize real-world experience to understand physical phenomena

2. To participate in a controlled laboratory experience in order to understand physical phenomena

3. To gain an understanding of how the physical world works and to be able to express that understanding in terms of:

a) written/spoken language

b) graphical diagrams

c) mathematical analysis

4. To develop observational problem solving and critical thinking skills that will benefit you for any vocation

COURSE CONTENT AREAS

0. The Study of Physics

A. Scientific Method and Philosophy

B. Measurement and Mathematics

I. Newtonian mechanics

A. Kinematics

1. Motion in one dimension

2. Uses of Vectors

3. Motion in two dimensions

B. Newton’s laws of motion

1. Static equilibrium (1st law)

2. Dynamics of a single particle (2nd law)

3. Systems of two or more bodies (3rd law)

4. Uniform Circular Motion

C. Work, energy and power

1. Work and the work-energy theorem

2. Power

3. Conservative forces and potential energy

4. Conservation of energy

D. Systems of particles, linear momentum

1. Impulse and momentum

2. Conservation of linear momentum, collisions

3. Center of Mass

E. Circular Motion and Rotation

1. Angular position, velocity, and acceleration

2. Torque and rotational statics

3. Rotational kinematics and dynamics

4. Angular momentum

F. Gravitation

1. Newton’s law of gravity

2. Orbits of planets and satellites

a. Circular

b. General

II. Oscillations, Waves and Sound

A. Oscillations about equilibrium

1. Simple harmonic motion (dynamics and energy relationships)

2. Mass on a spring

3. Pendulum and other oscillations

B. Wave motion

1. Traveling Waves

2. Wave Propagation

3. Standing Waves

4. Superposition

III. Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics

A. Fluid Mechanics

1. Hydrostatic pressure

2. Buoyancy

3. Fluid flow continuity

4. Bernoulli’s equation

B. Temperature and heat

1. Mechanical equivalent of heat

2. Heat transfer and thermal expansion

C. Kinetic Theory and Thermodynamics

1. Ideal gases

a. Kinetic model

b. Ideal gas law

2. Laws of thermodynamics

a. First law (PV diagrams)

b. Second Law (heat engines)

c. Third Law (entropy)

IV. Electricity and Magnetism

A. Electrostatics

1. Charge and Coloumb’s Law

2. Electric field and electric potential (including point charges)

3. Gauss’s Law

4. Fields and potentials for charge distributions

B. Conductors and capacitors

1. Electrostatics with conductors

2. Capacitors

a. Capacitance

b. Parallel plate

c. Spherical and cylindrical

3. Dielectrics

C. Electric circuits

1. Current, resistance, power

2. Steady-state direct current circuits with batteries and resistors only

3. Capacitors in circuits

a. Steady State

b. Transients in RC circuits

D. Magnetic Fields

1. Forces on moving charges in magnetic fields

2. Forces on current carrying wires in magnetic fields

3. Fields of long current carrying wires

4. Biot-Savart law and Ampere’s Law

E. Electromagnetism

1. Electromagnetic induction (including Faraday’s law and Lenz’s law)

2. Inductance (including LR and LC circuits)

3. Maxwell’s equations

V. Electromagnetic Waves and Optics

A. Physical Optics

1. Interference and Diffraction

2. Dispersion of Light and the electromagnetic spectrum

B. Geometric optics

1. Reflection and refraction

2. Mirrors

3. Lenses

VI. Atomic and Nuclear Physics

A. Atomic physics and quantum effects

1. Photons and the photoelectric effect

2. Atomic energy levels

3. Wave particle duality

B. Nuclear physics

1. Nuclear reactions (including conservation of mass number and charge)

2. Mass-energy equivalence