AP Physics 1 Syllabus Teacher: Mr. Roth Room #A211 Phone: 449-3840 ext 1221 Email: Michael.Roth@appo.k12.de.us Course Introduction AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based course in general physics that meets for 90 minutes each day for the entire school year. General physics topics presented during the course closely follow those outlined by the College Board and also mirrors an introductory level university physics course. The goal of this course is for students to be prepared to take the AP exam in May with a strong conceptual understanding of physics that will be developed through inquiry-based activities. Course Content: AP Physics 1 is organized around six Big Ideas that bring together the fundamental science principles and theories of general physics. These big ideas are intended to encourage students to think about physics concepts as interconnected pieces of a puzzle. The solution to the puzzle is how the real world around them actually works. As previously mentioned, the students will participate in inquiry-based explorations of these topics to gain a more conceptual understanding of these physics concepts. Students will spend less of their time in traditional formula-based learning and more of their effort will be directed to developing critical thinking and reasoning skills. 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. Primary Textbook: Giancoli, D. (2013). Physics: Principles with Applications, 7 th ed. Updated. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Student Expectations: Students are expected to abide by the Appoquinimink School District Code of Conduct at all times. All students are expected to explain their thinking & justify their conclusions All students should respectfully challenge each other s thinking All students should take initiative to explain another student s thinking, including respectfully suggesting how they may have made an error. Students who get it more quickly are expected to take responsibility for assisting others who are struggling.
Grading Policy: As per our school district policy, each marking period grade is divided into 70% product and 30% process assessments. The following are lists of types of assignments that fall under each category: 70% Summative: unit assessments, marking period exams, and formal labs 30% Formative: Problem sets, conceptual questions, and informal labs The point value of each assessment item is as follows: Unit assessments 30 points each Marking Period Exam 100 points Formal Labs 30 points each Informal Labs varying point values Problem sets 3 pts per question conceptual questions 3 pts per question Explanation of assessment items: Unit Assessments At the end of each unit, there will be an assessment on the current topic with AP free response style questions. The assessment will be consistent with the difficulty and time constraints of the AP exam in May. Marking Period Exams During the last week of each marking period, there will be a comprehensive assessment of all the material from the current marking period. The exam will be broken into two sections like the AP exam. The first section is multiple choice and the second is free response. Formal and Informal Labs It is a requirement that at least 25% of the coursework is centered around inquiry-based and laboratory activities. Some of these investigations are designed to only introduce a concept, whereas others are used as an overall assessment of a unit as a whole. The investigations will be divided into formal and informal indicating the type of report that is due at the completion of the activities. The majority of these investigations will be presented to the students as a single objective. Students will then be required to come up with a list of materials and a procedure for achieving the objective. Problem sets - There will be problem sets due at the conclusion of all mini-units. The assignments will be posted ahead of time online at Mr. Roth s page of the school website and on the board. Most problem sets will consist of problems from the textbook. The problem sets assess the student s ability to problem solve with physics. Conceptual Questions - There will be conceptual questions assigned from the Question section of the textbook due in the middle of each mini-unit. The assignments will be posted ahead of time online at Mr. Roth s page of the school website and on the board in class. The questions assess the student s conceptual understanding of physics. Midterm: Since AP Physics is a full-year course, there will be a midterm exam during the week designated on the school calendar in January. The exam will be one-half of a past AP Physics exam including questions from part one (multiple choice) and part two (free response)
Final Exam: The final exam for this class will be an assessment similar to the AP Physics exam given during the final examination period at the end of the school year. 4 th Marking Period Grading: This marking period will be focused mainly on reviewing for the AP exam. Each week, there will be an exam, review packets for points, and problem sets for each of the areas of AP Physics 1. After the AP exam, there will be a research project assigned. A separate grading policy for the 4 th marking period will be handed out after spring break. Course Outline: To help keep pace and to make sure that we continuously build upon previous content in order to make connections, the course is broken up into many smaller units that will be named miniunits. Topic # Topic Name Approximate Dates 1 Introduction and 9/1 9/16 1D kinematics 2.5 weeks (Big Idea 3) 2 2D kinematics (Big Idea 3) 9/17 9/30 2 weeks Content Position-time and velocity-time graphs Equations of motion under constant acceleration Vector addition Projectile motion Giancoli Associated Chapters investigations 2 Graphing trip to school What is its acceleration? Where will they collide? Where will they get caught? Where will it stop? 3 Where will it land? Through the loop 3 Force 1: Statics (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4) 4 Force 2: Dynamics and friction (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4) 10/1 10/13 1.5 weeks Newton s Laws of motion Static equilibrium Newton s Laws of motion Friction 4 & 9 What is the mass? 10/14 10/22 1.5 weeks 4 Coefficient of static Coefficient of kinetic friction Review Topics #1-4 10/23 10/28 MP 1 Exam MP ends 10/30 5 Work and types of energy (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 10/29 11/4 Work done by a constant force Kinetic energy Work-energy principle Forces on a spring Power 6 Finding k-value of a spring
6 CoE, and Power (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 11/5 11/10 Potential energies Conservation of mechanical energy 6 Bungee jumper to the rescue! Where will it stop? Revisited 7 Linear momentum (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 8 Circular Motion (Big Ideas 1,2 3, 4) 9 Newton s Law of Gravitation (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4) 9 Oscillations (Big Ideas 3 and 11/12 11/17 11/18-11/24 1.5 weeks 12/1 12/4 12/7-12/11 Conservation of momentum Collisions Impulse Center of mass Uniform circular motion Newton s Laws of Gravitation Kepler s Laws Oscillations of a mass on a spring SHM Pendulums Review Topics #5-9 12/21-12/22 MP 2 Exam MIDTERM 1/13-1/14 Plus review 1/11 1/12 10 Rotational Motion (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 12/14 1/26 3 weeks 11 Mechanical Waves (Big Idea 6) 12 Electrostatics (Big Ideas 1, 3, and 13 DC Circuits (Big Ideas 1 and 1/27 2/12 3 weeks 2/16 2/29 2 weeks 3/1 3/18 3 weeks Torque Center of Mass Rotational Kinematics Rotational dynamics Rotational Energy Angular Momentum Traveling waves Wave characteristics Sound Interference Standing waves on a string Standing sound waves Electric charge Conservation of charge Electric forces Resistance Ohm s Law Series and parallel connections Kirchoff s Laws 7 Where will it land? Revisited 5 & 8 Flying Pig Clocks 5 Jupiter s moons 11 Build a clock 8 & 9 Calder Mobiles Rotational inertia of a lemon 11 & 12 What is the speed of sound? Creating an instrument 16 & 17 What is stored charge? 18 & 19 Mr. Circuit
MP 3 Review 3/21, 3/22 MP 3 Exam 3/23 Review for AP Exam Review All topics 4/4 5/2 3.5 weeks AP Exam on May 3rd PM Session Lab descriptions: In general, laboratories are designed so that students will determine the experimental procedure for finding an objective. Most of the laboratories end with a contest based on the objective. The following is a tentative list of the laboratories and their objectives. Graphing trip to school Students will create graphs of position vs. time and velocity vs. time for their journey to school with precision using a stopwatch, the odometer and speedometer of their car. (as they are passengers not drivers of course) What is its acceleration? Students will determine the acceleration of a remote control car on the straight-away of the track. Where will they collide? Students will determine where two cars with different starting times will collide. Contest: Who can come closest to the actual collision point of the cars? Where will they get caught? Students will determine where a cop car will catch a chase car. Contest: Who can come closest to the catch point? Where will it stop? Students will determine where a block will stop siding in the hallway given the initial velocity of a block launcher. Contest: Who can come closest to finding the landing location of the block? Where will it land? Students will determine the landing location of a projectile given the height of the launcher and the angle the projectile will be launched. Contest: Who can catch the projectile by placing a bowl of water in a predetermined position? Through the loop Given a set distance between a projectile launcher and a vertical loop, students will determine the height of the loop so that the projectile will go through the loop. Contest: Who can get their projectile through the loop? What is the mass? Students will determine the mass of an object suspended from the ceiling by three pieces of rope (with fish scales to read the tension in the ropes). Contest: Who can give the mass of the object? Coefficient of static friction Students will determine the coefficient of static friction between a block and an inclined plane. Coefficient of kinetic friction
Students will determine the coefficient of kinetic friction between a block and a plane using a mass-pulley system. Finding k-value: Students will determine the k-value of a spring using a graph of the displacement vs. force exerted on the spring Contest: closest to the given values for the k-value of the springs. Bungee jumper to the rescue! Students will determine spring constant of a spring. Contest: Given a starting height and a final height, who can get the bungee jumper down to the bucket of water without hitting the ground? Where will it stop? Revisited Students will determine where a block will stop siding in the hallway given the initial velocity of a block launcher. This time using the friction force due to the floor and the work-energy theorem. Contest: Who can come closest to finding the landing location of the block? Where will it land? Revisited Students will determine a muzzle velocity of a projectile launcher using a ballistic pendulum. Contest: Given an initial height, who can catch the projectile by placing a ball of water in a predetermined position? Flying Pig Clock Students will use a flying pig as a clock. Contest: Who can give accurate time using the flying pig as a clock? Jupiter s moons Students will research information about Jupiter s moons in order to calculate the mass of Jupiter. Build a clock Students will determine how to build a clock using a spring-mass system and a pendulum. Contest: Who can come closest to exactly seconds using their clocks? Calder Mobiles Students will create blue-prints for a mobile with a minimum of 3 levels that will remain in balance. The mobile will then be built and compared to the blue-prints. Moment of Inertia of a lemon Students will determine the moment of inertia of a lemon using a ramp and a graphical analysis What is the speed of sound? Students will use open tubes and a varying frequency source to determine the speed of sound. Contest: Who can come closest to the speed of sound? Creating an instrument Students will create an instrument that can play a simple song. What is the charge stored? Students will determine the charge stored in two balloons that are repelling each other.
Mr. Circuit Students will use the Mr. Circuit sets to investigate series vs. parallel connections and different circuit components and their uses in real-world circuits. Vision Statement Appoquinimink High School is a school committed to fostering personal growth through positive character development and the use of state of the art tools and practices to enable students to make a positive impact on today s global society. Mission Statement Achievement Promote an engaging learning environment every day in every classroom. Honor students unique strengths and needs. Honor Model positive character attributes. Recognize acts of integrity and leadership. Service Increase students awareness of the global society Emphasize the individual s role in the community. APPOQUINIMINK HIGH SCHOOL AP PHYSICS Terms of Agreement As a teacher of this course, I am committed to abiding by this syllabus. The dates and timelines are subject to change based on students assimilation of the material. Any changes will be communicated to the class by the teacher. By signing this Terms of Agreement, you are affirming that you have read and agree to abide by the guidelines, policies, and agreements stated in this syllabus. As a student of this course, I have read and agree to abide by the guidelines, policies and agreements stated in this syllabus. Student Signature Date As the parent/guardian, I have read and agree to support this student in an effort to follow the guidelines, policies and agreements stated in this syllabus. Parent/Guardian Signature Date This document should be signed by the student and parent and returned to the teacher by the beginning of class on or a phone call home will be made.