Name: ______
AP Physics 1 Summer Assignment
Dear Student,
Welcome to AP Physics 1! Because the course you have signed up for is a college-level, introductory physics course, it can get a bit challenging at times. However, overall, it is an interesting study of how the world works and how matter, energy, and motion are all related.
This summer assignment aims to review prerequisite knowledge that will be necessary to your success in this course. It is not meant to be difficult, but it is meant to be extensive. A brief review of each activity will precede the questions, but really, this is all stuff you already know how to do (basic math skills).
The new information introduced in this summer assignment will be discussed again when we meet in August, but take some time to work on those problems as well.
Finally, and most importantly, it is very important that you complete this assignment individually. It will be a waste of time if you copied from another classmate because you will not have the foundation you need for the course and will not be acclimated to the rigor and pacing of AP Physics 1.Show your work on a separate sheet of paper and only write down your final answers (units included where it’s applicable) on this packet.
The assignment will be due on the first day of class and will count as test grade. You can also expect a short quiz on the first week of school over the material covered in this assignment.
Should you need any assistance or support at all, visit our class website email me at .
Good luck!
Ms. Casio
Part 1: Scientific Notation and Dimensional Analysis
Many numbers in the course will be written in scientific notation. Scientists are lazy. They don’t want to write really small or really big numbers in full. You need to be able to read and simplify scientific notation.
Recall that in scientific notation, the preceding number must be a number from 1 to 9 and the sign of the exponent signifies whether the number is less than 1 or greater than 1.
ex.18439 mi = 1.8439 x 104mi0.00003 cm = 3 x 10-5 cm
1. 7640000 kg2. 8327.2 s
3. 0.0000000003 m3. 0.0093 km/s
Part 2: Dimensional Analysis
It is also important that you can convert between units. Use the following conversion factors and dimensional analysis to convert the following. Use scientific notation when appropriate.
Your goal in dimensional analysis is to cancel out units until the only unit you have left is the one you want. You may only cancel units out if you have one at the top and one at the bottom. Multiply all the values at the top, then divide by the product of all the values at the bottom.
ex.Convert 2 km to mi. The conversion factors are 1 mile = 1609.34 m and 1000 m = 1 km.
2 km / 1000 m / 1 mi / = 1.24 mi1 km / 1609.34 m
ex. Convert 10 kph (kilometers per hour) to m/s (meters per second). The conversion factors are 1 mile = 1609.34 m, 1000 m = 1 km, 1 hr = 60 min, 1 min = 60 s.
10 km / 1000 m / 1 hr / 1 min / = 2.78 m1 hr / 1 km / 60 min / 60 s / s
ex. Convert 100 km2 to cm2. The conversion factors are 1 km = 1000 m and 1 m = 100 cm. (Hint: square everything inside the parentheses, including units.)
100 km2 / (1000 m)2 / (100 cm)2 / = 1 x 1012 cm2(1 km)2 / (1 m)2
(A video tutorial is also available on the class website.)
1. 24 g = ______kg
2. 640 km = ______in
3. 3.2 m2 = ______cm2
4. 40 mm3 = ______m3
5. 1 g/cm3 = ______kg/m3
6. 20 m/s = ______km/hr
Part 3: Solving Equations
Using literal equations, which are expressions that contain mostly variables instead of values, is a critical skill for the AP Physics 1 exam. The test has since moved from being able to use a formula and plugging numbers to being able to manipulate equations to show relationships and demonstrate concepts.
Solve the following equations for the quantity indicated.
It is important that you complete the following sections individually. A big part of your first week quiz will come from this section. Show all your work on a separate sheet.
Part 4: Trigonometry and Basic Geometry
Recall the following:
SOH CAH TOA
Solve for all sides and angles for the following triangles. Remember to show all your work on a separate sheet of paper and that your calculator is in degree-mode.
Part 5: Algebra
Solve the following. Units on the numbers are included because they are essential to the concepts. However, they do not have any effect on the actual numbers you are putting into the equations. In other words, the units do not change how you do the algebra. Hello, it is very important to read every and all instructions no matter how big the paragraph is. Reading the question and the instructions carefully will help you understand, and thus solve, the problem much more easily. Because you are reading everything I have written here, get your free five points by going on the class website and clicking on the first dot on my welcome post on the home page.Show every step for every problem, including writing the original equation, all algebraic manipulations (DO NOT skip any steps!), and substitution. You should practice doing all the algebra and rearranging before substituting numbers in for variables.Show your work on a separate sheet of paper.
It is important that you complete the following sections individually. A big part of your first week quiz will come from this section.
Part 6: Graphing Skills
A greater emphasis has been placed on conceptual questions and graphing on the AP Physics 1 exam. Below you will find a few example concept questions that review foundational knowledge of graphs.
It is important that you complete the following sections without the use of a calculator.
Key Graphing Skills to Remember:
1. Always label your axes with appropriate units.
2. Provide a clear legend if multiple data sets are used to make your graph understandable.
Section 1: Conceptual Review of Graphs
1. Shown are several lines on a graph.
Explain your reasoning. (Hint: include slope values.)
2. Shown are two graphs.
Is the slope of the graph (i) greater in Case A, (ii) greater in Case B, or (iii) the same in both cases? ______
Explain your reasoning.
3. Four points are labeled on a graph.
Explain your reasoning.
Section 2: Graphing Techniques
Graph the following sets of data using proper graphing techniques. The first column refers to the y-axis and the second column to the x-axis.
1. Plot a graph for the following data recorded for an object falling from rest.
What kind of curve did you obtain?
What is the relationship between the variables?
What do you expect the velocity to be at 4.5 s?
How much time is required for the object to attain a velocity of 100 ft/s?
2. Plot a graph showing the relationship between frequency and wavelength of electromagnetic waves.
What kind of curve did you obtain?
What is the relationship between the variables?
What is the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave of frequency 350 Hz?
What is the frequency of an electromagnetic wave of wavelength 375 m?
Part 7: Word Problems
Word problems make up most of the questions in both the multiple choice section and the free response section of the AP exam. Solve the following simple word problems.
Show all work on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Anna has 800 apples in baskets. Each basket holds 16 apples. How many baskets does she have?
2. John has 147 pears in a 21 baskets. How many baskets does he need for 14 pears?
3. When stereo sound information is transmitted through a cable, 32 bits are sent every 22.7 µs. Calculate how many bits you can send during 2 s, if 2 s = 2 x 106 µs.
Congratulations! You have made it through all the review material. Now for some new material that we will revisit in class…
Note that video tutorials for this section are posted on the class website.
Part 8: Vector Basics
Most of the quantities in physics are vectors. Proficiency in vectors is extremely important.
Review the following terms and concepts. They will be included in your first quiz.
Magnitude: Size. The numerical value.
Direction: Alignment or orientation of any position with respect to any other position. Can also be represented by a + or a -.
Scalar: A physical quantity described by a single number and units. A quantity described by magnitude. Examples: time, mass, temperature.
Vector: A physical quantity with both a magnitude and a direction. A directional quantity. Examples: velocity, acceleration, force.
Notation:
Length of the arrow is proportional to the vector’s magnitude
Direction the arrow points is the direction of the vector
Negative Vectors:Negative vectors have the same magnitude as their positive counterpart. They are just pointing in the opposite direction.
Simple Vector Addition and Subtraction: Think of it as vector addition only. The result of adding vectors is called the resultant,.
So if A has a magnitude of 3 and B has a magnitude of 2, then R has a magnitude of 3 + 2 = 5.
When you need to subtract one vector from another think of the one being subtracted as being a negative vector, then add them.A – B = R
Again, a negative vector has the same length as its positive counterpart, but its direction is reversed. So if A has a magnitude of 3 and B has a magnitude of 2, then R has a magnitude of 3 – 2 = 5.
This is very important! In physics, a negative number does not always mean a smaller number. Mathematically -2 is smaller than +2, but in physics these numbers have the same magnitude (size) but different directions (180° apart).
Vector Addition Methods:There is an additional method for adding vectors.
The head-to-tail method states that to add vectorvto vectoru,move vectorv(keeping its length and orientation the same) until its tail touches the head ofu. The sum is the vector from the tail ofuto the head ofv.
Use the head-to-tail method to find the resultant vector.
Part 9: Component Vectors
A resultant vector is a vector resulting from the sum of two or more other vectors. Mathematically, the resultant has the same magnitude and direction as the total of the vectors that compose the resultant. Could a vector be described by two or more other vectors? Would they have same total result?
This is the reverse of finding the resultant. You are given the resultant and must find the component vectors on the coordinate axis that describe the resultant.
Any vector can be described by an x-axis vector and a y-axis vector summed together mean the exact same thing. The advantage is you can then use plus and minus signs for direction instead of the angle.
For the following vectors, draw the component vectors along the x and y axis.
Obviously the quadrant that a vector is in determines the sign of the x and y component vectors.