AP Physics 2016-2017: course information/summer packet
Welcome to AP Physics 1!
Start here to get a good idea of what this course is all about:
In particular, check out the course overview. Recently the course was revised: it’s been changed from 1 year of AP Physics b to 1 year of AP Physics 1 and 1 year of AP Physics 2. So though less material is presented, there is more depth and a higher expectation of understanding.
Your textbook for the year is Light and Matter by Benjamin Crowell, an excellent book that’s very progressive in its approach. The book is unusual in that it is designed to actually be read, unlike many textbooks that seem to be designed as a reference for formulas and practice problems. Maybe you’re not used to this, but you’ll be expected to read the book for information, usually prior to discussing the material in class. I will frequently use reading quizzes not only to see if you read the material, but more importantly, to see if you understood it. The best news about the textbook is that it’s free and posted in its entirety as a pdf. I do NOT recommend printing the entire thing, or really even whole chapters – there are over 1000 pages. The book can be found here: You can read it online, download it in parts, or download the whole document. Perhaps you have a tablet and can take the book with you. If you click ‘Who’s using Light and Matter’ you’ll see us listed! Also, there is an ‘answer checker’ for the problems at the end of each chapter.
I have prepared a summer assignment for you, there are 2 parts:
- Chapters 0 and 1 in your textbook, Light and Matter
- Read the chapters
- Attempt the self-checks (solutions are usually elsewhere in the book)
- Consider the discussion questions, we’ll use these to drive class discussion.
- Do the problems at the end of each chapter. I’ll be collecting this on the first day of class. I expect that you will check to see if your solutions are correct using ‘answer checker’, so be sure to show work – you need to convince me you know what you are doing.
- Math work
- This will give you an idea of the type of calculations we’ll be doing in Physics, as well as typical algebraic manipulations.
- This will give me an idea of your basic algebra skills.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at . Enjoy your summer, I’ll see you in the fall!
Brown
Ordinary Physics Problems with Scientific Notation – Place the answer in scientific notation when appropriate and simplify the units (Scientific notation is used when it takes less time to write than the ordinary number does. As an example 200 is easier to write than 2.00x102, but 2.00x108 is easier to write than 200,000,000). Do your best to cancel units, and attempt to show the simplified units in the final answer.
Algebra Review – Often problems on the AP exam are done with variables only. Solve for the variable indicated. Don’t let different letters confuse you. Manipulate them algebraically as though they were numbers.
Equation:solve for: