Physics Syllabus

Physics Syllabus

Mr. LoGalbo/Miss Heflin

2013-2014

Course Overview

The main goal of this course is to give students a well-rounded foundation and understanding of the behaviors that govern our universe. There will be a large laboratory component to this class so that we may emphasize the scientific process and the communication of scientific information. This class will be a study of major concepts in physics to prepare students for college physics courses. A strong foundation in algebra and trigonometry is essential for success in the course.

Text

The textbook we will be using this year is Conceptual Physics published by Prentice Hall.

Contact Information

Mr. LoGalbo / Miss Heflin
E-mail: / /
Voicemail: / (330)954-2246 / (330) 954-2493

Materials (needed daily)

-a covered textbook

-a writing utensil

-a notebook or binder to keep notes

-a scientific calculator

-a designated area to keep your warm-up questions

Physics Objectives – The student will…

1.  Analyze the relationships that exist between the fundamental quantities of motion.

2.  Demonstrate an understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion by applying them to analyze, describe, and predict the net effects on objects or systems.

3.  Analyze the relationships among quantities influencing circular motion and apply Newton’s Universal Law of Gravity in an analysis of orbital motion.

4.  Utilize work-energy relationships and conservation principles to analyze energy transfers within a physical system.

5.  Describe and explain the characteristic behaviors associated with wave motion.

6.  Develop an understanding of the nature of light and electromagnetic radiation.

7.  Demonstrate a conceptual and mathematical understanding of geometric optics.

8.  Apply the concepts of a “field” and “field force” in analyzing the influence of a field on the behavior or an object or particle exposed to that field.

9.  Analyze the relationships between voltage, resistance, and current in simple DC circuits.

10.  Analyze the inherent relationship between electrical and magnetic phenomena

Classroom expectations

·  Be on time for class. You are expected to be in class when the bell rings. You are expected to immediately begin working on the “Question of the Day”. If you are tardy three times in a given SEMESTER, you will receive a detention. Any tardy beyond the third will also result in a detention

·  Be prepared for class. Bring all necessary materials (see list above) and any assignments that are due to each class.

·  Be respectful of yourself, others and property. This sounds simple, but there is a lot implied here. In a nutshell, behave in a manner that does not distract from the learning process of yourself and those around you. Disruptive and/or destructive behavior will not be tolerated.

·  Be Productive. Participate in everything we do. You must be an active, engaged member of the class to draw any value from the course.

·  Stay in the classroom. Students should only expect to leave the classroom in the event of an emergency.

·  Food and drink must remain outside of the classroom.

Consequences

I want our class to be a safe, comfortable learning environment. The guidelines above are chosen so that we can make the most of our time together. If you choose to break a rule, you will be given a warning, detention, or office referral, depending on the severity of the behavior.

Homework

Homework is a necessary component of the learning process as it allows reinforcement on topics covered in class. You can anticipate having homework at least 3 times per week. You need to show all work for homework problems in order to receive full credit. The purpose of homework is to allow you to think about the topics covered in class and assess your understanding of the material. Completing homework will be crucial to your success on tests. Homework assignments may be checked for completion or collected and graded. All should be done with the expectation of collection. Homework quizzes may be given asking students to answer questions similar to those from homework assignments.

Assignments and Attendance

-You are responsible for obtaining and turning in any work missed during an absence by taking the following steps.

1. Check my tentative lesson plans online.

2. Verify with a classmate the information you found online.

3. If you missed any handouts, check the class bin.

4. If you have questions about your absence, please see me before school starts or at the end of your class period.

-If you are absent on the day of a test, you will be expected to arrange a time to take the test. The test will not be given to you during your class period but can be made up during a study hall, lunch, or before or after school. The test should be completed the day you return to school. It is your responsibility to arrange a time with me. Students who take tests after the common test date may be given an alternate version of the test.

-If you are absent the day before a test, you will be expected to take the test at the scheduled time (exceptions will be made for extended absences)

Grading

Scale: 90-100%…….….A

80-89%…………B

70-79%…………C

60-69%…………D

59% or below…..F

The semester grade is determined from the individual nine weeks grades and a final exam. 1st nine weeks = 40%, 2nd nine weeks = 40%, exam = 20%

The nine weeks grade will be determined from all work completed during a nine week grading period. The nine-week grade will consist of the following:

TESTS/ASSESSMENTS

-Multiple choice

-Essay

-Problem solving

-Review and practice will usually take place in class the day before a test

-Extra help will be available after school a few days prior to tests

PROJECTS/LAB ASSESSMENTS

-Most projects will be completed in pairs or small groups

-Some projects will be built at home and brought into class for presentation and grading

-Some labs requiring a report will be counted in this category

CLASSWORK

-Questions of the day (to be collected and graded on a quarterly basis)

-Practice worksheets

-Book assignments

-Reading assignments

HOMEWORK

-Readings

-Book assignments

-Practice worksheets

-Preparing for a lab / finishing a lab

QUIZZES

-Announced or unannounced

-Lab quizzes will often be given the day after a lab

-Homework quizzes will often be given after several assignments

LABS

-Informal (conducted in class in lab groups with analysis and conclusion to be completed individually as homework)

-Formal (requiring a lab report write-up)

Reassessment Policy

In an effort to promote mastery of the skills and content of the Physics course, a student may be reassessed on end of unit assessments when deemed appropriate by the teacher. To be eligible for a reassessment, one must…

·  have scored a grade less than 75% on the original assessment..

·  Within two days of receiving the test back, submit, in writing, the following:

Ø  Identify your problem areas. If you don’t know what’s wrong, it cannot be fixed!

Ø  A plan for improvement that addresses how you intend to fix the identified problems…what interventions are needed.

·  Put your improvement/intervention plan into action

·  Schedule a time and date for a re-take with the teacher (this is your responsibility, I will not hunt you down)

*Failure to do ALL of the steps as described above will result in a forfeiture of your re-take opportunity and the original grade will remain in place.

General information:

-  a successful re-take of an assessment will change the grade for that test to a maximum of a “middle C” or 75%

-  the re-takes will generally take the form of an interview/oral exam, although you may be asked to put some things in writing.

-  You may re-take any given assessment only once for a particular unit.

Tentative Physics Content Outline

I.  Mechanics

a.  Mechanical Equilibrium

i.  Force

ii. Equilibrium

iii.  Vectors

b.  Newton’s First Law – Inertia

i.  Historical development

ii. Mass

c.  Linear Motion

i.  Speed vs Velocity

ii. Acceleration

iii.  Free Fall

iv.  Graphical representation of motion

v. Air Resistance

d.  Projectile Motion

i.  Vector vs. Scalar

ii. Vectors and Components

iii.  Horizontal Projectiles

iv.  Projectiles launched at angles

e.  Newton’s Second Law

i.  Force and Acceleration

ii. Friction

iii.  Pressure

iv.  Free Fall

f.  Newton’s Third Law

i.  Forces as Interactions

ii. Action and Reaction

iii.  Systems

g.  Momentum

i.  Impulse

ii. Bouncing and Collisions

iii.  Conservation of Momentum

h.  Energy

i.  Work

ii. Power

iii.  Mechanical energy: Kinetic vs. Potential

iv.  Conservation of Energy

v. Machines and efficiency

i.  Circular Motion

i.  Rotation

ii. Centripetal Force and acceleration

j.  Gravitation

i.  Falling objects

ii. Universal Law of Gravitation

iii.  Gravitational Fields

iv.  Weight

II.  Sound and Light

a.  Vibrations and Waves

i.  Pendulum

ii. Wave motion

iii.  Transverse vs Longitudinal

iv.  Interference

v. Standing Waves

vi.  Doppler Effect

b.  Sound

i.  Origin and media

ii. Speed of sound

iii.  Loudness

iv.  Resonance and forced vibration

v. Interference Beats

c.  Light

i.  Nature of light

ii. Speed of light

iii.  Electromagnetic waves

iv.  Polarization

d.  Color

i.  Spectrum

ii. Reflection and Transmission

iii.  Color mixing

iv.  Natural phenomena

e.  Reflection and Refraction

i.  Law of Reflection

ii. Mirrors

iii.  Reflection of sound

iv.  Refraction and index of refraction

v. Dispersion and Rainbows

vi.  Internal reflection

f.  Lenses

i.  Converging and Diverging Lenses

ii. Image formation

iii.  Ray Diagrams

iv.  Optical instruments

v. Eye and vision

g.  Diffraction and Interference

i.  Huygens’ Principle

ii. Diffraction

iii.  Interference

iv.  Young’s experiment

v. Thin films

vi.  Lasers

III.  Electricity and Magnetism

a.  Electrostatics

i.  Forces and charge

ii. Conservation of charge

iii.  Coulomb’s Law

iv.  Conductors vs. insulators

v. Charging by different means

b.  Electric Fields and Potential

i.  Fields and field lines

ii. Shielding

iii.  Electric Potential Energy

iv.  Electric Potential

c.  Electric Current

i.  Flow of Charge

ii. Voltage Sources

iii.  Resistance

iv.  Ohm’s Law

v. Direct vs. Alternating current

vi.  Power

d.  Electric circuits

i.  Batteries and bulbs

ii. Series Circuits

iii.  Parallel Circuits

iv.  Compound Circuits

e.  Magnetism

i.  Poles, Fields and Domains

ii. Electric current and magnetism

iii.  Forces on charged particles and current carrying wires

iv.  Motors

IV.  Atomic and Nuclear Physics

a.  The Atom

i.  Models of the atom

ii. Photoelectric effect

iii.  Waves and particles

b.  Atomic Nucleus

i.  Radioactive Decay

ii. Isotopes

iii.  Half-Life

iv.  Transmutation (natural and artificial)

v. Carbon Dating and other applications of radioactivity

c.  Fission and Fusion

i.  Fission reactions

ii. Reactors

iii.  Mass-Energy Equivalence

iv.  Fusion reactions

By the end of the Aurora High School Physics course the student will be able to…

·  Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations;

·  Design and conduct scientific investigations;

·  Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications;

·  Formulate and revise explanations and models using logic and evidence (critical thinking);

·  Recognize and analyze explanations and models; and

·  Communicate and support a scientific argument.

·  Distinguish between distance and displacement; distinguish between speed and velocity

·  Recognize and mathematically analyze the relationships amongst the variables associated with linear motion.

·  Construct, interpret and compare graphs of position, velocity, or acceleration versus time.

·  Describe motion in terms of changing velocity. (acceleration)

·  Apply kinematic equations to calculate displacement, acceleration, time, or velocity under conditions of constant acceleration.

·  Relate the motion of a freely falling body to motion with constant acceleration.

·  Calculate displacement, velocity, and time for the motion of a freely falling object

·  Compare the motion of different objects in free fall.

VECTOR INTRODUCTION

·  Distinguish between and give examples of scalar and a vector quantities.

·  Add and subtract vectors by using the graphical method.

·  Multiply and divide vectors by scalars.

VECTOR OPERATIONS

·  Apply the Pythagorean theorem and tangent function to calculate the magnitude and direction of a resultant vector.

·  Resolve vectors into components using the sine and cosine functions.

·  Add vectors that are not perpendicular.

PROJECTILE MOTION

·  Recognize examples of projectile motion.

·  Describe the path of a projectile as a parabola.

·  Resolve vectors into their components and apply the kinematic equations to solve problems involving horizontally launched projectiles.

·  Recognize the independence of the horizontal and vertical components of projectile motion.

·  Describe the velocity of a projectile at various points throughout its parabolic path.

·  Explain how inertia relates to objects at rest and objects in motion at a constant speed (1st Law)

·  identify forces that act on objects in motion at a constant speed and objects at rest (1st Law)

·  explain examples of inertia in terms of Newton’s 1st Law (ex. the tablecloth trick) (1st Law)

·  recognize that inertia is synonymous to the mass of an object (1st Law)

·  describe the path a ball being spun on a string will take if the string breaks (1st Law)

·  describe how mass and acceleration are related in the equation F=ma (2nd Law)

·  describe how force and acceleration are related in the equation F=ma (2nd Law)

·  apply Newton’s second law in problem solving situations (2nd Law)

·  know the units for each of the variables in Newton’s 2nd Law (2nd Law)

·  analyze the action/reaction pairs of forces in a situation (3rd Law)

·  describe how the forces on objects in an action-reaction pair compare (3rd Law)

·  recognize that action-reaction pairs always act on only two objects (ex. If the action is bat hits ball, the reaction is ball hits bat) (3rd Law)

·  draw labeled free body diagrams that show the correct direction and relative magnitudes of forces

·  write ƩF equations for the horizontal and vertical directions

·  solve problems relating force, velocity, time, displacement, and acceleration of objects on horizontal surfaces.

·  solve problems relating force, velocity, time, displacement, and acceleration of objects experiencing forces applied at an angle.