AP Physics 1 - Blended
Instructor: Mr. Bryan Motter
Email:
Room 219
Course Goals
AP Physics 1 is an algebra/trigonometry-based course designed to allow students to succeed at physics at the collegiate level. This course will cover mechanics, waves, and electricity. Although an understanding of physics is helpful for any college-bound student, it is essential for those entering the fields of science, engineering, or mathematics. The course has been designed to give students a background for the first semester (and parts of the second) of the college physics course taken by science and engineering majors. This course covers all of the topics tested on the newly created AP Physics 1, which is administered in May. This course also prepares students to take AP Physics 2 as a follow-up course.
Since this course is a blended course (three periods in class and three periods on your own per five day cycle), a great deal of responsibility is placed on the student to keep up with assignments. Your success will depend far more on your ability to reason clearly and logically than on your ability to memorize information. In this course, laboratory work and problem-solving will be emphasized. Physics can be fun and exciting, but its mastery requires hard work and dedication. Plan on spending time out of class each day either solving problems, studying, or writing laboratory reports.
Physics is the science of the fundamental laws of the universe, or in other words, “why things work the way they do.” This course will cover the following topics:
I. Introduction and Mathematics of Physics (Chapter 1)
II. Mechanics (Chapters 2-8)
Linear Motion
Projectile and Circular Motion
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Momentum
Work and Energy
Rotational Motion
Gravity
III. Electricity (chapters 15, 17, and 18)
Properties of Charge
Resistance
Voltage, Current, and Power
Series and Parallel Circuits
IV. Wave Mechanics (Chapters 13-14)
Characteristics and Types of Waves
Wave Phenomena
Sound
Materials
· Textbook: Serway, R.A. and Faughn, J.S. (2014) College Physics, 10th ed. Thompson Brooks/Cole: Pacific Grove, CA.
· Supplemental materials such as instructional videos, notes, study guides, readings, et cetera will be provided.
· Blended AP Physics 1 moodle (password: dtownphys).
· Students are responsible for a scientific calculator (two line display or graphing preferred), three-ring binder, paper, and writing utensils. Students have the option of taking notes in a spiral bound notebook if they choose but will still need a binder.
Procedures and Expectations
· Three periods per week have been included in the instructor’s schedule to assist students enrolled in the AP Physics 1 Blended course. Students can use this time for making up laboratory work, making up quizzes or tests, and receiving additional help if the students are also available during these periods.
· Tardiness is not accepted. Class will start on time every day. Students are expected to be in their seats working on the opening assignment, called “board work,” when class begins. Detention will be assigned for every 3 times a student is tardy to class.
· Since 3 out of the 6 class periods in a cycle are spent on your own, you need to use those periods to watch the instructional videos, work on WebAssigns, etc. to maintain your pacing in the class.
· Students are expected to be prepared for class. This includes bringing notebook, calculator, and writing utensil (pen, pencil, et cetera) to class.
· Please follow directions the first time they are given. If something is not clear, please raise your hand and ask a question. Repeating directions wastes my time and your time for getting the activity completed.
· Be respectful and courteous to everyone in class. This classroom will be a friendly environment and harassment-free. Think before you speak or act.
· Please do not pack up your bags before the bell has rung and I dismiss class. I dismiss class, not the bell, and there is nothing ruder to a presenter than to start shuffling papers at five minutes until the bell rings.
· Ask questions, answer questions, and most importantly, realize that you are who makes this class important! And try to have a little bit of fun along the way, too.
Grading and Evaluation Procedures
Grades will be composed of tests (100 points each), announced and unannounced quizzes (10 – 30 points each), WebAssign and other homework (50 - 100 points per marking period), and laboratory reports (20 – 50 points each). Grades will be assigned for completion, correctness, and effort. Grading is based on a point system. Your final grade will be the points you have earned divided by the total points possible for the course. To find out your percentage divide the number of points earned by the number of points possible and multiply by 100%. You can also check eSchool for updated grades.
Absentee Policy
Students are responsible for getting their make up assignments from the absent file in the classroom or from the moodle. A good time to determine what you have missed would be before or after school.
If you are absent for a test, arrangements must be made to make up the test within three school days (preferably as soon as possible!). If you are absent for a lab day, you are expected to make up the experiment on your own time, and you need to make arrangements within three days. A make-up request form is available and should be used.
Please note: Field trips, sporting events, educational trips/vacations, and other school sanctioned events count as school days. If something is going to be due when you are missing class for these purposes, you need to complete it or turn it in before you miss class. You need to schedule exams, quizzes, and labs before you leave on your trip! Failure to do so will negatively affect your grade.
Late Policy
All out of class work is due at the beginning of class on the day it is due. Field trips and sporting events still count as school days – if you are planning on missing class, turn in your work early. Laboratory reports not turned in at the beginning of class will receive a grade of 50% of the earned score up until one day late. After one day, a score of zero will be given.
No credit will be given for late WebAssign assignments, except for reasons of excused absence from class. To request a WebAssign extension, complete an online extension request. Requests will be honored for illness, family emergencies, death in the family, educational trips, and other extenuating circumstances. They will not be honored for routine work or extra-curricular related conflicts. Exceptions may be made under special circumstances only if requested in advance.
Academic Integrity
All students are expected to abide by the school’s Academic Integrity Policy. This means no copying, cheating, or plagiarizing. Anyone violating this will receive a zero on the assignment and detention. Do not let other students copy your work as you will both receive a zero. Collaboration on homework or lab reports will occur, but all work should be your own. Never send an electronic copy of any work to another student (even if it is to just “look it over”) because the temptation is sometimes too strong to copy. Extreme violations of this policy can result in failure for the marking period or course.
Laboratory and Safety
Students are expected to behave with proper decorum in laboratory. If any special safety precautions are required for lab, they will be announced in advance. Students who do not follow the safety procedures will be asked to sit out of lab and complete it on their own time. Rules that should always be followed:
· Closed toed shoes are preferred. We work with masses that can break your toes!
· Tie long hair back. Nothing is worse than cutting hair out of machinery.
· Put all equipment back where you found it when you are finished. Points may be deducted from each group members’ lab reports for unreturned equipment.
· Treat all equipment with respect! Be careful and follow all directions.
· When in the laboratory, work only on the experiment. When you are finished cleaning up, begin your written report or work on physics homework. Failure to do so may result in lab reports being due the following day instead of in one week.
· Push all stools under the lab tables when finished in the laboratory.
· Keep a positive attitude!
Consequences (Good and Bad) for Behaviors
Everyone likes to be in a class where there are not any disruptions and where learning actually happens. I want this class to be as productive for you as possible. If you break rules or procedures you will get detention.
The best reward for following procedures is that we get to do fun things as a class, such as labs, outside activities, and projects. Additional class time for working on homework will become more frequent when everything that needs to be completed is completed. I hope that this is the case!
Please make an appointment with me at anytime if you need extra help!
Laboratory Schedule
Title Week
1. Motion Graphs 3
2. Constant Velocity / Acceleration 5
3. Free Fall 6
4. Projectile Motion 7
5. Newton's Second Law 9
6. Static and Kinetic Friction 11
7. Composition of Forces / Inclined Surfaces 13
8. Centripetal Force 16
9. Rotational Motion 19
10. Conservation of Linear Momentum: Whiplash 21
11. Conservation of Energy: Batman 23
12. Conservation of Energy: Tarzan 25
13. Resistance and Ohm’s Law 28
14. Series and Parallel Circuits 30
15. Hooke's Law/Simple Pendulum 32
16. Speed and Refraction of Water Waves 34
17. Speed of Sound in Air 36
Additional Projects
1. Students will work in small groups to analyze two events in our school’s “Physics Olympics” competition. Prior to the olympics, students must research the physics principles behind their selected events and determine a strategy for solving the problem and/or winning the event. After practicing their strategy, they must present a qualitative and quantitative description of their strategy and demonstrate it to the class. They must also explain how what they’ve learned relates to real world scenarios. Presentations will be peer-critiqued. Students will be encouraged to compete in the Physics Olympics and describe how the strategies presented in class worked in actual competition.
2. Students will work in small groups to analyze the motion of four different rides at Six Flags Great Adventure. They will use spring accelerometers to measure accelerations at various points on rides (such as bottoms and tops of roller coaster loops) and compare these results with theoretical predictions made using conservation of energy and dynamics equations, given the height of the first hill and loop radius. They will account for discrepancies between predicted and measured values. They will answer a series of conceptual and numerical questions related to the rides. Students who are not able to go on the trip will perform the same activity using previously recorded data.
There is no science fair project requirement for AP Physics 1. However, if you elect to do a science fair project (in an approved physical science category), bonus points will be awarded for receiving awards at the Dallastown science fair as follows. These points do not apply to projects required for another class.
Honorable Mention: 5 pts.
3rd Place: 7 pts.
2nd Place: 10 pts.
1st Place: 12 pts.
reserve grand champion: 20 pts.
grand champion: 25 pts.
Note: You must be present at the awards program (or have a pre-approved, legitimate excuse) to receive bonus points, which may be divided as desired between the 3rd and 4th marking periods. Employment outside of school is not a legitimate excuse. If you enter your project at the York County Science Fair, you may add an additional one-half of the above points for the place in which you finish in this fair.
Attention juniors taking AP Physics 1 and Chemistry I:
If you elect to take AP Physics 2 and AP Chemistry next year, be advised that a separate project is required for each course (a physics-related project for AP Physics 2 and a chemistry-related project for AP Chemistry). You may waive the “double-project” requirement for your senior year by electing to do one of the two projects this year instead. For example, if you do a physics-related project this year, you would only have to do the chemistry-related project next year, or vice-versa. In either case, if you elect to do a project this year, the grade you receive for it would be used next year, with only the bonus points received applying to your course this year.
If you choose to do a science fair project to satisfy an AP requirement, it must meet the following criteria:
It must be entered in the Dallastown Area High School Science Fair. The project must include a typed, formal experimental report (format will be given at a later date) and a backdrop displaying relevant procedures, data, graphs, conclusions, and pictures/diagrams of your experimental design. Progress reports (which will be included in your final project grade) will be collected on the dates listed below. Also note that projects which do not appear at the science fair for any reason other than an emergency will automatically lose 10 points and will continue to lose 10 points for each day they are late.