Physics Laboratories 
Last modification March 13, 2009 1:13 PM by Byron Philhour
Department Mission
Our mission is to teach students the scientific method so they can understand modern scientific descriptions of the universe and come to objective conclusions about the natural world. Like all members of the SI community we aim to educate the whole person, emphasizing the academic, extracurricular, and spiritual development of our students.
We would like to see graduates of SI ...
- knowledgeable about a broad range of scientific topics
- confident and proficient in the use of the scientific method
- able to use core science knowledge to assimilate new ideas and discoveries
- aware and appreciative of the universe and its inhabitants
- effectively able to communicate scientific principles, theories, and historical discoveries
- comfortable with laboratory techniques and experimental apparatus
- conscious of the environmental and ethical consequences of scientific progress
- dedicated to acting as a "person for others" in accordance with Catholic faith, Jesuit tradition and our school's mission
- well prepared for future study in any academic discipline
- ... and eager to continue to enjoy, learn about, and practice science throughout their life.
To this end, we strongly advise students to take all three of our core classes (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) as well as a 4th year elective course.
Laboratory Outcomes
Course-wide topics for enduring understanding
- Physics is an experimental science, meaning that all theories -- no matter how elegant -- can be rejected if in conflict with the results of a single experiment. To quote Karl Popper: "Science may be described as the art of systematic over-simplification...In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality."
- Physicists should "get their hands dirty." Laboratory work allows us to interact with the world in a simplified, controlled way. There is a place for calculations and abstract mathematical manipulation, but this kind of effort should lead to a deeper understanding of the real world.
- As important as the content of physics is the method: students with a physics education are expected to repeatedly ask and answer the fundamental question 'How do we know?'. Physics is not a dogmatic discipline: everything is up for grabs.
- The rational world-view taught in a physics class will be more important to our students in their future lives than any specific course content.
- Laboratory activities can vary widely in the amount of responsibility placed in the hands of the student as compared to the teacher. Inquiry-based laboratories allow the student to form their own ideas about what to study, how to study it, and how to interpret the results. In these types of laboratories, the teacher acts as a mentor or guide.
Laboratory Rubrics
- Rubric/guide to the Laboratories & the Scientific Method for SI students: (PowerPoint format, color .pdf, grayscale .pdf)
- Lab Level 1 Examples: Percent Composition Lab (Chem), Marble Acceleration Lab (Phys)
- Lab Level 2 Examples: Generic Level 2 Lab Worksheet (Chem), Measuring the Focal Length of a Lens (Phys)
- Lab Level 3 Examples: Investigating Centripetal Motion (AP Phys), Max Shapiro '06 RC Circuits Lab (AP Phys), Generic Level 3 Lab (Chem)
Index
I. Introduction and Kinematics
VI. Modern Physics (Atomic, Nuclear, Quantum, Particle)
In the 1st year physics course (physics or physics honors), typically units I – III are taught in the first semester, IV – VI in the 3rd quarter, and VII – IX in the 4th quarter. In the 2nd year physics course (AP Physics C), typically units I - III & V are taught in the first semester, while VII - IX are taught in the second semester.
I. Introduction and Kinematics
- [All Years] Miniature Guide to Scientific Thinking
- [1st year] Football Field Activity (.pdf)
- [1st year] Walk the Graph (.pdf)
- [1st year] Marble Acceleration Lab
- [1st year] Neighborhood Angles(.doc, .ppt, .pdf)
- [1st year]
Catapult Project - [2nd year]
Lunar Lander Project
- [1st year] Verifying Newton's 2nd Law (.doc, .pdf)
- To do: the aim of this lab is to be a short, inquiry level 3 activity that also familiarizes students with equipment & software
- [1st year] Verifying Newton's 2nd Law and the Force Component Concept (.doc, .pdf)
- [1st year] Determining Coefficients of Friction (.doc, .pdf)
- [1st year] Measuring the Spring Constant (.doc, .pdf)
- [1st year] Centripetal Motion of a Pendulum (.doc, .pdf)
- [1st year] Brakepad Lab (.pdf)
- To do: create a .doc version of the lab instructions that is updated and revised to make this lab a culmination of the unit
- [2nd year] Lunar Lander Project
- Photos: air cart with pulley, pendulum through photogate, predicting spring scale readings
- [2nd year] Lunar Lander Project
- [1st year] Two-cart Collisions (.doc, .pdf)
- [1st year] Stirling Engine Project
- To do: create YouTube video showing works in progress & proper fit
- [1st year] Speed of Sound (.pdf)
- [1st year] Making Music (.pdf)
- [1st year] Measuring the Focal Length of a Converging Lens (.doc, .pdf)
- To do: identify and revise to desired inquiry level (currently the students write the procedure though the rest is provided by the instructor).
- [1st year] Laser Interference (.pdf)
- [1st year] Nuclear War Project
- To do: break project into HW-sized subsets and assign over the course of a week so they don't do everything at the last minute
- [2nd year] Particle Physics Project
- [1st year] Electroscope activity
- [1st year] Capacitance laboratory
- [1st year] Scotch tape activity
- [2nd year] Particle Physics Project
- [1st year] Make a model traffic light sensor (in preparation)
- [2nd year] Magnetic induction
- [2nd year] Particle Physics Project
- [1st year] Lemon battery
- [1st year] Introduction to circuits
- [1st year] Ohm's Law
- [1st year] Make your own electric motor
- [1st year] Make your own electric speaker
- [1st year] Electric Circuits Project
- To do: design & order Mouser pre-formed packages of electronics
- [1st year] Exploratorium Project
- To do: lower overall number of required projects so that students aren't running around like mad. Include pictures of exhibits to help students identify them, especially those with ambiguous names.
- [2nd year] Error analysis problems
- [2nd year] Graphing Nonlinear Data
- [2nd year] Rubric/guide to the Scientific Method for SI students: (PowerPoint format, color .pdf, grayscale .pdf)
Important Resources
Bibliography
The Understanding by Design Handbook, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (1999)