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"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." - Mark Van Doren
Honors Physics 2006-07 / 1st Semester
Most recent update December 18, 2006 11:20 AM
Schedule
- Week of Friday, August 25th -- Unit I: One-dimensional Motion
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Introduction to course; distribution of syllabus
- Demos: Jacob's Ladder, Faraday Cage, Cathode Ray Tube
- Practice with the SI system of units, unit conversion, powers of ten, scientific notation, finding ratios of areas and volumes (scaling), and other math skills
- In-class work: begin powers of 10 and exponents review page (this will not be collected)
- HW: Read People's Physics Book (PPB) Ch 1; do Ch 1 #s 1 - 4 & 10 and get your syllabus signed!!
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Week of Monday, August 28th -- Unit I: One-dimensional Motion
- Day 1
- In-class work: finish powers of 10 and exponents review page from Friday (this will not be collected)
- In-class work: algebra and trigonometry review, solving systems of equations, taking square roots (Due Day 4)
- Vector notation; addition of vectors through the parallelogram method and through the (equivalent) head-to-tail method
- HW: Read PPB Ch 3; do Ch 1 #s 6, 7, 11 - 15, 22 & continue work on review sheet (please show your work)
- Day 2
- Questions regarding review sheet?
- Worksheet on Distance & Displacement
- Lecture: Definition of position x, clock reading t
- Lecture: Displacement delta-x, time interval delta-t
- Lecture: Difference between displacement delta-x and distance d traveled
- Lecture: Adding displacement vectors -- adding vectors in one dimension
- HW: do Ch 1 #s 8, 9, 16, 17; Ch 3 # 1abc & continue work on review sheet (please show your work)
- Day 3
- Lecture: Finish Displacement & Time
- Lecture: Definition of average speed ( d / delta-t ) and average velocity ( delta-x / delta-t )
- Outdoor Activity -- running & hopping activity (bring adequate shoes)
- HW: re-read PPB Ch 3; do Ch 3 #s 2ab, 8 & 9 (skip part "i"); complete conversions from today's activity & continue work on review sheet (please show your work)
- Day 4
- Algebra and trig review work due at start of class
- Questions / catchup as needed
- HW Quiz
- Demo (using range finder and Vernier equipment): graphing position vs time (and, time permitting, velocity vs time)
- HW Part I: check out these interesting ways to display data: historical timeline of science, the Pop vs. Soda controversy, and the Baby Name grapher (try various names! -- its awesome -- check out 'Emma', can you explain why it dips in the middle?)
- HW Part II: do Lessons 1 - 4 at the Physics Classroom -- for these exercises, do all the reading as well as the simple exercises as you go. You don't have to write it down, but this will be excellent practice.
- Day 1
- Week of Tuesday, September 5th -- Unit I: One-dimensional Motion
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Warmup problem: the bird and truck problem: two trucks approach each other, and each is going 100 MPH. The distance between them starts at 100 miles. A bird flies right in front of one of the trucks and panics. It's a fast bird, so it starts heading down the road at 150 MPH. Unfortunately, it is heading right for the other truck! When it gets to that truck, it panics again and turns around. It continues flying back and forth, always at 150 MPH, from truck to truck, until the two trucks pass each other and the unfortunate bird is smashed between them. What is the total distance traveled by the bird?
- Definition of acceleration (ticker tape and graph versions) including an understanding of instantaneous velocity
- Pass out acceleration handout
- In-class lab work: Walk the Graph (to be turned in Day 1 of next week)
- HW: do Ch 3 #s 1def, 2c, 3, 5
- Day 2 (Activity Schedule)
- In-class lab work: Walk the Graph (to be turned in Day 1 of next week) (check with regular about using full day)
- Optional Reading HW: check out the SI physics honors curriculum document
- HW: do Ch 3 # 7
- O'Keefe's classes: correct the problems you missed on your HW Quiz 1
- Day 3 (Activity Schedule)
- Work on 'direction of the acceleration vector handout'
- HW Check (have your HW available for me to check during class)
- Marble Lab in classroom
- Optional Reading HW: freshen up on the scientific method
- HW: finish today's handout ; finish Walk the Graph; do Lessons 5 & 6 at the Physics Classroom -- for these exercises, do all the reading as well as the simple exercises as you go. You don't have to write it down, but this will be excellent practice.
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Week of Monday, September 11th -- Unit I: One-dimensional Motion
- Day 1
- Continue discussion of graphing x(t), v(t) for situations with constant positive, zero, or negative acceleration
- Begin discussion of the first two of the "Big Three" equations of motion
- In-class Handout: The Big Three - Introduction
- ARE YOU MAKING USE OF THE HOMEWORK PARTIES? Monday through Thursday, 5th period and after school. TAs and teachers are available every day.
- HW: Ch 3 #s 4, 12, 15, 20abc (note: you can graph this and use the Table button on your calculator to make it less tedius), and 21 (note: the problems we are working this week are extremely important -- the material of the remainder of the quarter depends on understanding this stuff thoroughly) -- also, print out this practice kinematics test from summer physics 2006, which will be due Day 4
- Day 2
- HW Quiz
- Continue working on handout from yesterday: The Big Three - Introduction
- HW: Ch 3 #s 10, 17, 18; continue working on practice test from Day 1 (due Day 4)
- Day 3
- Continue with the Big Three equations of motion -- how we use 'g' for acceleration in free-fall, and how we use y(t) instead of x(t) -- but otherwise the same
- Demo: use the range finder to verify the first two "Big Three" equations for a book dropped from an initial height of 2 m
- In-class work: Ch 3 #s 11, 16; continue working on practice test
- HW: Ch 3 #s 19 & 13 (it's probably best to do #19 before #13) and practice problem #11 from the The Big Three - Introduction worksheet; also, finish practice test from Day 1 (due Day 4)
- Day 4
- HW Check on practice test -- note that the key we handed out omitted part of the answer to 5(a): this should be v = - 0.70 m/s.
- Here's the QUAD program for your Ti-83 Calculator (you can find a basic tutorial here)
-- note the program will barf if the square root is imaginary.
- Prompt A, B, C
- (B*B-4*A*C) -> D -- note that the -> key is labeled 'Sto->', above the on button
- (-B+sqrt(D))/(2*A) -> R -- replace 'sqrt' with the square root symbol
- (-B-sqrt(D))/(2*A) -> S -- as above
- Disp R, S
- In-class practice with "Big Three" and graphs of motion
- Important note: the answer to Ch 3 #18 given in the back of the book is wrong; the right answer is 2.0 m/s^2. Please check the errata page if your answer is in disagreement with the back of the book.
- HW: work on exam review sheet (this will not be due) SEE YOU ON THE PUBLIC FOLDERS!
- Note: here is last year's first exam for one-dimensional motion. Now, each year we emphasize slightly different things, but this might be useful to you. Sorry, no key is available, but we're happy to discuss problems on the public folder. (Or, if you know how to do them all, perhaps you could put a key on the public folder?)
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, September 18th -- Unit I: One-dimensional Motion & Unit II: Two-dimensional (Projectile) Motion
- Day 1
- First Major Exam on One-dimensional Motion
- HW: begin Lesson 2 on Projectile Motion at the Physics Classroom (note that there is some discussion of "Free Body Diagrams" and forces -- this we will be discussing later, please just 'bleep' over it for now) and check out Ch 4 in the People's Physics Book
- Day 2
- Turn back exam from Day 1
- [BJP's classes: discussion of grading scheme]
- Go over Superman Problem
- Time permitting: introduce projectile motion
- HW: write up excellent exam corrections to turn in on Day 4; finish Lesson 2 from Day 1 HW (above)
- HW: Mr O'Keefe's classes - finish handout from class (here are the answers) -- I'll be taking this up on Day 3
- Day 3
- Introduce projectile motion; independence of motion in x direction and motion in y direction; today we will only consider objects shot horizontally (i.e., not at an angle)
- Demo: shot vs. dropped ball demo
- Try to hit the target (the higher and faster you go the harder it is to do.)
- HW: Ch 4 #s 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (note we'll need the results of #7 for tomorrow -- just use SOH/CAH/TOA) & finish exam corrections if you haven't, due Day 4
- Day 4
- James Bond Demo!!!
- In-class warmup problem: Ch 4 # 10 (include with your HW during check on Day 2 of next week)
- Projectile motion continued; shooting a projectile at an angle; breaking the initial velocity into x and y components.
- In-class practice problems (will vary from period to period)
- HW: Ch 4 #s 8, 9, 14 and visit a TA at a homework party if you are having trouble either (a) turning a speed and angle into x and y components of velocity or (b) knowing the x and y components of a velocity and getting the speed and angle from them.
- O'Keefe's classes: finish the handout from class on vectors and projecile motion. Note that on the back you can assume g=-10m/s^2 to make it simpler.
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, September 25th -- Unit II: Two-dimensional (Projectile) Motion
- Day 1
- Bullseye Lab!
- HW: Ch 4 #s 17, 20, 21
- for #20: the answer should be 0.567s not 0.37s (error in back of book); visit the PPB Errata page for a list of errors to answers in the back
- Day 2
- HW Check! for Ch 4 #s 3-10, 14, 17, 20 & 21 -- have "masterpiece" solutions to each of these ready for inspection at the start of class
- Bullseye Lab! (if you finish early, practice with HW problems)
- HW: Ch 4 #s 11, 24, 25
- for #24: the answer in the back is correct, but the numbers are a bit unrealistic (an 85 yard field goal!)
- Day 3
- Mr. O'Keefe on Retreat
- Shoot the Monkey Demo !!!
- In-class practice problems with projectile motion: Ch 4 #s 12, 15, 26
(keys will be available)
- for #15: the answer should be 40m and 9m, not 45m and 15m (error in back of book)
- HW: Ch 4 #s 13, 16, 23 (note that # 23 is a doozy, but well worth the effort!)
- for #23: the answer should be 1.33s (error in back of book) visit the PPB Errata page
- Day 4 - Mr. O'Keefe on Retreat
- Projectile motion review day: work the Trolls of the Enemy problem in class and turn in at the end of the day (key will be available)
- Here are some more practice problems with solutions (not to be turned in)
- Here's the curriculum for honors physics -- check that you've learned everything expected of you!
- HW: work practice test from Summer 2006 physics (not to be turned in) or the test we gave to physics honors last year
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, October 2nd -- Unit II: Two-dimensional (Projectile) Motion
(due to Mr. O'Keefe's absence last week, we're going to stagger the periods a little this week. Back on track Day 4)
- Day 1
- 1° and 6°
(BJP) only:
- Exam on Two-Dimensional (projectile) motion
- Retreatants: please make up the Bullseye (marble in the cup) Lab today during class -- you'll take a makeup exam in class on Day 3
- HW: read Ch 20 in the People's Physics Book and this biography of Einstein on wikipedia
- 2°, 3°, and 4° (AOK) only:
- Exam review day
- HW: prepare for exam on Day 2
- 1° and 6°
(BJP) only:
- Day 2
- 1° and 6° (BJP) only:
- Special topic: the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded this morning to Berkeley Prof. George Smoot and NASA scientist John Mather for their work on observational cosmology, particularly the COBE satellite. Today I'll talk about the discovery and some implications.
- HW: check out astrophysicist Wayne Hu's primer on Big Bang cosmology
- 2°, 3°, and 4°
(AOK) only:
- Exam on Two-Dimensional (projectile) motion
- Retreatants: please make up the Bullseye (marble in the cup) Lab today during class
- HW: read Ch 20 in the People's Physics Book and this biography of Einstein on wikipedia
- 1° and 6° (BJP) only:
- Day 3
- 1° and 6° (BJP) only:
- Special topic: Einstein's theory of special relativity -- light clocks, beta and gamma, length contraction
- Makeup Unit II exam for all retreatants (exam will be in-class)
- HW: Ch 20 #s 4, 5 & 8 & skim Ch 5 in the People's Physics Book
- 2°, 3°, and 4° (AOK) only:
- Special topic: Einstein's theory of special relativity -- light clocks, beta and gamma, length contraction
- HW: Ch 20 #s 4, 5 & 8
- 1° and 6° (BJP) only:
- Day 4
(all classes back on track)
- Now that we know what to do with acceleration, how do we determine acceleration to begin with?
- Newton's Laws (Unit III) begins
- Before filling your head with new ideas, we're going to do what we can to erase your misconceptions; turns out people already have their own 'laws of physics' in their brains that they learn as babies -- and these 'laws' are wrong!
- Define force as a push or a pull; hand out scales so students get a feel for what 1 N, 2 N, 10 N feels like
- Demo & interactive lecture: begin prediction project (to be continued next week)
- 2°, 3°, and 4° (AOK) only: Makeup Unit II exam for all retreatants (exam will be in-class)
- HW: Begin working lessons 1 - 4 on Newton's Laws at the Physics Classroom -- TAKE NOTES to be turned in as evidence that you have completed the work (be sure to budget sufficient time to do this work -- you will continue working these into the beginning of next week, but it is a lot to do! Be sure to hit 'next' at the bottom of each page, many lessons are more than 1 page!)
- Rubric for notes (note that no C grades will be given)
- A (4): notes include worked problems and solutions; student is reformulating concepts in his/her own words; student is making analogies between concepts discussed and his/her own experience; notes can be used as a handout for next year's students; notes make it clear when students struggled with a question
- B (3): as above, but work could not be used as a handout for next year's students due to incompleteness, a lack of clarity, a significant conceptual error, or other problem
- D (1): notes fail to meet requirements as described in the 'A' level; certainly this would not be used as a handout, but also it is unclear that the student engaged the material or used the exercise as a learning experiment.
- F (0): no notes turned in =(
- Rubric for notes (note that no C grades will be given)
- Week of Monday, October 9th -- Unit III: Newton's Laws (for this week, we'll only consider forces acting on a single body, so we won't introduce the 3rd Law quite yet)
- Day 1
- Important note for all periods: your Physics Honors midterm exam next week will consitute your FINAL exam for Units I and II.
- Short demo: continue with prediction project
- Lab: how to use the air tracks: leveling them, setting up the photogates and attaching cards to the carts, using the times from the photogates to determine speed; goal: start the cart at one end and let it pass through both gates (separated by some distance) -- did the cart slow down? Why or why not? What does the air do? (We're trying to get at Newton's 1st Law: an object does not change its state of motion unless a force is applied.) [Note: these labs are intended to be informal; after you're more familiar with the equipment, we'll have more formal labs.]
- HW: Continue working lessons 1 - 4 on Newton's Laws at the Physics Classroom (be sure to budget sufficient time to do this work) -- TAKE NOTES to be turned in as evidence that you have completed the work
- Day 2
- Important note for all periods: your Physics Honors midterm exam next week will consitute your FINAL exam for Units I and II.
- Short demo: continue with prediction project
- Lab: using fan carts iin concert with a force probe and range finder. This time we want to ask the question: to get a cart going a certain speed (that is, to accelerate it), do you have to apply more force for a more massive cart? [Note: these labs are intended to be informal; after you're more familiar with the equipment, we'll have more formal labs.]
- HW: Finish working lessons 1 - 4 on Newton's Laws at the Physics Classroom (be sure to budget sufficient time to do this work) -- TAKE NOTES to be turned in as evidence that you have completed the work -- notes due tomorrow
- Day 3
- Important note for all periods: your Physics Honors midterm exam next week will consitute your FINAL exam for Units I and II.
- Turn in notes from your work with the Physics Classroom.
- Hand out Concept. Dev. sheet (due Day 4)
- Demo: using the force probe to weigh objects; drawing free-body-diagrams in one dimension; considering upward forces that balance gravity (in equilibrium) or that do not balance gravity (accelerating upward or downward). Introducing weight, tension, spring and contact forces, including the normal force.
- HW: Finish handout from today
- Midterm Exam Review: here are some additional problems taken from past semester final exams; also, use this projectile motion simulation for practice and fun - you can make your own practice problems by changing the the magnitude and direction of the object's initial velocity as well as the initial position of the cannon and the final position of the target.
- Day 4
- Important note for all periods: your Physics Honors midterm exam next week will consitute your FINAL exam for Units I and II.
- Hand out Concept. Dev. sheet (due Day 1)
- Demo: equilibrium in two dimensions: using two tensions to hold up a mass.
- HW: finish handout from today if you haven't already and study for Midterm Exam
- Midterm Exam Review: here are some additional problems taken from past semester final exams; use this projectile motion simulation for extra practice and fun
- Week of Monday, October 16th -- Midterm Week
- All periods: your Physics Honors midterm exam will consitute your FINAL exam for Units I and II.
- Note: students earning an A (or a highly motivated student earning a B) in the class might consider taking the AP Physics B exam at the end of the year. We will cover most of the topics required to do well on that exam. Here's the list of objectives -- see how we're doing so far! (More info to come...)
- Here are the midterms: Version A, Version B
- HW: Work Lesson 3 from Vectors and Newton's Laws at the Physics Classroom (this is different from what you did before but the same rubric applies; due Day 1, the week of October 23)
- Week of Monday, October 23rd -- Unit III: Newton's Laws
- Day 1
- Review of Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws
- Practice problem in one dimension: elevator problem in equilibrium; elevator problem not in equilibrium
- Practice problem in two dimensions: pulling a crate along the ground (rope at angle, friction force in Newtons given)
- Introduction to air resistance
- Handout from O'Keefe's class - we'll finish it tomorrow in class
- HW: PPB Ch 5 #s 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 17 (many of these are very short problems)
- Day 2
- Demo: spring gauge equilibrium
- Lecture: how spring forces work
- 1st half of class: Calculating spring forces: F = - k(delta-x). Work equilibrium and non-equilibrium problems using springs.
- 2nd half of class: Inclined planes: conceptual treatment only -- drawing the free body diagram and showing why a block should slide down the ramp by visually adding the gravitational and normal forces
- HW: PPB Ch 5 #s 13, 15, 18, 19; Also, finish your midterm corrections
- Day 3
- HW Quiz (notes from HW allowed)
- Midterm corrections due today for Mr. O'Keefe's classes
- Lecture: introduction to static and kinetic friction
- Demo: pulling on a block
- HW: PPB Ch 5 #s 21, 22, 31, 44
- O'Keefe's classes: #44 is review. Do your best on the others - we'll work them in class on Day 4
- Day 4
- Catchup / homework questions?
- Lecture: Friction
- Lecture: Newton's Third Law
- Work pulley problems with two bodies (including Atwood's machine)
- HW: Philhour: PPB Ch 5 #s 14, 23, 24, 26, 34
- HW: O'Keefe: PPB Ch 5 #s 14, 23, 24, 25, 26; work on quiz corrections (due Day 2)
- If you are struggling or need extra practice, try these basic but helpful worksheets:
- Free Body Diagrams
- Force Vectors
- 2nd Law: F=ma
- Friction - with answers
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, October 30th -- Unit III: Newton's Laws
- Day 1
- Brake Pad Lab (writeup due Day 1 of next week)
- If you are struggling or need extra practice, try these basic but helpful worksheets:
- Free Body Diagrams
- Force Vectors
- 2nd Law: F=ma
- Friction - with answers
- HW: Philhour: PPB Ch 5 #s 25, 27, 28, 29, 41
- HW: O'Keefe: PPB Ch 5 #s 27, 29, 33, 45, 46; finish quiz corrections
- Day 2
- O'Keefe's Classes: Quiz Corrections Due; Newton's 3rd Law
- Work HW and practice problems
- HW: Philhour: PPB Ch 5 #s 30, 32, 33, 38, 39
- HW: O'Keefe: PPB Ch 5 #s 28, 34, 38, 39, 41, Concept Dev. sheet
- Day 3
- Practice Problems / Review Day
- HW: Philhour: PPB Ch 5 #s 43, 45, 46, 47, 48 (be sure to check the Errata page if your answer doesn't match the answer in the back of the book ... at least #18 and #32d have problems. Feel free to post concerns about wrong answers to the Public Folder!)
- HW: O'Keefe: PPB Ch 5 #s 32, 47
- We haven't given you enough practice problems? =) Here are some practice tests -- some of the problems in these you might have already done, so skip those if you want:
- Practice Test 1 (Summer regular physics 2006)
- Practice Test 2 (Honors physics 2004)
- See you on the public folder
- Day 4
- HW Check -- have all your solutions from Ch 5 in presentable form for a quick "turn-in" check today
- Unit III EXAM Part 1/2 (note that you'll have a second chance on this material in two weeks)
- HW: Brake-Pad Lab Report Due Day 1 - 1 Report per group
- Complete Lessons 1 - 3 on Centripetal Motion from the Physics Classroom; ignore the material that references 'work'; you do NOT have to take notes this time -- hopefully you are aware by now how important reading and working problems in the Physics Classroom can be
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, November 6th -- finish Unit III: Newton's Laws, begin Unit IV: Centripetal Motion and Gravity
- Day 1
- Due today: Brake-Pad Lab Report
- Experimental investigation: the two-body problem, with an air track, a pulley, and a hanging weight.
- Hand out & begin conceptual reteaching handout (I'll come around and check this on Day 3 - remember, it's intended to help you prepare for the upcoming test)
- HW: finish handout from today; begin test corrections
- Day 2
- Lecture: introduce Newton's Universal Law of Gravity (F = -GMm/r^2)
- Lecture: how to calculate g = GM/R^2 for planets
- Historical handout (front side, back side)
- Work problems in class
- HW: finish test corrections; read Ch 6 in the People's Physics Book and do Ch 6 #s 10, 11 & 19
- Day 3
- O'Keefe: Test Corrections are due today
- Conceptual Reteaching Handout Check - I'll come around to see that you have completed it
- Introduce centripetal acceleration and centripetal forces
- Determine speed in circular motion through v = 2*PI*R/T
- HW: Ch 6 #s 5, 7, 8, 9, 13
- Day 4
- Practice centripetal motion problems in class: Ch 6 #s 6, 17, 18, 20
- HW Quiz
- HW: study for the Unit III exam on Monday -- note that this exam is on the same topics we covered in last week's exam -- we're just testing you on it again. There will not be any material from Days 2, 3, or 4 on this exam
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, November 13th -- finish Unit IV: Centripetal Motion and Gravity and begin Unit V: Conservation Laws
- Day 1
- Unit III EXAM Part 2/2
- HW: Ch 6 #s 2, 4, 14, 15
- Day 2
- Practice centripetal motion problems in class: Ch 6 #s 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
- HW: finish in-class work from today; start working on HW Quiz Corrections (AOK)
- Day 3
- Work on review sheet for exam
- HW: none
- Day 4
- AOK: HW Quiz Corrections due today
- AOK: Test corrections due Day 2 next week
- Review for exam (here's a practice test -- this was the exam given last year)
- HW: study for Unit IV exam on Day 1; continue to work on review sheet for exam or on the practice test
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, November 20th -- Begin Unit V: Conservation Laws (short week due to Thanksgiving)
- Day 1
- Unit IV EXAM
- HW: read the Physics Classroom material on momentum conservation
- AOK: Finish test corrections to turn in tomorrow
- Day 2
- 2nd Period - Unit IV EXAM
- Diagnostic exam (not for grade) & decompression
- HW: none over break -- enjoy!
- Day 1
THANKSGIVING BREAK
- Week of Monday, November 27th -- Unit V: Conservation Laws
- Day 1
- Momentum defined: p = mv
- Impulse defined: J = delta-p
- Force re-defined: F = delta-p / delta-t = J / delta-t
- Momentum conservation in a closed system
- Demo: two-cart inelastic collisions with range finder - predicting speed
- HW: Ch 7 #s 6, 7, 8, 10, 11
- Day 2
- Warmup: do Ch 7 #s 12 & 14
- Impulse -- "machine gun and rain" problems
- Rocket problems and conservation of momentum
- HW: Ch 7 #s 13, 15, 17, 18 (this one's tough but give it a try)
- Day 3
- Warmup: do Ch 7 # 19
- HW Q&A
- Begin practice quiz for quiz on Day 4 (here is the quiz key, courtesy Brendan B.)
- HW: Study for Quiz on Day 4
- Day 4
- 30 min HW QUIZ on momentum, impulse, inelastic collisions, "machine gun and rain" problems, and rocket problems (you will be able to use your book & notes for this quiz)
- Conceptual introduction to energy conservation: in particular, the conceptual definitions of a "closed system", a "system", kinetic energy, potential energy (spring, gravity, any place it is stored), internal energy, and the transfer of energy from one system to another through "work"
- HW: read the Physics Classroom material on Energy, working through the problems as you go -- please turn in these problems (but no notes as before) on Day 1 when we return; also check out Ch 2 and Ch 8 in the People's Physics Book.
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, December 4th -- Unit V: Conservation Laws
- Day 1
- Working familiar problems with this new method (energy!)
- Using bar graphs to account for energy and the different forms it takes
- Equations describing kinetic energy and potential energy due to gravity and springs
- Demo: bowling ball pendulum
- Demo: Pulley problem: Two masses over a pulley; calculate the speed of the masses just before one hits the ground (after being released)
- Demo: Incline plane problem. Two masses over a pulley on an incline plane, calculate the speed of the masses just before one hits the ground (after being released)
- Work on these demo problems in class
- HW: Ch 2 #s 4, 6, 7
- Day 2
- Algebraic definition of work -- relation to force and displacement
- Work done by friction: transfer of energy through work to internal forms (heat) -- skidding problems
- Storage of potential energy in springs and in gravity
- HW: Ch 8 #s 8, 14, 15
- AOK 2nd Period - Bring in Items for Food Drive
- Day 3
- Demo: the ballistic pendulum
- Solving ballistic pendulum problems
- HW: Ch 8 #s 16, 17, 18, 26
- AOK 2nd Period - Bring in Items for Food Drive
- Day 4
- Explanation of EGG DROP activity for Day 2 of next week:
- We will fabricate egg support devices using any or all of the following materials (provided by you, the student): 3 sheets of standard printer paper, up to 40 cm total of masking tape (tape can be up to 2.5 cm wide), six standard plastic drinking straws, 4 popsicle sticks or tongue depressers, 5 regular size rubber bands, and a zip-lock type plastic bag (maximum volume - 1 gallon). You can deform, break, shred, or otherwise mutilate any of the materials except the bag, which must be intact and closed.
- The entire apparatus must be inside the closed plastic bag. If anything spills out of the bag during the competition, you will earn a lower score. The device will be dropped from the roof of SI.
- Rubric is as follows: if the egg lands uncracked and unbroken it is a 4; if the egg cracks within the container but does not break, it is a 3; if the egg breaks within the container it is a 2; if the egg spills out of the container it is a 1.
- GROUPS OF TWO are OK, but NO LARGER. Groups of 1 are fine.
- Bring an extra egg the day of the event. You supply the egg. You may not boil the egg. We will inspect your egg apparatus before and after it falls.
- Bring a completed apparatus the day of the event.
- Review day for energy conservation, work, etc.
- In-class work on Ch 8 #s 19, 25, 27
- Begin practice quiz from last year (here's the KEY) for our exam on Day 1 of next week
- HW: study for exam on Day 1 using the practice quiz and key above; ... or here's another practice exam from Summer 2006 physics with a Key (thanks Mimi!)
- ALSO, here is the KEY for our Centripetal Motion and Gravity Exam from a few weeks ago
- ALSO, here are the two HW Quizzes (HW Quiz 1, HW Quiz 2) - take the one you didn't do if you want more practice
- Explanation of EGG DROP activity for Day 2 of next week:
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, December 11th -- Unit V: Conservation Laws and Final Exam Review
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Unit V EXAM -- energy, momentum, conservation laws: all the material in Unit V; HERE IS A KEY (Thanks Becca & Bus!)
- HW: Prepare for Egg Drop with partner (see Day 4 of last week for explanation)
- Also, begin preparing for final exam (do not wait until the last minute!) -- see review packet below on Day 2
- Also, here is the KEY for our Centripetal Motion and Gravity Exam from a few weeks ago
- Day 2 (Activity Schedule)
- EGG DROP
- Time permitting: final Exam Review Day
- Begin comprehensive review packet and KEY
- HW: begin preparing for final exam (do not wait until the last minute!)
- AOK 2nd PERIOD - Tomorrow is the box collection - Please bring any remaining items for our boxes.
- Day 3 (Activity Schedule)
- 1° and 6°: Unit IV (Centripetal Motion and Gravity) MAKEUP EXAM -- mandatory for all students in these two periods with a Unit IV exam score beneath 3.0; here is the KEY for our Centripetal Motion and Gravity Exam from a few weeks ago
- Continue work on comprehensive review packet and KEY
- HW: begin preparing for final exam (do not wait until the last minute!)
- HERE IS A KEY for the Unit V (Conservation Laws) EXAM (Thanks Becca & Bus!)
- We are in the process of putting together a webpage of all past exams and keys -- check it out. It will be updated in the days leading up to the final exam.
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
PhysicsBowl: if you are interested in being part of our PhysicsBowl team, please let Mr. Philhour know. The PhysicsBowl is a test given in the first week of April. The test is fairly short, multiple choice, and relies on classroom knowledge as well as historical knowledge. Winners can move on to regional and national exams. Here are examples of past tests. The high scorers at our school will be placed in the Hall of Fame. Physics Honors students are in Division I; AP students are in Division II. Anybody can be a part of the team -- only the top 4 scores from each division is calculated when figuring out if a school wins, so feel free to just give it a try!
- Here are the exemptions for the final exam due to perfect scores on unit tests (1st and 6th periods):
- Unit III (Newton's Laws) Part 1: Alex E., Jessica H., Chris J., Clare L., Matt M., Bus L., Tiffany N., Sean T. (based on diagnostic exam results) and Mia N. (based on essay project)
- Unit III (Newton's Laws) Part 2: Ed H. , Rachel H., Bus L., Mia N. (based on essay project)
- Unit IV (Centripetal Motion): John H.
- Unit V (Conservation Laws): Becca L., Bus L.
- Final Exam will be MONDAY, DECEMBER 18th, at 8:30 AM, and will constitute your final exams for Units III (Newton's Laws), IV (Centripetal Motion and Gravity), and V (Conservation Laws). The exam will last 1 hr 30 minutes. Note exemptions above. We are in the process of putting together a webpage of all past exams and keys -- check it out. It will be updated in the days leading up to the final exam.