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Mr. Cannady, Dr. Dann, and Dr. Philhour
"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the life-long attempt to acquire it." — Albert Einstein
Physics Honors (1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 6° & 7°) 3rd Quarter 2004-05
Most recent update March 8, 2005 8:51 AM
Schedule
- Week of Wednesday,
January 5th: Simple Harmonic Motion
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Warmup: None
- Introduction to SHM
- Introduction to period T
- Motion of a pendulum (T = 2*PI*root(L/g))
- HW: None
- Day 2 (Activity Schedule)
- Warmup: TBA
- Introduce frequency f
- Motion of a mass on a spring (T = 2*PI*root(m/k))
- HW: SHM Chapter (pp. 57+) #s 1, 2, 3, 7
- Day 3 (Activity Schedule)
- Warmup: What is the frequency of oscillation of a 5 gram mass hanging on a spring with spring constant 450 N/m?
- The sinusoidal function sin(blah) = blah
- Translating between math notation and physics notation
- HW: SHM #s 5, 8 (g on the moon is 1.67 m/s^2), 9; read this story -- amazing...
- Day 1 (Activity Schedule)
- Week
of Monday, January 10th: Waves
- Day 1
- Warmup: When you are doing the wave, how do you know when to stand up? What (specifically) keeps everyone from standing up at the same time?
- Slinky Lab in-class: we hand out slinkys (slinkies?) in class. You use the slinkys to demonstrate understanding of the following concepts from pp. 61 and 62 of the People's Physics Book: transverse waves, longitudinal waves, amplitude (large or small), frequency (high or low), wavelength (long or short), wave speed, medium, standing wave, node, and anti-node. We'll come around and test you.
- Re-hash all of this
- HW: Waves # 13 (p. 68); remember to attend the homework parties -- here are the hours of the TAs
- Day 2
- ANNOUNCEMENT: On Wednesday, January 12, Mr. Cannady and Dr. Philhour will be giving a talk 4th and 5th periods in Bannan Theater. This talk will introduce Saturn's moon Titan and the spacecraft (Huygens) which will be landing there later in the week. Please come and bring a friend! You can come to either 4th or 5th period.
- Warmup: You're playing jumprope. You and your friend are each holding one end of the rope, and you're standing 3 meters apart. What is the wavelength of the wave in the rope?
- Wave Equation: speed c = wavelength times frequency
- Demo: wave demonstrator (with black rods)
- Demo: ropes!
- Tsunamis (this site has some great simulations and pictures)
- HW: Waves #s 1, 5, 6 & 7; remember to attend the homework parties -- here are the hours of the TAs
- Day 3
- Warmup: Nuclear fission produces light with wavelengths about the size of an atomic nucleus, 10^-15 meters. What is the frequency of these waves? (The speed of light is 3x10^8 m/s.)
- Tsunamis (this site has some great simulations and pictures)
- Resonance
- Demo: shaker table resonance
- Demo: show Tacoma Narrows bridge disaster
- Demo: broken glass
- HW: Prepare for quiz on Day 4 using this SHM and Wave Motion Study Guide (with answers included) and the referenced Harmonic Motion website
- Remember to attend the homework parties! -- here are the hours of the TAs
- Day 4
- Quiz on SHM and Waves
- HW: Waves #s 3 & 4
- Feeling like you want more physics? For the brave & interested, check out this Damped Harmonic Motion problem set and this very interesting Damped Harmonic Motion website. Enjoy!
- Dr. Dann's 4th period: Due to an unknown Big Mouth, we will now have the quiz on monday in class
- Day 1
- Week
of Tuesday, January 18th: Waves and Sound
- Day 1
- Warmup: Why do humans have two ears?
- Standing waves, constructive and destructive interference
- Handout for sketching interference
- Demo: dead zone between two speakers (use a microphone)
- Online Ripple Tank
- HW: Waves # 10 and finish in-class handout on interference
- Check out this telescope game
- Day 2
- Warmup: How far should you place two speakers apart so that, if they both play 500 Hz notes in phase, the two waves will constructively interfere directly between them.
- Demo: String demo with strobe light
- Stringed Instruments and Harmonics
- HW: Waves #s 1 (again, if you had trouble before), 2, 15, 16
- Day 3
- Warmup: none (lab)
- Musical Instrument Laboratory
- HW: Read Dr. Dann's Tsunami page and write up a 1-paragraph summary on Tsunamis; also read Physics Classroom Sound and Music Lessons 1 & 2 (and write a 1-paragraph summary to be collected)
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, January 24th: Waves and Sound continued
- Day 1
- Warmup: How does blowing on a tube create a note that you can hear?
- Demo: Flaming tube
- Woodwind instruments and harmonics
- HW: Waves #s 11, 12, 17, 18; read Physics Classroom Sound and Music Lesson 3 (and write a 1-paragraph summary to be collected)
- remember to attend the homework parties -- here are the hours of the TAs
- Day 2
- Warmup: What is the frequency of the tenth harmonic produced by blowing air in a closed-end tube of length 0.35 meters?
- Beats (microphone / oscilloscope)
- Doppler Shifts
- HW: Waves #s 9, 14; Doppler Shift #s 1 (short answer) and 2 & 3 (problem set) -- these are on p. 77; read Physics Classroom Sound and Music Lesson 4 (and write a 1-paragraph summary to be collected)
- Day 3
- Warmup: none (lab)
- Review for Exam
- HW: prepare for exam with this waves and sound review sheet; read Physics Classroom Sound and Music Lesson 5 (and write a 1-paragraph summary to be collected)
- Day
4
- Warmup: none (exam)
- Exam on Waves and Sound
- HW: read Quantum Mechanics Handout; wanna see something neat?
- Week of Monday, January 31st: Light and Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
- Day 1
- Warmup: Draw the interference pattern that results from having two speakers in a room playing the same note.
- Ripple Tank demo of single-slit and double-slit interference
- Calculating double-slit interference
- 7°: Dr. Philhour is proctoring the sophomore retreat Tuesday; Mr. Cannady will enlighten you in the classroom
- HW: read Richard Feynman Easy Pieces writings on quantum mechanics pp. 116-127 (you will need to read this more than once!)
- Day 2
- Warmup: none (quiz)
- Reading Quiz A
- Laser Lab
- 1°: Dr. Philhour is proctoring the sophomore retreat Tuesday; Dr. Dann will enlighten you in the laboratory
- HW: read Richard Feynman Easy Pieces writings on quantum mechanics pp. 128-138 (you will need to read this more than once!)
- Day 3
- Warmup: none (quiz)
- Reading Quiz B
- Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
- Laser Lab wrap-up
- HW: Quantum Mechanics Handout #s 1, 2 & 4
- Day 4
- Warmup: You are stopped by a policeman for going 70 MPH in a mile-long 60 MPH zone on I-5. Use the Uncertainty Principle to attempt to argue your way out of the ticket. (You don't have to use numbers...)
- The Fun of Quantum Mechanics
- HW: Quantum Mechanics Handout #s 3 & 5; print out a Standard Model of Particle Physics (doesn't have to be in color)
- Week
of Monday, February 7th: Particle Physics and Feynman Diagrams
- Day 1
- Warmup: TBA
- Work all the HUP problems from last week (1-5)
- Schrodinger's Cat (time permitting)
- "Copenhagen": Bohr, Heisenberg, and the A-bomb (time permitting)
- HW: read the Particle Physics chapter in the People's Physics Book and find each of the particles mentioned on the Standard Model of Particle Physics flyer you printed out over the weekend
- Day 2
- Warmup: Which is more massive, an electron or a proton? Which has greater electric charge?
- Standard Model of Particle Physics
- HW: People's Physics Book p. 117 all short-answer questions and problems
- Day 3
- Warmup: An electron, a muon, a positron, and a down quark walk into a bar. What is the electron lepton number of this motley crew? What is the quark number?
- Feynman Diagrams I
- HW: begin the set of Feynman Diagram problems in the appropriate chapter, then check out this flash animation site
- Anwers to Feynman diagrams
- Day 4
- Warmup: (Analyze Feynman diagram to be drawn on board)
- Feynman Diagrams II
- Anwers to Feynman diagrams
- HW: finish the set of Feynman Diagram problems over the weekend; prepare for quiz on Day 1
- Day 1
- Week
of Monday, February 14th: Radioactivity
- Day 1
- Warmup: none (Quiz)
- Quiz on Quantum Mechanics, Particle Physics, and Feynman Diagrams
- HEY: why aren't (many of) you coming to the homework parties for help?
- HW: Check out this Baby Name site -- try typing in different names. Type in 'A' and notice the u-shaped curve. What do you suppose explains this? Now erase the 'A' and type in 'D' -- you get the opposite curve. Do you have any theories as to why these are so different? Now try 'E', 'F', etc. Are there certain types of pattern that repeat?
- Day 2
- Warmup: Draw the Feynman diagram for the conversion of a neutron into a proton through the emission of an electron. Be sure to invent any extra particles you
- Beta decay, alpha decay, and gamma decay
- Half-life
- Questions on logs? What is a log? See this informational, interactive log worksheet
- HW: Read the (extremely entertaining!) sites above; also, do problem #s 1 through 6 of radioactivity worksheet; Homework questions?
- Day 3
- Warmup: none (Lab)
- Radioactivity Laboratory (half-life measurement)
- Questions on logs? What is a log? See this informational, interactive log worksheet
- HW: Do problem #s 12 &13 from radioactivity worksheet
- Day 4
- Homework questions?
- Radioactivity Laboratory (1/r^2 dependence)
- HW: write-up lab (this is a serious write up so be careful with it and read the rubric carefully) ; you will have time in class monday to do finishing touch-ups with your group
- Day 1
- Week of Tuesday, February 22nd: Radioactive Carbon Dating
(short week due to President's Day Holiday)
- Day 1
- Warmup: Write a few sentences describing what 'half-life' means.
- Homework questions?
- Clean up lab work
- Radioactive Carbon Dating
- HW: Do problem #s 7 through 11 from radioactivity worksheet; Homework questions? You should have done all of the worksheet by the end of tonight.
- Day 2
- Homework questions?
- Nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, & nuclear power plants
- Review for Quiz on Day 3
- HW: Your (special) assignment tonight is to teach one of your parents (or another adult) about how Carbon-14 dating works, and then ask them to write a short, one-paragraph explanation of the topic for you to turn in.
- Day
3
- Warmup: None (Quiz)
- Quiz on radioactivity, the laboratories we did, and carbon dating; use radioactivity worksheet and laboratories to prepare for the quiz. Remember to attend the homework parties!!!
- HW : read pp 105 and 106 in the People's Physics Book (Pressure & Thermal Physics) then do Short Answer problems 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (note that these are review from your Chemistry course -- do your best)
- 1° and 7° 1/r^2 lab makeup: if you were disappointed by your score on the 1/r^2 laboratory, you can do the following: use a light bulb, a yard-stick, and your hand as a measuring device to see if the amount of heat you detect from a light bulb falls as a 1/r^2. Write up your results in a convincing way, including a drawing of the experiment, but keep your write-up less than 1 page total. You can earn back up to 15 points this way. Turn it in before the midterm exam!
- Day 1
- Week
of Monday, February 28th: Pressure and Thermal Physics
- Day 1
- Warmup: State the Ideal Gas Law and describe what each term within it means
- Kinetic Energy and Temperature
- Demo: bike pump & hair spray / fire extinguisher
- Ideal Gases
- HW: Pressure and Thermal Physics Chapter Short Answers # 6 & 12 and Problems # 19 & 20
- Day 2
- Warmup: Why might helium be more likely to escape the atmosphere of Earth than carbon dioxide?
- Pressure, area and force and unit conversion site (pressure has notoriously confusing units, sorry -- we use Pascals in class because that's the SI unit, but nobody really uses them in research or industry)
- Gauge pressure = Actual pressure minus 101,000 Pa
- Weight of a car from the pressure in the tires
- Demo: Bed of Nails
- Atmospheric pressure
- HW: Short Answer #s 7, 8, 9, 11; Problems #s 21, 22, 23
- Day 3
- Warmup: Draw a free-body diagram for an ice-cube floating in a glass of water.
- Pressure at a depth in a liquid -- pressure = density of liquid * g * depth in fluid
- Demo: cylinder filled with water that has holes in it
- Bouyancy: the force of bouyancy is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid
- Demo: floating piece of aluminum foil: boat shaped vs. crumpled up like a ball
- Demo: helium-filled balloon
- HW: Short Answer # 10; Problem #s 24, 25, 26
- Day
4
- Warmup: Draw a free-body diagram for a carbon dioxide bubble that is ascending upwards in a glass of soda.
- Boiling (check out this cool thing on refining petroleum)
- Review of material; short quiz
- HW: Begin studying for midterm exam! Use this Midterm Review Sheet and Solution Key, and review all old quizzes and exams.
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Attention all AP Physics B test takers! Jared S.and Max S. (Class of '06) are conducting a series of AP review classes prior to the AP Physics B test being administered in May. The sessions will particularly focus on previously learned material, while also introducing a few new topics that will appear on the AP Exam that have not been included in the Physics Honors curriculum. Please talk to your Physics teacher to sign up if you are interested.
- If you have a few minutes and want to see something neat: check out the McCollough Effect. Stare at the left circle (in the green area) for about a minute, then stare at the right circle (in the purple area) for about a minute. Repeat this a few times. Then look at the black & white object below them. Interestingly, this amazing effect is persistant! Come back to it the next day and look at the black & white object without first training your eyes on the purple and green areas. The effect is still there!
- Day 1
- Week of Monday, March 7th: Midterm Examination Week
- Day 1: Go over Midterm Review Sheet and Solution Key
- Here's a list of all the tests this quarter with solutions written on them:
- Midterm Exam
- Join Dr. Dann and Dr. Philhour in attending this Wednesday's USF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY COLLOQUIUM : Dr. Geoff Marcy will speak at USF on the topic of "The Properties of Planetary Systems." Dr. Marcy is among the founders of an exciting new field: finding planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Wednesday, March 9, at 4:00 PM on the USF Campus, room 127 Harney ... coffee and social beginning at 3:30 PM. See you there!
JUNIORS: There are lots of options for your Senior science course: AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Marine Biology, Astronomy, Engineering, and/or Science Research Project! Here's the procedure for adding the course of your choice: go to the online catalog and make sure you satisfy the requirements for the course (you all already satisfy the requirements for Engineering if you have a 2.0 GPA in your science courses and are taking physics); then: when you select courses, just select the proper course. If you don't meet the requirements, you won't be added. Couldn't be easier!
Next quarter: Electricity and Magnetism!!! Plus Circuits, which is awesome.