.
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." - Mark Van Doren
2008-09 AP Physics C - Second Semester Course Weblog
Most recent update: May 18, 2009 9:52 AM
Physics is the study of the most fundamental laws of nature. Physicists are concerned with the behavior of the whole universe and its constituents, ranging from the smallest subatomic particles up to enormous galaxy clusters. 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.
Week of Wednesday, January 7th
- Day 1 (45 min activity schedule)
- Sketch of semester (.doc, .pdf)
-
Particle Physics Project - Change in weblog & public folders (please also check the Physics Honors folders and help out students as needed)
- Change to binder approach
- Lecture: Standard Model of Particle Physics
- HW
- Begin working Objective 1 in the Particle Physics Project
- Begin working Objective 1 in the
- Day 2 (45 min activity schedule)
- Warmup: design a few mesons that have integral charge
- Lecture:
- Continue Standard Model
- Interaction rules: strong force only acts on quarks, weak force acts leptons & quarks, electric force acts only on charged objects (not on neutral objects), gravity acts on everyone, but is so weak we'll largely ignore it in this unit
- Conservation laws: lepton number (within families), quark number (all families), electric charge -- energy and momentum as well
- Begin Feynman Diagrams - basic idea
- HW
- We'll have a guest visitor from NASA tomorrow: read the biography of James Stofan and prepare one question to ask him
- Continue working Objective 1 in the Particle Physics Project (worked problems due Day 1 of next week)
- Begin working Objective 2 in the Particle Physics Project
- Day 3 (45 min activity schedule)
- Activity: Feynman Diagrams
- Guest from NASA: James Stofan
- HW
- Finish Objective 1 in the Particle Physics Project (worked problems due Day 2 of next week)
- Continue working Objective 2 in the Particle Physics Project
- Finish Objective 1 in the
Week of Monday, January 12th
- Day 1
- Lecture & activity: Feynman Diagrams & fundamental particle interactions
- HW
- Finish Objective 1 in the Particle Physics Project (worked problems due Day 2)
- Continue working Objective 2 in the Particle Physics Project - finish by Day 4
- Finish Objective 1 in the
- Day 2
- Lecture & activity: charge model - attraction by neutral (but asymmetric) charge distributions
- Lecture: charge by induction (not touching, two spheres), conduction (touching, one sphere), and ground-induction (grounding one side, one sphere)
- Demos: electroscope, Jacob's Ladder, attraction by a stream of water or a balloon to a wall
- HW
- Continue working Objective 2 in the Particle Physics Project - finish by Day 4
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 25 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 2 in the
- Day 3
- Lecture: electric fields & electrical permittivity - a new way of writing down Coulomb's Law for this course
- E = (1/4*pi*epsilon)q/r^2 (and, of course, F = qE)
- meaning of epsilon (electrical permittivity) - dielectric constant KAPPA as ratio of epsilon to epsilon_0 - table of dielectric constants
- Lecture: scalar fields & electric potential - energy analysis
- V = (1/4*pi*epsilon)q/r (and, of course, U = qV)
- HW
- Finish working Objective 2 in the Particle Physics Project (due Day 4)
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 25 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- For tomorrow's quiz you'll have access to the Standard Model handout passed out in class
- Finish working Objective 2 in the
- Lecture: electric fields & electrical permittivity - a new way of writing down Coulomb's Law for this course
- Day 4
- Quiz on material of Objectives 1 and 2
- HW
- Begin working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 25 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Here's a "How-to" Guide to using the Public Folders to ask your questions online
- Begin working Objective 3 in the
Week of Tuesday, January 20th
- Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
- Day 1
- BJP out of town today - you'll have Mr. O'Keefe
- Introduction to Gauss's Law
- Definition of electric flux as dot product of electric field and area vector
- Gauss's Law relating flux to enclosed charge
- Deriving Coulomb's Law from Gauss's Law
- Time permitting: Begin the first episode of Hour 1 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Begin working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 26 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 2
- Video: next episode of Hour 1 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Gauss's Law continued
- "Rules" for deciding on an appropriate Gaussian surface:
- Want E field parallel to the area vector A at every point
- Want E (by symmetry) to not vary along the Gaussian surface
- This avoids doing a messy integral
- Gauss's Law with spherical symmetry
- Linear, area, and volume charge density
- "Rules" for deciding on an appropriate Gaussian surface:
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3 & 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 26 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objectives 3 & 4 in the
- Video: next episode of Hour 1 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the
- Day 3
- Video: next episode of Hour 1 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Electric fields of simple shapes - practice with Gauss's Law
- Three main applications: spherical symmetry, cylindrical symmetry, and "pill-box" (rectangular) symmetry
- Electric field within a parallel plate capacitor
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3 & 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 26 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objectives 3 & 4 in the
- Video: next episode of Hour 1 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the
Week of Monday, January 26th
- Day 1
- Video: next episode of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Continued work with Gauss's Law
- Recap the big picture
- Recap calculating electric fields in 1, 2, and 3 dimensions using Gauss's Law
- Using the shell method to allow for varying charge density in a spherical charge distribution
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 27 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 2
- Electric potential & relationship to Electric field
- Revisit the definition of voltage from Honors Physics
- Use of integrals and derivatives to calculate voltages
- Voltage field in the vicinity of a charged sphere - voltage of a charged sphere
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 27 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Electric potential & relationship to Electric field
- Day 3
- Calculating Capacitance
- Recap the point of capacitance and why it matters
- Start with putting charge on two parts of the capacitor
- Then use Gauss's Law to calculate the electric field
- Integrate the electric field to get the electric potential difference between the two parts
- Divide out the charge you put on in Step 1 -- what remains should depend only on the geometry, and this is the electrical capacitance
- Video: begin Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 27 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Prepare for Quiz on Day 4
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Calculating Capacitance
- Day 4
- Gauss's Law Quiz
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 27 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Read pp. 26 - 29 in the Miniature Guide on Scientific Thinking (The Questioning Mind, The Logic of Science, and The Logic of Physics)
- Note: I've postponed the quiz/exam for next week (see below)
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
Week of Monday, February 2nd (short week due to visit from Fr. General)
- Day 1
- Warmup: capacitance & Gauss's Law - derive the electric field between, and capacitance of, a parallel-plate capacitor
- Charges & electric fields on and near conductors
- Sketching charges & fields -- general principles
- # of electric field lines is proportional to charge
- field lines coming from a positive charge must either (a) terminate in a negative charge; (b) terminate at a right angle to a conductor; or (c) go away to infinity (if there is a charge imbalance); the same principle holds in slightly different form for negative charges
- charge will move & collect so as to (a) minimize potential energy and (b) ensure that the electric field within a conductor is zero
- grounding something will dump out an excess of positive OR negative charge (either electrons flow out of the grounded device, or they flow into it, always neutralizing the overall charge)
- conductors which contain a net charge will "mask" the position of this net charge
- the AP exam almost ALWAYS includes a sketching problem relying on these principles
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 29 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 2
- Warmup: drawing electric field lines in the presence of charges & conductors
- Lecture: Differential form of Coulomb's Law
- introduction and math methods
- how to know when your function is 'integrable' or whether you'd need to use a computer
- this is totally separate from Gauss's law and useful for situations where the geometry isn't symmetric
- this method is what you'd probably use a computer for -- Gauss's law is more "pure"
- Practice
- Print out and study these three examples! Bring questions to class or HW party about these.
- The electric field a distance r from the center of a charged rod of length L - using calculus!!!
- Electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged ring
- Using a bunch of the above to determine the electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged disk
- Two important integrals - here's a Table of Integrals
- See #s 15 and 16 at this site
- The antiderivative of dx / (x^2 + a^2)^(3/2) is (x/a^2) / (x^2 + a^2)^(1/2)
- The antiderivative of xdx / (x^2 + a^2)^(3/2) is -1 / (x^2 + a^2)^(1/2)
- See #s 15 and 16 at this site
- Two important integrals - here's a Table of Integrals
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 29 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Print out and study the three examples from today -- bring questions to class or HW party about these.
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 3
- Warmup: Electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged ring
- Capacitance Laboratory Day 1/3
(See Objective 3)
- Just electronics kits work today
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Chapter 29 Assignment A due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
Week of Monday, February 9th
- Day 1 - BJP out sick - watched Elegant Universe
- Day 2
- Warmup: electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged disk
- Capacitance Laboratory Day 2/3
(See Objective 3)
- We'll continue with our table-top work, this time with the capacitors in the kits
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project due Day 2 of next week
- MasteringPhysics Mixed Electrostatics Review due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 3
- Quiz on differential form of Coulomb's Law & capacitance
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project due Day 2 of next week
- MasteringPhysics Mixed Electrostatics Review due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 4
- Capacitance Laboratory Day 3/3
(See Objective 3)
- Today we'll move into the laboratory and use the power supplies and resistors found therein
- Here's the instructions & sheet for today
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project due Day 2 of next week
- MasteringPhysics Mixed Electrostatics Review due Day 1 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Capacitance Laboratory Day 3/3
(See Objective 3)
Week of Monday, February 16th
- Presidents Day -- no school monday
- Day 1
- Review / work day / workbooks
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 4 in the Particle Physics Project due Day 2
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 2
- Exam (Step 3 - Part 1) on Electrostatics
(all material so far in this unit)
- Note that this is the first of three Step 3 exams on Electrostatics -- so you will lock your grade (or not) with the average of these three exams
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Begin working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Basic Electric Circuits due Day 4 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Exam (Step 3 - Part 1) on Electrostatics
(all material so far in this unit)
- Day 3
- Review of electric circuits
- Kirchhoff's Rules
- Ohm's Law
- Electrical power dissipation
- Water analogy
- PhET: Circuit Construction Set (AC & DC)
- Solving the differential equation for RC circuits
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Basic Electric Circuits due Day 4 of next week
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Review of electric circuits
Week of Monday, February 23rd
- Day 1
- Exam (Step 3 - Part 2) on Electrostatics
(all material so far in this unit)
- Note that this is the second of three Step 3 exams on Electrostatics -- so you will lock your grade (or not) with the average of these exams
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Basic Electric Circuits due Day 4
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Exam (Step 3 - Part 2) on Electrostatics
(all material so far in this unit)
- Day 2
- BJP on retreat
- Video: Mechanical Universe
... and Beyond
- Disk 7 - Title 4 - Chapter 4 from Episode 30: "Potential & Capacitance" (15:15 through 20:00)
- Disk 8 - Title 1 - Chapter 2 from Episode 31: "Voltage, Energy, and Force" (skip to 6:10 through 10:50)
- Disk 8 - Title 2 - Chapter 2 from Episode 32: "The Electric Battery (1:00 through 4:34)
- Disk 8 - Title 4 - Chapter 4 from Episode 33: "Electric Circuits" (12:12 through 25:20)
- Worksheet and key
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Basic Electric Circuits due Day 4
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 3
- Warmup: review problem with complex circuits using Kirchhoff's rules and involving capacitors
- Lecture: Galvanometers -- ammeters (for current) and voltmeters (for voltage) -- how do avoid destroying them, how they are similar to each other and how they are different -- why ammeters must ALWAYS be placed in series with a resistor, and why voltmeters must ALWAYS be placed in parallel with a resistor.
- In-class activity: using ammeters and voltmeters with our circuit kits
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics Basic Electric Circuits due Day 4
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
- Day 4
- Quiz (Step 2) on Electric Circuits
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue working Objective 5 in the Particle Physics Project
- MasteringPhysics RC circuits due Day 1
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
Week of Monday, March 2nd
- Monday - Activity Schedule
- Lab activity: RC circuits, fitting the exponential function to determine the RC time constant -- verifying that capacitors in SERIES add like resistors in PARALLEL (1/C = 1/C1 + 1/C2) and that capacitors in PARALLEL add like resistors in SERIES (C = C1 + C2) ...
- Grading note: turn in a SHORT writeup that includes all the exponential graphs you measured & the fit curves for them. BRIEFLY show how you calculated the capacitance from the measured graph AND from your circuit diagram and the none capacitances of the capacitors. Calculate a percent error each time. Turn this in individually (but you can use the same graphs) for a Step 2 assessment in Unit 6 (laboratory methods) on or before Monday March 9.
- HW
- prepare for midterm exam (see notes below)
- Lab activity: RC circuits, fitting the exponential function to determine the RC time constant -- verifying that capacitors in SERIES add like resistors in PARALLEL (1/C = 1/C1 + 1/C2) and that capacitors in PARALLEL add like resistors in SERIES (C = C1 + C2) ...
- Tuesday
- Midterm Exams
- HW
- none
- Wednesday
- Midterm Exams
- Your midterm exam will consist of a Exam (Step 3 - Part 3) on Electrostatics and an Exam (Step 3) on Electric Circuits, including RC circuits and an Exam (Step 3) on Lab Methods, referring specifically to Circuits
- HW
- none - though you might want to continue reading the Trouble With Physics so it doesn't all pile up at Spring Break - I'll expect you to be finished with the book by the end of Spring Break so we can move on with the Particle Physics project.
- Midterm Exams
- Thursday - Teacher Inservice
- Friday - Quarter Break
Week of Monday, March 9th
- Day 1
- Pass back midterm exams - note on grading (I did see improvement, so first two parts of Electrostatics exam were moved to Step 2 - we're headed towards a pass rate of about 50% in E&M without significant improvement in understanding by the time of the final exam)
- Lecture:
- brief comment on capacitors -- charge does not flow THROUGH a capacitor (current is zero through it)
- Magnetostatics & magnetic fields - recap material from honors physics
- Common fields (long straight wire, single ring, solenoid)
- Demos: magnetic liquid, cathode ray tube & magnet
- Begin working Objective 6 in the Particle Physics Project (magnetism)
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Begin MasteringPhysics: Magnetism A due Friday 3/13 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 2
- Continued review
- Force on a wire (Demo: kicking wire)
- Centripetal forces, and mass spectrometers
- Spiraling in a field (pitch)
- Magnetic permeability -- theoretical motivation, what this means for "mu-metals" (bunching field lines)
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism A due Friday 3/13 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Continued review
- Day 3
- Ampere's Law - magnetic equivalent of Gauss's Law
- Please bring the workbook pages for the Magnetism chapter to class on Day 4
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism A due Friday 3/13 @ 9 AM
- Please bring the workbook pages for the Magnetism chapter to class on Day 4
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 4
- Lab
/ workbook
- Details TBA
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism A due Friday 3/13 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Lab
/ workbook
Week of Monday, March 16th
- Day 1
- Quiz on Magnetism
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism B due Sunday 3/22 @ 9 PM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 2
- Law of Biot-Savart -- this is the magnetism version of Differential Form of Coulomb's Law
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism B due Sunday 3/22 @ 9 PM
- Bring workbooks Day 3 & Day 4
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 3
- Magnetism practice problems
- 2005-06 Magnetism Exam (for instance)
- Workbook
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism B due Sunday 3/22 @ 9 PM
- Bring workbooks Day 3 & Day 4
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Magnetism practice problems
- Day 4
- Video: begin Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Magnetism practice problems
- Workbook
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetism B due Sunday 3/22 @ 9 PM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Video: begin Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the
Week of Monday, March 23rd
- Day 1
- Exam on Magnetism
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction A due Sunday 3/29 @ 9 PM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 2
- Video: continue Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Magnetic induction (mutual)
- Review material from honors physics -- basic problems
- Demo: Faraday's Electromagnetic Induction Lab
- Demo: transformer using toroid
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction A due Sunday 3/29 @ 9 PM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Video: continue Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the
- Day 3
- Warmup: PhysH level induction problem
- Video: continue Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- Magnetic induction (mutual)
- Calculus-based problems
- Motional EMF
- Demo: Tesla Coil (large)
- Maxwell's Equations written down for the first time
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction A due Sunday 3/29 @ 9 PM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 4
- Warmup: guillotine problem (terminal velocity - ha!)
- Maxwell's Equations written down for the first time
- Magnetic SELF-induction - inductors as circuit elements
- V = - L (dI/dt)
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction A due Sunday 3/29 @ 9 PM
- Begin MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction B due Friday 4/3 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
Week of Monday, March 30th
- Day 1
- Magnetic SELF-induction & inductors continued
- LR, LC, and LRC Circuits
- PhET: AC Circuit Construction Set
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction B due Friday 4/3 @ 9 AM
- See instructions for EXAM on Day 2 -- note that this is a RETAKE of a previous exam, and includes NO induction material
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 2
- 2nd Chance Exam on Magnetism with NO INDUCTION
- If the class performs substantially better than the last one, I'm willing to consider moving the last exam to a Step 2 (as we did with a previous unit)
- Note that this exam is on the Lorentz force law, Ampere's Law, Biot-Savart, and basic magnetic fields of things like solenoids, rings, and toroids, but includes no induction material
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction B due Friday 4/3 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- 2nd Chance Exam on Magnetism with NO INDUCTION
- Day 3
- Video: finish Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project)
- LR & LC circuits continued
- Energy stored in capacitors and inductors
- Maxwell's Equations
- Displacement Current
- Maxwell's addition to Ampere's Laws
- Maxwell's equations conceptually
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project - objectives 5 & 6 due before Spring Break
- Continue MasteringPhysics: Magnetic Induction B due Friday 4/3 @ 9 AM
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Video: finish Hour 2 of the Elegant Universe (as per Objective 3 in the
- Day 4
- Quiz on Electromagnetic Induction
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project - objectives 5 & 6 due before Spring Break
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
Week of Monday, April 6th
- Day 1
- Diagnostic Exam (not for grade)
- HW
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the Particle Physics Project - objectives 5 & 6 due before Spring Break
- Continue working Objectives 3, 5 & 6 in the
- Day 2
- Comprehensive Exam on Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction (Unit 5, Step 3)
- HW
- Continue working Objective 3 in the Particle Physics Project - please finish reading The Trouble With Physics by the end of your break
- Continue working Objective 3 in the
Spring Break!!!!
Week of Monday, April 20th
- Day 1
- Reading Quiz - The Trouble with Physics
- Final exam review & prep
- How to print out & use flashcards in the Test Prep site
- Suggestions for using the 2004 MC exam as practice (save it and take it as a TIMED exam next weekend!)
- Past performance (in Test Prep site)
- Plans for the next three weeks
- HW
- Study for next week's final exam
- Day 2
- Brief lecture: Using calculus to find the rotational inertia & center of mass of an object
- Final exam review & prep
- BJP will post a real AP Physics exam FR problem (Mechanics)
- 15 minutes to work on it
- Peer-grading using the supplied solution key
- HW
- Study for next week's final exam
- Day 3
- Brief lecture: self-evaluation of student achievement of course objectives
- Final exam review & prep
- BJP will post a real AP Physics exam FR problem (Mechanics)
- 15 minutes to work on it
- Peer-grading using the supplied solution key
- HW
- Study for next week's final exam
- Day 4
- Brief lecture: using the Table of Information (MC and FR) and Equation Sheets (FR only) , "gaming" the multiple choice and free response portions of the exams
- Final exam review & prep
- BJP will post a real AP Physics exam FR problem (Mechanics OR E&M)
- 15 minutes to work on it
- Peer-grading using the supplied solution key
- HW
- Study for next week's final exam
- Take the 2004 MC Mechanics exam (in Test Prep site) as a practice exam over the weekend!
Week of Monday, April 27th
- Day 1
- Mechanics Multiple-Choice Final Exam
- Day 2
- Mechanics Free-Response Final Exam
- HW: Take the 2004 MC E&M exam (in Test Prep site) as a practice exam over the weekend!
- Day 3
- Electricity & Magnetism Multiple-Choice Final Exam
- Day 4
- Electricity & Magnetism Free-Response Final Exam
Week of Monday, May 4th - AP EXAMS THIS WEEK
- Day 1
- Most seniors taking AP US Gov & Politics exam Mon morning
- HW
- Prepare for AP Physics C exam!
- Day 2
- Some seniors taking AP Computer Science exam Tue morning
- Grading FR portion of last week's exam
- HW
- Prepare for AP Physics C exam!
- Day 3
- Most seniors taking AP Calculus exam Wed morning
- HW
- Prepare for AP Physics C exam!
- Day 4
- Some seniors taking English Literature exam Thu morning
- Video: The Elegant Universe
- HW
- Prepare for AP Physics C exam!
Week of Monday, May 11th - AP EXAMS THIS WEEK
- Day 1
- No class meeting on Monday because....
- AP Physics Exam Monday afternoon
- Day 2
- Special topics
- The Cosmic Voyage
- Day 3
- Weird day! =)
Week of Monday, May 18th
- Days 1 & 3 - no seniors / no class
- Day 2
- Activity Schedule
- Beach walk!