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O'Keefe and Philhour

"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." - Mark Van Doren

2009-10 Physics Honors - First Semester Course Weblog

Most recent update: December 14, 2009 3:13 PM

 

 

  • Week of Monday, August 31 - Nuclear Physics & Radioactivity
    • Essential Questions
      • How are mass and energy related?
      • How does the sun shine? How do nuclear weapons work? How do nuclear reactors work?
      • Can science harness the power unleashed by study of the nucleus without risking the destruction of civilization?
      • How do we know how old the Earth is? If we discover an organism's remains, how do we know how long ago it died?
    • Day 1
      • Basic introduction to the Standard Model of Particle Physics & the nature of the course
      • Physics as the study of the composition & behavior of the universe
        • The Standard Model
          • Hierarchy of Levels: Particle, Atom, Molecule
          • Structure of Atom
          • Fundamental Particles
        • Four Fundamental Interactions / Forces
          • Gravity, Electromagnetism, Weak, & Strong
      • HW
        • Go on a Particle Adventure!
        • Bring money to class to purchase your license for Mastering Physics...$20 cash or check (made out to SI Bookstore)
        • 4th Period - remember to complete your address book for the magazine drive (donuts for everyone if you do)
    • Day 2
      • MasteringPhysics -- how to use it and what it is
      • Physics as the study of energy & motion
        • units of energy & motion
        • the notion of a "maximum speed" (the speed light and all massless particles happen to travel at)
        • types of energy: kinetic, potential (gravitational, nuclear, spring, chemical, ...), radiative
        • conservation of energy
        • conversion of energy between types through work, heat, radiation
      • Mass
        • review from chemistry - conservation of mass only in chemical reactions (meaning reactions involving the sharing & exchange of electrons), not in nuclear reactions
        • mass as a form of energy: E=mc^2
        • Nuclear Reactions - why a helium nucleus weighs slightly less than four hydrogen nuclei
      • HW
        • Introduction Assignment on MasteringPhysics - begin today!
          • SIPHYSICSHONORS is the Course ID
          • Instructions are on the one-sheet you'll purchase in class - walk through these and then work the introductory assignment. Talk to us on the public folder with any questions, concerns, or frustrations
        • 4th Period - remember to complete your address book for the magazine drive (donuts for everyone if you do)
    • Day 3
      • Nuclear Reactions
      • HW
        • Begin Nuclear Physics Assignment on MasteringPhysics (note that it's due Monday so if we didn't get through everything today we will tomorrow)
        • Read first page of Ch 21 in PPB
        • Optionally -- if you're interested -- watch The Lives of Stars from the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan. This television series is a bit over-the-top and pretty dated HOWEVER it is a fantastic survey of ALL the material of this unit. Get together with some friends to watch it together! It's about an hour in length. Alpha Decay
    • Day 4
      • Work warmup problem involving the rate of nuclear reactions in the Sun (~20 min)
      • Introduce Nuclear War Project
      • Finish Decay (Alpha, Beta, Gamma)
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics
        • Skim over the Nuclear War Project and write the due date in your planner
        • Read about radium jaw (you'll like this)
        • Optionally -- if you're interested -- watch The Lives of Stars from the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan. This television series is a bit over-the-top and pretty dated HOWEVER it is a fantastic survey of ALL the material of this unit. Get together with some friends to watch it together! It's about an hour in length.

  • Week of Monday, September 7
    • Monday
      • Holiday - Labor Day
    • Day 1 - Activity Schedule
    • Day 2 - Activity Schedule
    • Day 3 - Activity Schedule
      • Quiz 1.1
      • HW
        • Make some progress on the Nuclear War Project
        • Optionally -- if you're interested -- watch The Lives of Stars from the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan. This television series is a bit over-the-top and pretty dated HOWEVER it is a fantastic survey of ALL the material of this unit on radioactivity. Get together with some friends to watch it together! It's about an hour in length.
      • Thursday Night
      • Back to School Night
    • Friday
      • Mass of the Holy Spirit

 

 

  • Week of Monday, September 14
    • Day 1
      • We're going to diverge this week since Dr. Philhour's daughter was just born and Mr. O'Keefe is away on retreat.
      • BJP's Classes (3rd & 6th)
      • AOK's Classes (2nd & 4th)
        • Note: if you received a quiz score of 4.0, you do not need to turn in corrections (it's automatic). If you received a score above 3.0, turn in corrections written directly on the test itself; if you received a score beneath 3.0, please write up corrections on a separate piece of paper and staple to the original. If you received a score beneath 2.0, it is STRONGLY recommended that you meet with a TA or teacher. Corrections for this quiz are due Day 4
        • Warmup: simple kinetic energy problem
        • PhET: Energy Skate Park
        • Conceptual Worksheets Energy Conservation -- we'll spread these through the week! No fair peeking =)
        • Note: we'll have you do some HW in the PPB -- remember that if you don't remember to bring it home, you can always just go to the website to find the question (see HW below)
        • Work and Force -- the relationship between them and a new definition for the Joule (casual introduction to the idea of a force as a push or pull)
        • Energy Conservation -- kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy
          • Roller-coaster type conservation problems
          • Energy Bar Graphs - we'll require you to do these for energy problems as a way to guide your thinking
          • U_g = m g h -- note arbitrariness of the point from which you measure h -- we'll come back to this
          • K = 1/2 m v^2
        • HW
    • Day 2
      • BJP's Classes (3rd & 6th)
        • Complete in-class worksheet on energy & conservation; turn it in to the inbox at the end of class
        • HW
      • AOK's Classes (2nd & 4th)
        • Warmup: HW Review
        • Energy Conservation -- kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy continued
        • Demo: drop a book on a range finder and measure K and U at two points: show sum is conserved
        • Pendulum Problems -- using trig to figure out the height of the pendulum in its swing
        • HW
    • Day 3
    • Day 4
      • All Classes
      • Complete practice exam on Units & Energy Conservation ( .doc and .pdf) the Key .pdf
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics -- note for BJP's classes -- just do your best on these, but don't worry about getting full credit. We still need to do this stuff in class =)
        • Make some progress on the Nuclear War Project

 

  • Week of Monday, September 21
    • Day 1
    • Day 2
      • BJP's Classes (3rd & 6th)
        • Recap energy conservation (PPB Ch 2)
        • Energy "Bar Graphs"
        • Verify conservation of energy using range finder
      • AOK's Classes (2nd & 4th)
        • Introduce next Unit on Kinetmatics
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics
        • Optionally -- if you're interested -- watch The Lives of Stars from the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan. This television series is a bit over-the-top and pretty dated HOWEVER it is a fantastic survey of ALL the material of this unit on radioactivity. Get together with some friends to watch it together! It's about an hour in length.
        • Nuclear War Project
    • Day 3
      • Big idea: Kinematics
        • What is a ‘dimension’ – how can we tell we live in three dimensions? How do the dimensions communicate with each other? Is time a dimension?
        • How do we understand motion in our universe? How is the “Galilean” idea of motion – concentrating on position, velocity, acceleration, and important acts of observation & measurement – better than the one our naïve experience has taught us?
        • Why is it that velocity is an arbitrary concept (we can't "feel" our motion through space, for instance) but acceleration is not (we can feel accelerations!)
      • BJP's classes: brief review of location of inbox/outbox, use of course weblog & public folders, and Nuclear War Project (as needed)
      • Introduction to kinematics in 1D
        • instants & intervals; distance & displacement; speed & velocity; acceleration; acceleration g due to gravity; signs (+/-) as indicating direction rather than magnitude
        • In-Class PPB Ch 3 -- #s 1, 2, 3, 5, 10a/c (if not completed in class, finish as weekend homework)
        • Optional Practice Sheets
      • HW
    • Day 4
      • Introduce "Big 3" kinematic equations for x and y motion
      • In-Class PPB Ch 3 -- #s13, 17 (if not completed in class, finish as weekend homework)
      • Quiz 2.1 - Conservation of Energy
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics
        • PPB Ch 3 -- check out web resources
        • Finish in-class work from today & yesterday: PPB Ch 3 -- #s 1, 2, 3, 5, 10a/c, 13, 17 -- be sure to check out the PUBLIC FOLDER (from within your e-mail account) or the SI Physics FACEBOOK GROUP if you are looking for help with these. If you ask for help, be explicit about the chapter and problem number so we know how to help.
        • Nuclear War Project - note that there is a LOT of news on the subject of proliferation this weekend with respect to Iran (just check out CNN or basically any news source)
        • Optionally -- if you're interested -- watch The Lives of Stars from the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan.

 

  • Week of Monday, September 28
    • Day 1
      • Practice problems!!!
      • Review: Big 3 problems in x & y directions
      • Graphing x, v, & a
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics due Monday morning
        • Learn to use the Moving Man (PhET Simulation) -- in particular, try both (a) moving the man around and seeing (and even predicting) what types of position vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time graphs should result; and (b) enter a velocity or acceleration in directly (by typing into the numerical box) and seeing what type of motion & graphs result.
        • Feel like you need a more careful written explanation of these ideas?
          • Check out the Physics Classroom in general, then specifically
            • The section in the tutorial on 1-D Kinematics
            • But be sure to explore around this entire website over the course of the 1st semester -- it's basically an alternative, free, online textbook for everything we do!
    • Day 2
      • Practice problems!!!
      • Review: x-t, v-t, & a-t graphs
      • Demonstrate use of Excel program for generating x(t) and v(t) graphs (see PPB Ch 3 to download)
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics due Monday morning
        • Check out this EXCEL FILE for generating x(t) and v(t) graphs -- note: if you can't run it because you have an older version of Excel, go to PPB Ch 3 online
        • Feel like you need a more careful written explanation of these ideas?
          • Check out the Physics Classroom in general, then specifically
            • The section in the tutorial on 1-D Kinematics
            • But be sure to explore around this entire website over the course of the 1st semester -- it's basically an alternative, free, online textbook for everything we do!
    • Day 3
      • Big Three practice problems!!!
      • HW
    • Day 4

  • Week of Monday, October 5
    • Day 1
      • [15 min intro] Introduce Projectile Motion: PPB Ch 4
        • How the two directions (x and y) are independent from one another
        • Demo: Shot vs. Dropped Ball
        • Demo: Moving Shot Ball ("James Bond")
      • Quiz 3.1 - Kinematics (one dimension - Ch 3)
      • HW
    • Day 2
      • Big idea: motion in the horizontal and vertical directions are independent
      • 3rd and 6th periods warmup: Armies of Minas Morgul problem
      • Projectile Motion - mathematics and predictions
        • Horizontal launch problems
        • Angled launch problems
      • PPB Ch 4 practice problems
        • #s 13, 8, 7, 24
      • HW
        • Work PPB Ch 4 # 26 (this is practice for the lab on Day 1 after midterm)
        • MasteringPhysics - Projectile motion due Sunday eve
        • Nuclear War Project due Friday at 10:00 PM to turnitin.com
          • if you don't already have one, set up an account with turnitin.com
            • See submission instructions below on Day 4
          • Now's a good time to check your file size to make sure it isn't above the 10 MB limit for turnitin. We can help you reduce this filesize.
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: conceptual development sheet (page 4)
      • PPB Ch 4 practice problems
        • #s 13, 8, 7, 24, 27, 25
      • Brief introduction to the use of the photogates for the lab when we return after midterms
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Projectile motion due Sunday eve
        • Nuclear War Project due Friday at 10:00 PM to turnitin.com
          • Now's a good time to check your file size to make sure it isn't above the 10 MB limit for turnitin. We can help you reduce this filesize.
    • Day 4
      • Demo: Shoot the Monkey! (during quiz)
      • Quiz 3.2 - Projectile Motion (two dimensions - Ch 4)
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Projectile motion due Sunday eve
        • Here are some practice midterm exams with keys
          • 2008-09 PhysH First Semester Midterm Exam ( .pdf, .doc ) and the Exam Key ( .pdf, .doc)
          • 2007-08 PhysH First Semester Midterm Exam ( .pdf, .doc ) and the Exam Key ( .pdf, .doc)
          • REMEMBER: there are plenty more practice tests available for Chapters 2 through 4 on the People's Physics Book site, including tests from summer (regular) physics which are at slightly lower level (but still useful!)
        • Friday 10:00 PM - Submit Nuclear War Project to turnitin.com
          • Tutorial for Submission
          • YOU DO NOT NEED TO SEND A COPY BY EMAIL TO US - and note that we *do* get a copy through turnitin of your original document, so it is *ok* that it removes the formatting & images when it asks you to check. Don't worry =) we'll get the document. It just removes the formatting etc. to check for plagiarism.
          • Don't wait until the last minute -- submission takes *time* so begin your submission EARLY.
          • If your file size exceeds the 10 MB limit, it is likely due to images you have inserted into the document. You can reduce the file size of these images to make them smaller (note that changing the file size is NOT the same thing as changing the image size -- in other words, you can make the image take up less MEMORY without making it physically smaller). The simplest way to change the memory or file size for a photo on a Windows machine or a Mac is to open the files and take screenshots, and then paste the screenshots into the document in place of the original image. Screenshots are almost always below 1 MB
            • To take a screenshot in Windows, press "Print Screen" in the top right corner of your keyboard. This stores an image of your screen on the clipboard, so you can click "paste" inside your document and the screenshot will appear. Then you can crop it to make it the size you need. (There is also a snipping tool available in Vista under Accessories.)
            • To take a screenshot on Macs, press "Shift + Command + 4" and you can draw a box around the part of the screen you want to take a picture of. The picture will be saved to your desktop so you can insert it into your document.
            • If you want more detailed instructions, check out this tutorial

 

 

  • Week of Monday, October 12
    • Monday
      • 2nd & 3rd - Comprehensive EXAM
        • Step 3 for Energy Conservation (Ch 2), 1-D Motion (Ch 3), and 2-D Motion (Ch 4)
      • HW
    • Tuesday
      • 4th & 6th - Comprehensive EXAM
        • Step 3 for Energy Conservation (Ch 2), 1-D Motion (Ch 3), and 2-D Motion (Ch 4)
      • HW
    • Wednesday
      • No class, PSAT & Freshman Retreat
    • Thursday
      • No class, Teacher Inservice
    • Friday
      • No class, Quarter Break

 

 

 

  • Week of Monday, October 19
    • Day 1
      • Guiding questions
        • How can we say what is moving and what is not? How can we feel that we are not moving, but at the same time know we are rotating about the Earth, orbiting the Sun, and flying through the Milky Way galaxy? Is there an "absolute" frame of reference from which we measure all motion?
        • Why do things fall? Why do only some things break when they hit the ground? How can a bird fly? How does my heart pump blood through my veins?
        • Are Newton’s Laws “right” in the sense that they actually exist in the universe, or are they just a useful description? Is there such a thing as physical law, or physical truth?
      • Introduce Newtonian mechanics
        • Newton's Three Laws
          • First Law: in the absence of a net (unbalanced) force, an object will either stay at rest or continue in straight line motion at constant speed forever and ever
          • Second Law: acceleration is net force over mass. a = F / m ... sometimes this is written F = ma.
          • Third Law: all forces are intrinsically mutual. They always come in pairs. The pair is called a "force pair." The two forces in a force pair act on TWO DIFFERENT OBJECTS. The two forces are of the same type (both are gravity, or both are contact forces, or both are air resistance, or ...). The two forces are equal in magnitude (same # of Newtons) but OPPOSITE in direction. (Unless the direction is changed by a pulley.)
        • In order to predict motion, we must analyze forces.
        • If forces are balanced, the net force must equal zero. That's called equilibrium. Equilibrium can either be static (at rest) or dynamic (moving).
        • Forces add together like vectors, and vectors at an angle need to be broken into horizontal and vertical components before addition
      • HW
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
      • Lab: Marble in the cup (bullseye) lab
        • Rules: no practicing! All measurements and calculations!!!
          • All attempts must be witnessed by your teacher
          • Trivial attempts (for instance, having the ramp be exceptionally shallow so that the marble just drops off the edge of the table) are discouraged
          • The ramp angle will be reset by the teacher after every attempt (sorry -- this prevents "practicing")
          • You only get one shot at the graduated cylinder, but two shots at the green cup
          • Make the green cup on the first attempt: 3.0 ... go on to make the graduated cylinder on the first attempt: 4.0
          • Miss the green cup on the first attempt, but go on to make it on the
            second attempt: 2.5 ... then go on to make the graduated cylinder on
            the first attempt: 3.5
          • Miss the green cup on two attempts: 1.0 ... then go on to make the
            graduated cylinder on the first attempt: 2.0
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws A due Sunday eve
        • Prepare for "retake" of kinematics exam on Day 4
    • Day 4

  • Week of Monday, October 26
    • Day 1
      • Recap Newton's Laws
      • Whiteboard warmup: solving for the y and x components of acceleration given an array of forces
      • Inclined planes & vector resultants -- why things slide down ramps
      • Parallelogram law for adding vectors -- adding by components
      • Normal force and tension force have no 'equation' -- they always respond to the situation at hand due to the intrinsic flexibility of molecular bonds
      • Practice problems involving normal forces, tensions, etc. with angles -- breaking forces into components
        • 3rd & 6th periods: Conceptual Worksheet 5-3
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws B due Sunday eve
        • 3rd & 6th periods: finish CW 5-3 from today & turn in Day 2
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: #s 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 29, 30
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: equilibrium problems involving two tension forces and a hanging picture
      • In-class lab activity: using the force-plates to confirm equilibrium arises in a vector balance of forces
        • Turn in on Day 4 if you don't finish in class
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws B due Sunday eve
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: #s 32, 38, 45
        • Continue work on force-plate activity as needed -- turn in Day 4
    • Day 3
      • Lab: Fan carts! (2nd step) Measure the acceleration and mass of your cart. Increase the mass of the cart by adding a weight, and see how the acceleration changes. Vary the angle and see how the force changes.
        • FORMAL writeup
        • Verifying Newton's 2nd Law and the Force Component Concept (.doc, .pdf)
        • Rubric/guide to the Scientific Method for SI students: (.pptx, .pdf) -- NOTE THAT THIS GUIDE is 4 PAGES in length, so be sure to go through all four (we'll just use the first for grading)
        • Please do individual writeups, but you can share your raw data
        • Check out your data early and, if you need, come back into the lab room during open times to rework what is needed
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws B due Sunday eve
        • Work on lab some outside of class -- we'll finish it up in class next week
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: #s 46, 48
        • Continue work on force-plate activity as needed -- turn in Day 4
    • Day 4
      • Quiz 4.1 on Newton's Laws
      • HW
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws B due Sunday eve
        • Work on lab some outside of class -- we'll finish it up in class next week
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: # 14 (tricky!)

 

  • Week of Monday, November 2
    • Day 1
      • Warmup: conceptual handout
      • Lecture: Frictional forces
        • Demo: using force probes to investigate static and kinetic friction
        • Why it is the normal force that matters, not the weight, when determining friction (common conceptual block)?
      • Activity: practice problems (see below)
      • HW:
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: #s 15, 21, 22, 31, 33 (two pages), 39
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws C due Sunday eve
        • Work on lab some outside of class -- we'll finish it up in class Day 3
    • Day 2
      • Work tough practice problems on Newton's Laws in class
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws C due Sunday eve
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- we'll finish it up in class Day 3
    • Day 3
      • Lab: Fan carts! Continued
        • 3rd & 6th periods: due to technical difficulties we're going to skip the ANGLE portion of the lab so we can really focus in on the 2nd law a = F_net/m relationship.
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws C due Sunday eve
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- writeup due next week
    • Day 4
      • 2nd & 4th periods: Quiz 4.2 on Newton's Laws
      • 3rd & 6th periods: spring forces / spring force activity / practice problems
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws C due Sunday eve
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- writeup due next week

  • Week of Monday, November 9
    • Day 1
      • 3rd & 6th periods: Quiz 4.2 on Newton's Laws
      • 2nd & 4th periods:
        • spring forces / spring force activity / practice problems
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws D due Sunday eve
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- writeup due Friday
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: Conceptual handout for 3rd Law
      • Two-body problems & Newton's 3rd Law
      • Stacked book problems
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws D due Sunday eve
        • Recommended practice problems from PPB Ch 5: #s 34 & 47
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- writeup due Friday
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Review Newton's Laws
      • Cartoon Laws of Physics
        • Videos: Road Runner & Coyote physics!
      • Tough 3rd Law & two-body problems -- Pulley problems
      • Time permitting: In-Class practice problems: PPB Ch 5: #s 16, 28, 41, 43
      • HW:
        • MasteringPhysics - Newton's Laws D due Sunday eve
        • Work on fan cart lab some outside of class -- writeup due Friday
    • Day 4
      • AOK's classes: Pulley Problems: PPB Ch 5: #s 28 & 43
      • Quiz 4.3 - Newton's Laws (emphasis on 3rd Law)
      • HW:
        • Study for Exam on Day 1

 

  • Week of Monday, November 16
    • Day 1
      • All periods: Exam 4.3 - Newton's Laws
      • Retreatants: we'll offer a makeup exam outside of class later in the week -- keep your eyes peeled
      • HW:
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: conceptual worksheet
      • Newton's Law of Gravity
        • Everything gravitates -- mathematically, everything seems to gravitate from its center of mass (typically the center of the object, for uniform objects)
        • How we get 'g' from GM/R^2
        • 'g' on other planets
      • Time permitting: Newton's Law of gravity as a Centripetal Force
        • Conceptual drawing with vectors to find direction of acceleration vector
      • HW:
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: conceptual worksheet
      • Centripetal as a synonym for 'center-pointing' -- the term 'centripetal' does NOT refer to a NEW force, its a way of describing the DIRECTION of a NET force
        • ball on a string swung vertically - tension and gravity acting in the same, or opposite directions -- describing the NET force as centripetal
      • Centripetal Forces
        • Tension, Friction, Normal Force
          • Ant on a record player (friction)
          • Turning on a flat road (friction)
          • Driving over a hill (normal & gravity)
          • Driving through a valley (normal & gravity)
      • HW:
    • Day 4

 

  • Week of Monday, November 23
    • Day 1
      • Quiz 4.4 - Newton's Laws with Centripetal Motion
      • HW:
        • Tomorrow we're going to talk about Einstein's theory of relativity, which he developed in two stages
          • Special relativity is "special" because it deals with motion at constant speed without acceleration
          • General relativity is "general" because it includes acceleration and, therefore, includes gravity. In fact, it's often called Einstein's theory of gravity, which is different that Newton's theory of gravity that we learned in class.
          • Check out these two short videos from Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe":
            • Newton's Embarassing Secret
            • A New Picture of Gravity (you only need to watch about half of this one - you can stop when they get to Electricity & Magnetism)
    • Day 2
    • Wednesday
      • Holiday
    • Thursday
      • Holiday - Happy Thanksgiving!
    • Friday
      • Holiday

 

  • Week of Monday, November 30
    • Day 1
      • New unit: Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch 10) & Conservation Laws (Ch 8)
      • Centripetal Motion as Harmonic Motion
        • Units of Hz
        • Relationship of period to frequency
        • Circular motion "seen from side" as harmonic motion
      • Simple Harmonic Motion with Pendula
        • Activity: measuring the periods of pendula of different length & analyzing the data
        • 3rd and 6th Period Data and Graphs (.pdf, .xlsx)
      • HW
        • Reteaching worksheet - conceptual (.doc, .pdf) -- note key on last page
        • MasteringPhysics - Simple Harmonic Motion due Sunday
        • Optional PPB Ch 10 problem #s 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: pendulum on Mars (practice finding g then use to predict period of T = 0.5-sec grandfather clock on Earth)
      • Demo: mass hanging on a spring -- use rangefinder to justify sine/cosine equations of motion & find period -- using Logger Pro to fit a sine or cosine function
      • Equations of motion sin/cosine
      • Simple Harmonic Motion with Mass-Spring systems
      • Energy Conservation with Spring Potential
      • HW
        • Reteaching worksheet - conceptual (.doc, .pdf) -- note key on last page
        • MasteringPhysics - Simple Harmonic Motion due Sunday
        • Optional PPB Ch 10 problem #s 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12
    • Day 3
      • Warmup Problems SHM (.pdf & .doc) -- turn in as Step 1 or turn in on Day 4 if needed
      • Lab Activity : Mass hanging on a spring -- goals below -- note we are not expecting a lab report (like with the Fan Cart lab) -- just a quick writeup
        • Use a range-finder to measure the x(t) and v(t) of a mass hanging from and bouncing on a spring; fit functions to these with the analyze-curve fit capability of Logger Pro
        • Show that, at a sampling of times, the slope of the x(t) graph matches the value of the v(t) graph -- as a way to practice with kinematics
        • Verify the relationship between spring constant, mass, and frequency/period of motion of a mass hanging on a spring
          • We will NOT be using the typical lab rubric -- what we're going to do is ask you to do a short, one or two page writeup that includes printouts of your screen captures from Logger Pro (you do not have to type it but it should be neat and well-organized)
          • Graded at Step 2
      • HW
        • Prepare for exam on Day 4 -- note this is on OLDER material, not the material of this week
          • Note that there are lots of practice problems with keys (in the form of old tests) at the People's Physics Book Ch 6
        • Reteaching worksheet - conceptual (.doc, .pdf) -- note key on last page
        • MasteringPhysics - Simple Harmonic Motion due Sunday
        • Work on lab writeups
    • Day 4
      • Exam: Newton's Laws and Centripetal Motion (graded in both units at Step 3)
      • HW:

 

  • Week of Monday, December 7
    • Day 1
      • Finish worksheet on SHM (.pdf & .doc) -- turn in as Step 1
      • Emergency Reteaching
        • We have eliminated Unit 6 in favor of a week of intensive review of Newton's Laws
        • Newton's Three Laws - one-dimensional problems, including kinematics - lecture & practice probs
          • Problem 1: vertical elevator problem, questions about tension, acceleration, constant speed, and some practice kinematics
          • Problem 2: skidding to a halt before hitting a cat -- using an FBD to analyze a problem, calculating the acceleration, and using kinematics to make a judgment call (did we hit the cat?)
      • HW
        • Work on lab writeup
        • Under exam conditions, take this 2006-07 Newton's Laws Exam Part 2 of 2 ( .pdf, .doc) and grade yourself with this Exam Key ( .pdf, .doc) -- turn in your graded exam for completion credit on Day 2 -- you should give yourself a grade on a 4 point scale
    • Day 2
      • Emergency Reteaching
        • Newton's Three Laws -- two body problems (non-centripetal), including kinematics - lecture & practice probs
      • HW
        • Work on lab writeup due Monday
        • Under exam conditions, take this 2007-08 Newton's Laws Exam Part 2 of 2 ( .pdf, .doc) and the Exam Key ( .pdf, .doc) -- turn in your graded exam for completion credit on Day 3 -- you should give yourself a grade on a 4 point scale
    • Day 3
      • BJP in jury duty -- begin final exam review packet
      • Emergency Reteaching
        • Centripetal Motion & Gravity -- two-dimensional problems - lecture & practice probs
      • HW
        • Work on lab writeup due Monday
        • If you haven't yet, turn in the SHM Worksheet (.pdf & .doc)
        • Under exam conditions, take this 2006-07 Centripetal Motion and Gravity Makeup Exam ( .pdf, .doc ) and the Exam Key ( .pdf, .doc) -- turn in your graded exam for completion credit on Day 4 -- you should give yourself a grade on a 4 point scale
    • Thursday Night: come to Cocoa & Cram from 5:30 to 8:00 - AOK will be available to answer physics questions
    • Day 4
      • Emergency Reteaching
        • Centripetal Motion & Gravity -- two-dimensional problems - lecture & practice probs
      • Begin final exam review packet ( .pdf, .doc ) and the key ( .pdf, .doc)
      • HW
        • Finish lab writeup due Monday
        • If you haven't yet, turn in the SHM Worksheet (.pdf & .doc)
        • ALL late/missing/outstanding/assigned work due Monday -- that's the last day to turn in anything. This includes the final draft of the nuclear war project, the final draft of the Newton's Laws/Fan Cart lab, all test corrections, worksheets, etc., etc.
        • Final exam review packet ( .pdf, .doc ) and the key ( .pdf, .doc) - this will NOT be turned in

BJP's shared items in Google Reader

  • Week of Monday, December 14 -- FINAL EXAMS
    • Monday - Activity Schedule
      • Diagnostic quiz (not for grade)
      • All outstanding work of all types due today
      • Review of topics from early in the semester (in particular, kinematics & projectile motion)
      • Final exam review packet ( .pdf, .doc ) and the key ( .pdf, .doc) - this will NOT be turned in
      • HW:
        • Study for Final Exam
        • FINAL EXAM will NOT include any nuclear physics material -- the 4th step in this unit consists of your resubmission of the Nuclear War project
        • FINAL EXAM will consist of 4th step assessments of: energy conservation (Unit 2), kinematics (Unit 3), Newton's Laws (Unit 4), and Centripetal Motion & Gravity (Unit 5). The exam will be broken up by units so you'll know which one you're working on. Remember that your floors for each unit, if any, was set by your performance on the third step exam.
        • Final exam review packet ( .pdf, .doc ) and the key ( .pdf, .doc) - this will NOT be turned in
    • Friday
      • 10:05 - 11:35 - Final Exam
      • 2nd Period - Rm 321
      • 3rd Period - Rm 314
      • 4th Period - Rm 322
      • 6th Period - Rm 310

 

Spring 2010

  • 3rd Quarter (order may vary)
    • Conservation Laws
      • Momentum & Collisions
      • Energy Conservation with Work
        • Work as force times distance -- a transfer of energy
        • Other kinds of transfers of energy (heat, radiation)
        • Practice problems Ch 8 #s 8, 11 (do with energy/work, NOT forces), 14 (again, do with energy/work, NOT with Newton's Laws
      • Springs Worksheet (.pdf, .doc)
        • Introduction of spring potential energy
        • Post-test: recap energy conservation from early in the semester
    • Electricity
    • Electric Circuits
    • Magnetism
    • Electromagnetic Induction
  • 4th Quarter (order may vary)
    • Light
    • Optics
    • Fluids
    • Waves
    • Sound
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • (Note that Thermo has been shifted to Chemistry/Engineering/AP Physics)

 



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