Course Goals:

The goals of this course are twofold. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the basic concepts and physical principles in mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics. The student will develop a qualitative sense of "how things work". The important variables and how they are related to or affect one another will be considered. Secondly, the student will learn to solve specific quantitative problems using the physics concepts developed in this course. Considerable attention will be paid to general approaches in how to set up and solve quantitative problems. These problem-solving skills are generally applicable to many areas.

 

Prerequisites

Students will be expected to have a working knowledge of algebra and be able to use trigonometry at the level of sine, cosine, and tangent. Calculus is not expected. If you have questions on your math background, see me. Previous physics is not required. Note: The department also offers two other levels of physics. Physics II relies on lesser math skills, while AP Physics C covers similar material but uses calculus.

 

Class Rules

Be punctual. I take attendance at the beginning of class, so, if you are tardy, you must come up after class to let me know

I will work diligently to provide a safe and effective community learning environment. Please be respectful to all others in your community. Disruptive or rude behavior will not be tolerated. Don’t abuse furniture or equipment. No food or soda in the classroom, water bottles are ok in the classroom, but not in the lab.

Please read the appropriate chapter(s) BEFORE the lecture and be prepared to participate in class discussions of the material. Our class time will be spent solving problems; if you are not familiar with the chapter you will not reap the benefits of our class time.

Bring your calculator to class!

Before class starts, please turn off all of your noise producing electronic devices such as cell phones, ipods, etc..., the second time your phone rings in class it will be given to the Division Head. If you have extenuating circumstances, please talk to me before class.

For lab days long pants and close toed shoes will be required.

 

Textbook: Physics, 6th ed., by Giancoli, Prentice Hall, 2005

 

Homework and Classwork:

Homework assignments will include some conceptual questions, some simpler problems and some quite hard problems. In each assignment you will be assigned 5-10 problems.

You must label your homework with your name, assignment number, & date in upper right hand corner.

Be VERY neat and do not make sketches small and hard to read, I reserve the right to take points off your HW (even when fully correct!) for messy solutions. Leave plenty of room for each problem (many problems may take a whole page). If the work is squeezed together it will probably be hard to read and grade.

The ability to communicate your work to others is vital to your success as a productive member of society. This may mean using words to describe what you are doing instead of simply writing down equations. This also means being organized. It is best to do a problem and then transcribe your solution in a neat form to another piece of paper.

Show your work. Pretend you are teaching the subject to someone else and explain clearly.

Show the equations you use before substituting numbers; box in your answers and be sure to show units.

Follow directions. Sometimes the process is as important or is even more important than the actual answer to a problem. You may have the correct answer but if you leave out portions of the process that are asked for (for example, the free body diagram), you may still loose significant points.

Save your homework after it is returned to you to help study for tests.

If you have a question about the grading come to me immediately for discussion and resolution.

The homework is graded on a scale of 0 to 10.

I cannot emphasize enough that the homework assignments are critical to learning the material and doing well in this class. Reading the book and attending lectures is not sufficient. The homework will be designed to have you think about the basic concepts and their relationships and to be able to make use of them to solve numerical problems. Most of the learning in the course will come from doing the homework.

This course emphasizes problem solving; solving the problems will help you learn physics. I encourage you to work in groups and to talk about the problems (with classmates, with friends or with me). But when all is said and done, you must know the concept behind each problem and how it is applied to solve the problem.

It is hard to succeed in this course if you don’t do well on the homework. Practical Incentive: Tests are closely related to the homework; some of the test material comes from the homework. If you wait until the last minute to attempt the problems or if you merely copy someone’s HW, you won’t succeed. You need to have gone through the sometimes long and frustrating thought processes (correcting many mistakes) in working the problems to really learn the material so you can be successful on the fast paced tests.

 

Quiz/Testing Schedule

I will give regular pop quizes to ensure that you are keeping up with the reading.

You will have approximately four tests administered over the course of the semester, and they will be announced well in advance.

Grading: for Each Semester

 

I expect great things from you, and you should do the same for me. I will be punctual, organized, and will return your assignments in a timely manner. I am looking forward to an exciting and fun year!

AP Physics B Tentative Fall Semester Schedule:

Chapter Sections, Days on topic

Kinematics 2-1 to 2-8, 5 days

Vectors and 2d motion 3-1 to 3-8, 7 days

Dynamics 4-1 to 4-9, 10 days

Test 1

Circular Motion and Gravity 5-1 to 5-3, 5-6 to 5-9, 5 days

Work and Energy 6-1 to 6-10, 8 days

Momentum 7-1 to 7-8, 5 days

Test 2

Torque 8-1, 8-4, 8-5 and 8-8, 5 days

Equilibrium 9-1,9-2, 5 days

Fluids 10-1 to 10-9, 5 days

Test 3

Waves 11-1,11-2,11-4,11-7,11-8,11-15, 5 days

Sound 12-4,12-6,12-7, 5 days

Temp and Kin Theory 13-1 to13-4, 13-6 to 13-8, 13-10, 5 days

Test 4

Heat 14-1 to 14-8, 5 days

Review & Final Exam