Download First Semester - Garnet Valley School

AP Physics C
Mr. Austin
Room C107
[email protected]
(610) 579 7737
Textbook: Halliday, Resnick and Walker, Fundamentals of Physics, Seventh Edition
AP Physics C is a preparatory course for the Physics C Advanced Placement exam in
Mechanics as well as Electricity and Magnetism. Students may elect to take one or both
of the exams in May. This course requires a basic understanding of calculus
(differentiation and integration). Knowledge of differential equations is not required but
can be helpful.
CLASSROOM POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS
1. Students are to bring all materials every day to class. Students will need a writing
utensil, a notebook, a folder, a graphing calculator, a protractor, and a ruler.
2. Class will start promptly at the bell. All students must be seated and ready to
participate in the lesson at the sound of the bell. After three late arrivals in a month
students will be given a detention.
3. Food is not allowed during lab time. During instruction students may eat a snack
and/or drink a beverage quietly. If food becomes a distraction students will no longer be
allowed food or drink during class.
4. Any equipment the student uses is that student’s responsibility for the duration of the
use. Any student who damages equipment may have to pay to replace the equipment. To
avoid any issues follow these simple rules:
a. If you use it, take care of it.
b. If you move it, put it back.
c. If it belongs to someone else, get permission to use it.
d. If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone and ask Mr. Austin about it.
6. All assignments are to be completed on time and handed in at the beginning of class
on the day that they are due. A 10-point per day deduction will be taken for graded
assignments handed in after the start of class. Assignments that are checked for
completion will be recorded as a zero if they are not completed on time. Late
assignments cannot be accepted if they have already been corrected and returned to
the class as a whole. Assignments due on a day you are absent must be handed in the
next day in class. No deductions will be taken for excused absences.
7. You are responsible for all notes/work given during your absence. I will post the
PowerPoint and assignments from the days class on my GVSD website. Assignments due
on a day you are absent must be handed in the next day in class. It is your responsibility
to complete the work by the due date regardless of absences, unless there are extenuating
circumstances. In that case, talk to me in person ASAP.
a. If, when absent, you email me early in the day, it may be possible to scan and
send you a copy of a classmates notes. Obviously, a lab will not be able to be
done at home, in which case you will have two days (per excused absence day) to
make it up.
b. If you know ahead of time you will be out, it is your responsibility to see me
prior to your absence to get any work you may miss and to schedule tests,
quizzes, or labs as necessary.
c. If you miss a test, quiz or lab due to an excused absence on that day only, you
will be expected to make it up the day you return. See me in the morning before
school for a pass for Enhancement that day. If you do not arrange a time to
complete your work, a grade of zero will be assigned. In the event that it is
impossible to take a make-up test promptly, for example because of a lengthy
absence prior to the test date, a different make-up may be given regardless of the
reason for absence.
d. If you miss the review for a test, you are still expected to take the test with the
rest of the class because you have all the required material.
8. Extra help, if necessary, should be arranged as soon as possible after an absence and
well in advance of due dates on assignments. I cannot guarantee availability during
Enhancement on the day an assignment is due or a test is to be given. Assignments are
not usually given overnight. Several days are normally allowed for their completion.
Plan your time wisely and discover your problems early so that difficulties can be
remedied before the last minute!
Homework:
Students will receive a problem set at the beginning of each week that covers the content
we will learn throughout that week. The problems are taken from a variety of sources
including old AP exams. Students are to complete these problems in a marble
composition book. Mr. Austin will check all notebooks for completion and return them
that Friday. An answer key will be posted on my website after notebooks are returned.
There will be two collections a semester where a random selection of problems are
checked for accuracy. Completing homework, being the primary source of practice, is
essential to success in this course.
Laboratory Work
This course has a strong emphasis on lab work. We will perform a lab almost every week
that investigates the topic we are learning about. Students will be responsible for
maintaining a 3 ring binder that chronicles the work performed in lab. This notebook
should contain the following items:
1. The lab instructions
2. Any notes you make during the lab
3. Your final graded lab report
One week after selected labs are performed each group is to turn in a lab report that
includes the following items:
1. Introduction that includes:
a. The purpose of the lab – what were you investigating?
b. The theory that supports your investigation – what did we learn in
class that you applied to the lab?
2. Methods and Materials - What did you do in the lab to get your results?
Why did you do it that way?
3. The Results – What data did you get?
a. You should include labeled tables, figures, and graphs.
4. Discussion - What does your data indicate? Was there error in your results?
What can you attribute it to?
The lab binder will serve as a reference when writing your lab reports – keep a good
record of your work!
Assessments
There will be a test every two or three weeks that will be announced a week or more in
advance. These will cover the unit that we are finishing up. The tests will include
questions similar to the homework, quizzes, and labs. They are a mix of multiple choice
and free response with an emphasis on problem solving.
Short quizzes, designed to test you on small chunks of knowledge, will be given weekly.
These will generally be one or two questions long and include the sub topic, which we
most recently covered, within our unit of study.
I make an effort to return all graded material the next day we meet. I strongly encourage
you to use quizzes while studying for tests.
The AP Physics C: Mechanics exam will be given on Monday May 9th at 12 PM.
The AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism exam will be given on Monday May 9th
at 2 PM.
Grade Distribution
Classwork and Homework – 10%
Lab work (Notebook and Participation) – 25%
Tests – 40%
Quizzes – 10%
Lab Reports – 15%
Outline*
There are 9 Units in each semester.
Textbook: Halliday, Resnick and Walker, Fundamentals of Physics, Seventh Edition
First Semester

Newtonian Mechanics
o Kinematics (most of September)
 Motion in 1 Dimension (chapter 1)
 Motion in 2 Dimensions (chapter 4)
o Newton's Laws of Motion (September – October)
 First Law: Static Equilibrium (chapter 5)
 Second Law: Dynamics of a Single Particle (chapter 5 and 6)
 Third Law: Systems of Two or More Bodies (chapter 5)
o Work, Energy, Power (October – November)
 Work and Work-Energy Theorem (chapter 7)
 Conservative Forces and Potential Energy (chapter 8)
 Conservation of Energy (chapter 8)
 Power (chapter 7)
o Systems of Particles, Linear Momentum (November – December)
 Center of Mass (chapter 9)
 Impulse and Momentum (chapter 9)
 Conservation of Linear Momentum: Collisions (chapter 9)
o Circular Motion and Rotation (December – January)
 Uniform Circular Motion (chapter 10)
 Angular Momentum (chapter 11)
 Torque and Rotational Statics (chapter 11)

o
Rotational Kinematics and Dynamics (chapter 11)
Oscillations and Gravitation (January)
 Simple Harmonic Motion (chapter 15)
 Mass on a Spring (chapter 15)
 Pendulums and Other Oscillations (chapter 15)
 Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation (chapter 15)
 Orbits of Planets and Satellite (chapter 13)
Second Semester

Electricity and Magnetism
o Electrostatics (February)
 Charge, field and potential (chapter 21, 22, and 24)
 Coulomb's law and field and potential of point charges (chapter
24)
 Field and potentials of other charge distributions (chapter 24)
 Planar
 Spherical
 Cylindrical
 Gauss' Law (chapter 23)
o Conductors, capacitors, dielectrics (February – March)
 Electrostatics with conductors (chapter 21
 Capacitors (chapter 25)
 Parallel Plate
 Spherical and Cylindrical
 Dialectics (chapter 25)
o Electric Circuits (March – April)
 Current, resistance, power (chapter 26)
 Steady-state direct current circuits with batteries and resistors
(chapter 27)
 Capacitors in circuits (chapter 25)
 Steady State
 Transients in RC circuits
o Magneto statics (April – May)
 Forces on moving charges in magnetic fields (chapter 28)
 Forces on current-carrying wires in magnetic fields (chapter 28)
 Fields of long current-carrying wires (chapter 29)
 Biot-Savart and Ampere's Law (chapter 29)
o Electromagnetism (May)
 Electromagnetic induction (Faraday's and Lenz's Laws) (chapter
30)
 Inductance (LR and LC circuits) (chapter 30)
 Maxwell's Equations (chapter 32)
*Note: This is a rough outline. The dates are subject to change at the instructor’s
discretion.