Download Physics - Honors - Pompton Lakes School

POMPTON LAKES SCHOOL DISTRICT
HONORS PHYSICS
COURSE OF STUDY
June 2012
Submitted By
The Science Department
Dr. Paul Amoroso, Superintendent
Mr. Vincent Przybylinski, Principal
Mr. Anthony Mattera, Vice-Principal
Mr. Garry Luciani, Board of Ed President
Mr. Jose Arroyo, Board of Ed Vice President
Board Members
Mrs. Catherine Brolsma, Mr. Shawn Dougherty, Mr. Raymond Keating III,
Mrs. Nancy Lohse-Schwartz, Mr. Carl Padula, Mr. Thomas Salus,
Mrs. Stephanie Shaw, Mr. Timothy Troast
I.
Description
This highly rigorous course is designed for college-bound students. College-level
concepts are introduced in this course. It consists of lectures, demonstrations,
laboratory experiments and class discussion on topics including motion, optics,
waves, heat, magnetism and electricity. A greater quantity of information is
presented in more depth than the Academic Physics course and therefore, a strong
math background is necessary.
Assessment is done in the form of quizzes, tests, lab reports, mid-term and final
examinations.
II.
Objectives
A. Science Standards
5.1
Science Practices: All students will understand that science is both a body
of knowledge and an evidence-based, model-building enterprise that continually
extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The four Science Practices strands
encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must acquire to be
proficient in science.
5.2
Physical Science: All students will understand the physical science
principles, including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are
powerful conceptual tools for making sense of phenomena in physical, living and
Earth systems science.
5.3
Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are
powerful conceptual tools for making sense of complexity, diversity and
interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in accordance
with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be
modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
5.4
Earth System Science: All students will understand that Earth operates as
a set of complex, dynamic, and interconnected systems, and is a part of the allencompassing system of the universe.
III.
Core Curriculum Content Standards Workplace
1.
All students will develop career planning and workplace readiness skills.
2.
All students will use information, technology, and other tools.
3.
All students will use critical thinking, decision-making, and problem
solving skills.
4.
All students will demonstrate self-management skills.
5.
All students will apply safety principles.
IV.
Standard 9.1 (Career and Technical Education)
All students will develop career awareness and planning, employment skills, and
foundational knowledge necessary for success in the workplace.
Strands and Cumulative progress Indicators
Building knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade
12, students will:
A.
Career Awareness Preparation
1.
Re-evaluate personal interests, ability and skills through various
measures including self assessments.
2.
Evaluate academic and career skills needed in various career
clusters.
3.
Analyze factors that can impact on individual’s career.
4.
Review and update their career plan and include plan in portfolio.
5.
Research current advances in technology that apply to a sector
occupational career cluster.
B.
Employment Skills
1.
Assess personal qualities that are needed to obtain and retain a job
related to career clusters.
2.
Communicate and comprehend written and verbal thoughts, ideas,
directions and information relative to educational and occupational
settings.
3.
Select and utilize appropriate technology in the design and
implementation of teacher-approved projects relevant to
occupational and/or higher educational settings.
4.
Evaluate the following academic and career skills as they relate to
home, school, community, and employment.
Communication
Punctuality
Time management
Organization
Decision making
Goal Setting
Resources allocation
Fair and equitable competition
Safety
Employment application
Teamwork
5.
Demonstrate teamwork and leadership skills that include student
participation in real world applications of career and technical
educational skills.
All students electing further study in career and technical
education will also: participate in structural learning experiences
that demonstrate interpersonal communication, teamwork and
leadership skills.
V.
Units
Unit 1 – The Science of Physics
Standard: 5.1 Science Practices: All students will understand that science is both a body of
knowledge and an evidence-based, model-building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and
revises knowledge. The four Science Practices strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills
that students must acquire to be proficient in science.
Strand: Understand Scientific Explanations: Students understand core concepts and principles
of science and use measurement and observation tools to assist in categorizing, representing and
interpreting the natural and designed world.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 What are the
advantages in
having the meter
officially defined
in terms of
distance light
travels in a given
time rather than as
the length of a
metal bar?
 Can a set of
measurements be
precise but not
accurate? Explain.
 How many tabletennis balls would
fit (without being
crushed) into a
room that is 4 m
long, 4 m wide and
3 m high? Assume
that the diameter
of the ball is 3.8
cm?
 The speed of light will
not change yet the
length of a metal bar
may, therefore, the
definition of the meter’s
length will be accurate
and precise using this
method.
 A set of measurements
must be close to what is
expected to be
considered accurate
while precision is
defined as a number of
measurements close to
each other.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Mathematical,
physical and
computational
tools are used to
search for and
explain core
scientific
concepts and
principles.
5.1.12.A.1: Refine
interrelationships
among concepts and
patterns of evidence
found in different
central scientific
explanations.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences



Metric Prefix Lab
Physics and Measurement Lab
Time and Measurement Lab
Interpretation and
5.1.12.A.2: Develop and
manipulation of
use mathematical,
evidence-based
physical and
models are used to
computational tools to
build and critique
build evidence-based
arguments/
models and to pose
explanations.
theories.
Revisions of
5.1.12.A.3: Use scientific
predictions and
principles and theories to
explanations are
build and refine standards
based on systematic
for data collection, posing
observations,
controls, and presenting
accurate
evidence.
measurements, and
structured data/
evidence.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Identify activities and fields that involve the
major areas within physics.
 Describe the processes of the scientific method.
 Identify the role of modes and diagrams in
physics.
 List basic SI units and the quantities they
describe.
 Convert measurement into scientific notation.
 Distinguish between accuracy and precision.
 Use significant figures in measurements and
calculations.
 Interpret data in tables and graphs, and
recognize equations that summarize data.
 Distinguish between conventions for
abbreviating units and quantities.
 Use dimensional analysis to check the validity
of expressions.
 Perform order of magnitude calculations.
Unit 2 – Motion in One Dimension
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 If the average
velocity of a duck
is zero in a given
time interval, what
can you say about
the displacement
of the duck for that
interval?
 If a car is traveling
eastward, can its
acceleration be
westward?
Explain.
 A ball is thrown
vertically upward.
What happens to
the ball’s velocity
while the ball is in
the air? What is
its velocity when it
reaches its
maximum
altitude? What is
its acceleration just
before it hits the
ground? Does its
acceleration
increase, decrease
or remain
constant?
 The displacement for
the duck during that
interval is zero. That
does not mean that the
duck did not move,
distance and
displacement are
different.
 Yes, a car may be
decelerating, which
would indicate that the
acceleration is opposing
the direction in which
the car is moving.
 The velocity decreases
at a rate of 9.8 m/s2 until
it stops at its highest
altitude. The ball’s
acceleration is 9.8 m/s2
at all time, the direction
of the acceleration
changes when going up
or going down.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
The motion of an
object can be
described by its
position and
velocity as
functions of time
and by its
5.2.12.E.1: Compare
the calculated and
measured speed,
average speed and
acceleration of an
object in motion, and
account for differences
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences



Lab using a recording timer.
Measuring time and motion lab.
Time interval of free fall lab.
average speed
and average
acceleration
during intervals
of time.
that may exist between
calculated and
measured values.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Describe motion in terms of displacement, time
and velocity.
 Calculate the displacement of an object
traveling at a known velocity for a specific time
interval.
 Construct and interpret graphs of position
versus time.
 Describe motion in terms of changing velocity
 Compare graphical representations of
accelerated and non-accelerated motions.
 Apply kinematic equations to calculate distance,
time or velocity under conditions of constant
acceleration
 Relate the motion of a freely falling body to
motion with constant acceleration.
 Calculate displacement, velocity and time at
various points in the motion of a freely falling
object.
 Compare the motions of different objects in free
fall.
Unit 3 – Two-Dimensional Motion and Vectors
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science:
All students will understand that physical science principles, including fundamental ideas about matter,
energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of phenomena in physical, living
and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion:
It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential Questions
 Can a vector have a
component equal to
zero and still have a
nonzero magnitude?
 How would you add
two vectors that are
not perpendicular or
parallel?
 A bullet is fired
horizontally from a
pistol and another
bullet is dropped
simultaneously from
the same height.
Neglecting air
resistance, which
bullet hits the
ground first?
Enduring
Understandings
 Yes, vectors in opposite
directions can add to a
zero magnitude in
essence canceling each
other out.
 You need to use
graphical addition of the
vectors – head to tail
addition.
 The bullets will reach the
ground at the same time.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Objects undergo
different kinds of
motion (translational,
rotational and
vibrational.)
5.2.12.E.2: Compare
the translational and
rotational motions of a
thrown object and
potential applications of
this understanding.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Distinguish between a scalar and vector quantity
 Add vectors using a graphical method.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences



Projectile motion lab
Velocity of a projectile lab
Drawing and adding vector lab
 Identify appropriate coordinate systems for solving
problems with vectors.
 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem and tangent
function to calculate the magnitude and direction of
a resultant vector.
 Resolve vectors into component using the sine and
cosine functions.
 Add vectors that are not perpendicular.
 Recognize examples of projectile motion.
 Describe the path of a projectile as a parabola.
 Resolve vectors into their components and apply
the kinematic equations to solve problems
involving projectile motion.
Unit 4 – Forces and the Laws of Motion
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 If an object is at
rest, can we
conclude that no
external forces are
acting on it?
 What physical
quantity is a
measure of the
amount of inertia
an object has?
 Why does a rope
climber pull
downward on the
rope in order to
move upward?
 No, the force of gravity
may be acting on it.
 Mass the physical
quantity that measures
the amount of inertia in
an object.
 Newton’s third law of
motion states that for
every action there is an
equal and opposite
reaction. This is why the
climber goes upward
when pulling downward
on the rope.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
The motion of an
object changes
only when a net
force is applied.
5.2.12.E.3: Create
simple models to
demonstrate the
benefits of seatbelts
using Newton’s first
law of motion.
5.2.12.E.4: Measure
and describe the
relationship between
the force acting on an
object and the resulting
acceleration.
The magnitude of
acceleration of an
object depends
directly on the
strength of the net
force, and
inversely on the
mass of the object.
This relationship
(a= Fnet/m) is
independent of the
nature of the force.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences



Inertia Lab
Force and Changes in Motion Lab
Friction between shoes and different
surfaces lab.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Explain how force affects the motion of an
object.
 Distinguish between contact forces and field
forces.
 Interpret and construct free-body diagrams.
 Explain the relationship between the motion of
an object and the net external force acting on it.
 Determine the net external force on an object.
 Calculate the force required to bring an object
into equilibrium.
 Describe the acceleration of an object in terms
of its mass and the net external force acting on
it.
 Predict the direction and magnitude of the
acceleration caused by a known net external
force.
 Identify action-reaction pairs.
 Explain why action-reaction pairs do not result
in equilibrium.
 Explain the difference between mass and
weight.
 Find the direction and magnitude of a normal
force.
 Describe air resistance as a form of friction.
 Use coefficients of friction to calculate
frictional forces.
Unit 5 – Work and Energy
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: D. Energy Transfer: The conservation of energy can be demonstrated by keeping track
of familiar forms of energy as they are transferred from one object to another.
Strand: E: Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 A person drops a
ball from the top
of a building while
another person on
the ground
observes the ball’s
motion. Will these
two people always
agree on the
following: the
ball’s potential
energy, the ball’s
change in potential
energy, the ball’s
kinetic energy?
 What energy
transformations
occur during a
pole-vault event?
Disregard
rotational motion
and air resistance.
 What is the
production and
dissipation of
mechanical energy
as an athlete does
the following: lifts
a weight, holds the
weight up in a
fixed position,
then lowers the
weight slowly?
 No, the person on the
top of the building will
see the ball’s potential
energy as less than zero
due to his relative
position to the ball;
while the person on the
ground will view the
ball’s potential as
greater than zero until it
reaches the ground also
due to his relative
position to the ball.
Their view on the ball’s
kinetic energy should be
the same since kinetic
energy is due to the
object’s velocity not its
position.
 During a pole-vault
event the athlete’s
energy transformations
will be from low
potential energy while
on the ground to kinetic
energy while running to
an increase in potential
energy while flying over
the bar as his kinetic
energy decreases to zero
and then increases as he
drops to the ground as
his potential energy
decreases.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences



Lab: Potential/ Kinetic energy with
poppers.
Lab: Running up and down stairs.
Lab: Hooke’s Law.
 An athlete lifting a
weight increases the
potential energy as he
lifts it to above his head;
in doing so, he performs
work through the
movement (kinetic
energy). While the
weight is above his head
he is performing no
work but, while he is
lowering it, he lowers
the weight’s potential
energy, increases its
kinetic energy and
performs work.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
The potential
energy of an object
on Earth’s surface
is increased when
the object’s
position is changed
from one closer to
Earth’s surface to
one farther from
Earth’s surface.
The motion of an
object can be
described by its
position and
velocity as
functions of time
and by its average
speed and average
acceleration during
intervals of time.
5.2.12.D.1: Model the
relationship between
the height of an object
and its potential
energy.
5.2.12.E.1: Compare
the calculated and
measured speed,
average speed and
acceleration of an
object in motion, and
account for differences
that may exist between
calculated and
measured values.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Recognize the difference between the scientific
and ordinary definitions of work.
 Define work, relating it to force and
displacement.
 Identify where work is being performed in a
variety of situations.
 Calculate the net work done when many forces
are applied to an object.
 Distinguish between kinetic and potential
energy.
 Classify different types of potential energy.
 Calculate the potential energy associated with
an object’s position.
 Identify situations in which conservation of
mechanical energy is valid.
 Recognize the forms that conserved energy can
take.
 Solve problems using conservation of
mechanical energy.
 Apply the work-kinetic energy theorem to solve
problems.
 Relate the concepts of energy, time and power.
 Calculate power in two different ways.
 Explain the effect of machines on work and
power.
Unit 6 – Momentum and Collisions
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: D. Energy Transfer and Conservation: The conservation of energy can be
demonstrated by keeping track of familiar forms of energy as they are transferred from one object to
another.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 If an object is not
moving, what is its
momentum?
 Two skaters
initially at rest
push against each
other so that they
move in opposite
directions. What
is the total
momentum of the
two skaters when
they begin
moving? Explain.
 When a bullet is
fired from a gun,
what happens to
the gun? Explain
using the
principles of
momentum.
 Consider a
perfectly inelastic
head-on collision
between a small
car and a large
truck traveling at
the same speed.
Which vehicle has
a greater change in
kinetic energy as a
result of the
collision?
 The object has no
momentum unless it is
moving: p = mv.
 The initial momentum
of the skaters is zero
since they are not
moving.
 Using the principles of
momentum one would
say that the gun before
being fired has no
momentum. Once it is
fired the bullet’s
momentum is
determined by the mass
and velocity of the
bullet, we will consider
this to be in the positive
direction. The
momentum of the gun
will be equal to yet
opposite direction to
that of the bullet.
 In a perfectly inelastic
collision the two
vehicles will be
attached, they will have
had the same change in
momentum but the
motion of the combined
vehicles will be in the
direction of the large
truck due to its greater
momentum before the
collision.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Elastic vs. Inelastic collisions

Lab: Conservation of Momentum
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Energy may be
transferred from
one object to
another during
collisions.
5.2.12.D.4: Measure
quantitatively the
energy transferred
between objects during
a collision.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Compare the momentum of different moving
objects.
 Compare the momentum of the same object
moving with different velocities.
 Identify examples of change in the momentum
of an object.
 Describe changes in momentum in terms of
force and time.
 Describe the interaction between two objects
before and after they interact.
 Compare the total momentum of two objects
before and after they interact.
 State the law of conservation of momentum.
 Predict the final velocities of objects after
collisions, given their initial velocities.
 Identify different types of collisions.
 Determine the decrease in kinetic energy during
perfectly inelastic collisions.
 Compare conservation of momentum and
conservation of kinetic energy in perfectly
inelastic and elastic collisions.
Unit 7 – Rotational Motion and the Law of Gravity
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 What are the
differences
between linear
speed and angular
speed?
 When a wheel
rotates about a
fixed axis, do all
points on the
wheel have the
same angular
speed? Do they all
have the same
linear speed?
 An object moves
in a circular path
with constant
speed, . Is the
object’s velocity
constant? Explain.
Is the object’s
acceleration
constant? Explain.
 Explain why the
following
statement is
wrong: “There is
no gravity in outer
space.”
 Linear speed is determined
using meters and seconds
while angular speed is
determined using radians
and seconds. Linear speed
is a measure of the rate of
change in the object’s
movement over a linear
expanse with respect to
time while angular speed is
determined using a
displacement through a
certain rotational
measurement.
 Yes, all points have the
same angular speed but,
they do not have the same
linear speed. The linear
speed of a point on a
rotating wheel is dependent
upon its position with
respect to the center of
rotation.
 While linear acceleration is
determined by a change in
the velocity of the object
the angular acceleration is
determined by the change
in the direction of the
object – the velocity at any
one point in the circle is
constantly changing by
virtue of the change in the
direction therefore, there is
an angular acceleration
without a change in the
angular speed.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Radians and Arc Length

Lab: Circular Motion

Lab: Centripetal Force
 Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation states that there
is gravitational pull
between any two objects
due to their mass and the
distance between them.
Therefore, we can say that
there is microgravity in
space.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Objects undergo
different kinds of
motion
(translational,
rotational, and
vibrational).
5.2.12.E.2: Compare the
translational and
rotational motions of a
thrown object and
potential applications of
this understanding.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Relate radians to degrees.
 Calculate angular displacement using the arc length
and distance from the axis of rotation.
 Calculate the angular speed or angular acceleration
of an object.
 Solve problems using the kinematic equations for
rotational motion.
 Find the tangential speed of a point on a rigid
rotating object using the angular speed and the
radius.
 Solve problems involving tangential acceleration.
 Solve problems involving centripetal acceleration.
 Calculate the force that maintains circular motion.
 Explain how the apparent existence of an outward
force in circular motion can be explained as inertia
resisting the force that maintains circular motion.
 Apply Newton’s universal law of gravitation to
find the gravitational force between two masses.
Unit 8 – Fluid Mechanics
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: A. Properties of Matter: All objects and substances in the natural world are composed
of matter. Matter has two fundamental properties: matter takes up space, and matter has inertia.
Strand: C. Forms of Energy: Knowing the characteristics of familiar forms of energy, including
potential and kinetic energy, is useful in coming to the understanding that, for the most part, the
natural world can be explained and is predictable.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 After a long class,
a physics teacher
stretches out for a
nap on a bed of
nails. How is this
possible?
 In terms of kinetic
theory of gases,
explain why gases
expand when
heated?
 Why do
underwater
bubbles grow as
they rise?
 A balloon filled
with air is
compressed to half
its initial volume.
If the temperature
inside the balloon
remains constant,
what happens to
the pressure of the
air inside the
balloon?
 The pressure of an
object is determined by
the object’s force and
the area over which the
force is spread. An
increase in the area will
decrease the force felt
by the teacher.
 Heat gained by a
molecule will increase
its kinetic energy
making the molecule
move more quickly thus
expanding the area of
movement.
 A decrease in the
volume of a balloon
filled with air will result
in an increase in
pressure of the gas due
to the increase in
number of molecules in
the limited space.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Account for the
differences in the
physical properties
of solids, liquids,
and gases.
5.2.12.A.2:
Differences in the
physical properties of
solids, liquids, and
gases are explained by
the ways in which the
atoms, ions, or
molecules of the
substances are
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Boyle’s Law

Lab: Bernoulli’s Principle

Lab: Buoyancy vs. Force

Lab: Ideal Gas Law
Use the kinetic
molecular theory
to describe and
explain the
properties of
solids, liquids,
and gases.
arranged, and by the
strength of the forces
of attraction between
the atoms, ions, or
molecules.
5.2.12.C.1: Gas
particles move
independently and are
far apart relative to
each other. The
behavior of gases can
be explained by the
kinetic molecular
theory. The kinetic
molecular theory can
be used to explain the
relationship between
pressure and volume,
volume and
temperature, pressure
and temperature, and
the number of particles
in a gas sample. There
is a natural tendency
for a system to move
in the direction of
disorder or entropy.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Define a fluid.
 Distinguish between a liquid and a gas.
 Determine the magnitude of the buoyant force
exerted on a floating object or a submerged
object.
 Explain why some objects float and some
objects sink.
 Calculate the pressure exerted by a fluid.
 Calculate how the pressure varies with depth in
a fluid.
 Describe fluids in terms of temperature.
 Recognize the effects of Bernoulli’s principle
on fluid motion.
 Define the general properties of an ideal gas.
Unit 9 – Rotational Motion and the Law of Gravity
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: D. Energy Transfer and Conservation: The conservation of energy can be
demonstrated by keeping track of familiar forms of energy as they are transferred from one object to
another.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 At what
temperature are the
Celsius and
Fahrenheit
temperatures
numerically equal?
 Why the boiling
and freezing points
of water are better
fixed points for a
thermometer than
the temperature of
the human body?
 What is wrong
with the following
statement: “Given
any two bodies,
the one with the
higher temperature
contains more
heat”?
 Ethyl alcohol has
about one-half the
specific heat
capacity of water.
If equal masses of
alcohol and water
in separate beakers
at the same
temperature are
supplied by heat
with the same
amount of energy,
which will have
the higher final
temperature?
 -40oF = -40oC
 The boiling and freezing
points of water are
never changing while
the body temperatures
of individuals vary.
 The amount of heat in
an object is determined
not only by its
temperature but by its
mass and composition.
Therefore, the object
with the greater mass
and with the higher
specific heat capacity
will have the most heat.
 Since ethyl alcohol
needs less heat for an
increase in its
temperature it will have
the higher final
temperature.
Content
Cumulative Progress
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Specific Heat Capacity

Lab: Calorimetry

Lab: Heat of Fusion
Statements
Indicators
The driving forces
of chemical
reactions are
energy and
entropy. Chemical
reactions either
release energy to
the environment
(exothermic) or
absorb energy from
the environment
(endothermic).
5.2.12.D.2: Describe
the potential
commercial
applications of
exothermic and
endothermic reactions.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Relate temperature to the kinetic energy of
atoms and molecules.
 Describe the changes in the temperatures of two
objects reaching thermal equilibrium.
 Identify the various temperature scales, and be
able to convert from one scale to another.
 Explain heat and temperature change on the
macroscopic level to particle motion on the
microscopic level.
 Apply the principle of energy conservation to
calculate changes in potential, kinetic and
internal energy.
 Perform calculations with specific heat capacity.
 Perform calculations involving latent heat.
 Interpret the various sections of a heating curve.
Unit 10 – Vibrations and Waves
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 How is the period
of a simple
harmonic vibration
related to its
frequency?
 What is common
to all waves?
 How do transverse
and longitudinal
waves differ?
 When two waves
interfere, can the
resultant wave be
larger than either
of the two original
waves? If so,
under what
conditions?
 T = 2√m/k
 All waves are a product
of energy transfer.
 Longitudinal waves
need a medium through
which to travel while
transverse waves do not.
 Yes, if the two waves
are in phase they can
interfere constructively
to create a larger wave
than either of the two
original waves.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Objects undergo
different kinds of
motion
(translational,
rotational, and
vibrational).
5.2.12.E.2: Compare
the translational and
rotational motions of a
thrown object and
potential applications
of this understanding.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Identify the conditions of simple harmonic
motion.
 Explain how force, velocity and acceleration
change as an object vibrates with simple
harmonic motion.
 Calculate the spring force constant using
Hooke’s Law.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Waves on a Coil

Lab: Energy of a Pendulum

Lab: Hooke’s Law
 Identify the amplitude of vibration.
 Recognize the relationship between period and
frequency.
 Calculate the period and frequency.
 Calculate the period and frequency of an object
vibrating with simple harmonic motion.
 Distinguish local particle vibrations from
overall wave motion.
 Differentiate between pulse waves and periodic
waves.
 Interpret waveforms of transverse and
longitudinal waves.
 Apply the relationship among wave speed,
frequency, and wavelength to solve problems.
 Relate energy and amplitude.
 Apply the superposition principle.
 Differentiate between constructive and
destructive interference.
 Predict when a reflected wave will be inverted.
 Predict whether specific traveling waves will
produce a standing wave.
 Identify nodes and antinodes of a standing
wave.
Unit 11 – Sound
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E. Forces and Motion: It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy
change is understood in terms of forces.
Essential Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 What are the differences
between infrasonic,
ultrasonic and audible
sound waves?
 As a result of a distant
explosion, an observer
first senses a ground
tremor, then, hears the
explosion. What
accounts for this time
lag?
 You are at a street corner
and hear an ambulance
siren. Without looking,
how can you tell when
the ambulance passes
by?
 Infrasonic sound waves are
below 20 Hz in vibration
while ultrasonic waves are
above 20,000 Hz. Humans
can hear sounds between 20
– 20,000 Hz.
 Sound travels faster in solid
materials due to the fact
that it is a longitudinal
wave. It takes longer in air
because the molecules are
not as close together.
 The Doppler Effect causes
you to perceive the pitch of
the sound to change as the
siren nears and then passes
you.
Content Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Objects undergo different
kinds of motion
(translational, rotational,
and vibrational).
5.2.12.E.2: Compare the
translational and rotational
motions of a thrown
object and potential
applications of this
understanding.
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Explain how sound waves are produced.
 Relate frequency and pitch.
 Compare the speed of sound in various media.
 Relate plane waves to spherical waves.
 Recognize the Doppler Effect, and determine the
direction of a frequency shift when there is relative
motion between a source and an observer.
 Calculate the intensity of sound waves.
 Relate intensity, decibel level, and perceived loudness.
 Explain why resonance occurs.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Speed of Sound Lab
Unit 12 – Light and Reflection
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand: E.
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 What is the
relationship
between the
brightness of a
light source and its
apparent
brightness from
where you see it?
 Which band of the
electromagnetic
spectrum has the
lowest frequency
and the longest
wavelength?
 The inverse square law
of brightness shows that
as the distance between
the source of light and
the observer doubles the
apparent brightness
becomes ¼ of the
original.
 Radio waves have the
longest wavelengths and
lowest frequency of the
seven types of
electromagnetic
radiation.
Content
Statements
Desired Results:
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Students will ...
 Identify the components of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
 Calculate the frequency or wavelength of
electromagnetic radiation.
 Recognize that light has a finite speed.
 Describe how the brightness of a light source is
affected by distance.
 Distinguish between specular and diffuse
reflection of light.
 Apply the law of reflection for flat mirrors.
 Describe the nature of images formed by flat
mirrors.
 Calculate distances and focal lengths using the
mirror equation for concave and convex
spherical mirrors.
 Distinguish between real and virtual images.
 Describe how parabolic mirrors differ from
spherical mirrors.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Curved Mirrors Lab

Lab: Spectroscopy

Lab: Brightness of Light Lab
Unit 13 – Refraction
Standard: 5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles,
including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of phenomena in physical, living and Earth systems science.
Strand:
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
 Does a light ray
traveling from one
medium into
another always
bend toward the
normal?
 Why does a
diamond show
flashes of color
when observed
under ordinary
white light?
 A ray of light will bend
toward the normal only
when it is traveling
from a medium of less
density into one with
more density, otherwise
it will bend away from
the normal.
 The index of refraction
of diamond is so high
that the light traveling
through it is refracted to
a point where it is
totally internally
reflected and appears to
be colored.
Content
Statements
Cumulative Progress
Indicators
Desired Results:
Students will ...
 Recognize situations in which refraction will
occur.
 Identify which direction light will bend when it
passes from one medium to another.
 Solve problems using Snell’s Law.
 Use ray diagrams to find the position of an
image produced by a converging or diverging
lens, and identify the image as real or virtual.
 Solve problems using the thin-lens equation.
 Calculate the magnification of lenses.
 Describe the positioning of lenses in compound
microscopes and refracting telescopes.
 Predict whether light will be refracted or
undergo total internal reflection.
Labs, Investigation, and Student
Experiences

Lab: Converging Lenses Lab

Lab: Focal Length Lab

Lab: Prescription Glasses Lab

Lab: Periscope Lab
VI.
Benchmarks
1. By the end of semester 1, the student will be able to:
a. Use dimensional analysis to check the validity of expressions.
b. Apply kinematic equations to calculate the distance, time or velocity of an
object under conditions of constant acceleration.
c. Resolve vectors into their components and apply the kinematic equations to
solve problems involving projectile motion.
d. Describe the acceleration of an object in terms of its mass and the net external
force acting on it.
e. Distinguish between kinetic and potential energy and apply the law of
conservation of energy to analyze the motion of an object.
f. Describe the interaction between two objects in terms of the change in
momentum of each object.
g. Apply Newton’s law of universal gravitation to find the gravitational force
between two objects.
h. Successfully complete the midterm exam.
2. By the end of semester 2, the student will be able to:
a. Define how a fluid’s energy can affect eh motion of an object.
b. Relate heat and temperature changes to a substance’s energy and phase change.
c. Identify energy as the source of wave propagation.
d. Explain how energy level, temperature and media through which a sound wave
travels affect the propagation of sound.
e. Recognize visible light as part of the electromagnetic spectrum and that there
are laws that govern the propagation and reflection of light.
f. Identify which direct light will bend when it passes from one medium to
another.
g. Successfully complete the final exam.
VII.
Evaluations
Tests
Quizzes
Final Exam
Projects
Laboratory Experiments
Class Participation
Homework
Affirmative Action – evidence of
A-1 Minorities and females incorporated in plans.
A-2 Human relations concepts are being taught.
A-3 Teaching plans to change ethnic and racial stereotypes.
Bibliography, Materials and Resources
Teacher prepared materials
Software materials
Probeware: (Dell Computer with Pasco probeware)
Textbook:
Physics Principles and Applications, Sixth Edition
Giancoli, Douglas, C.
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005
VIII.
IX.