Download List of AP Physics 1 Labs

Unit
Grading Period
Kinematics
1st quarter
Lab Title
Lab Type
Equipment
Experiment Question
Tracker Video
Guided
Inquiry
What is the difference between
constant and non-constant
velocity?
Kinematics
1st quarter
1D and 2D Kinematics
Guided
Inquiry
Kinematics
1st quarter
Police Car Chase
Engineering
Battery powered car, Spring
powered car, meter sticks,
laptops (with tracker video
analysis), Students need their
smartphone with data cable
Ball ramp, Steel ball,
Stopwatch (use the one on
your phone), Meterstick,
Carbon paper, Smartphone
with Tracker (optional)
Battery car, Spring car,
Stopwatch
Statics
1st quarter
Dynamics
1st quarter
Friction
Engineering
Newton’s 2nd Law
Guided
Inquiry
Gravity
2nd quarter
Rolling Cart
Engineering
Energy
2nd quarter
Conservation of
Energy
Guided
Inquiry
Energy
2nd quarter
Marble in Cup
Engineering
SHM
2nd quarter
Pendulum
Guided
Inquiry
Wooden ramp, Various blocks,
Meter sticks
Low friction cart, Assorted
masses, Mass hanger, Pulley,
String, Meterstick, Tracker
Low friction ramp, Ramp,
Protractor, Meter stick,
Smartphone with tracker,
Props for the ramp
Meter stick, Random object
student chooses, Smartphone
with tracker
Ball ramp, Steel ball, Cup,
Meter stick
String, Stopwatch, Assorted
masses, Pendulum holder,
Protractor
Type of
assessment
Report
How is the translational motion of
a ball described by kinematics?
Report
Calculate the time a spring car
needs to catchup to a battery car
that has been released 2 seconds
earlier.
How is the angle of a ramp related
to the coefficient of friction?
What factors affect the
acceleration of a system?
Sudden
Death (2
bonus points)
How does the angle of a ramp
determine the velocity and
acceleration of a cart placed on it?
Report
Is energy conserved when an
object is thrown into the air?
Report
Calculate where to place a cup so
that a marble will land in it after
rolling down a ramp
What factors affect the period of a
pendulum?
Sudden
Death (2
bonus points)
Report
Report
Report
SHM
2nd quarter
Mass-spring
Engineering
Spring, Assorted masses,
Meter stick, Stopwatch
Momentum
3rd quarter
Colliding carts
Engineering
Low friction carts, Spring
loaded Newton’s carts,
Smartphone with tracker,
Assorted masses, Meter sticks
Variable inertia wheels, Ramp,
Meter stick, Stopwatch
Rotation
3rd quarter
Moment of Inertia
Guided
Inquiry
Rotation
3rd quarter
Jupiter’s moons
Engineering
Students will need to research
data on Europa, Ganymede, Io
and Callisto
Rotation
3rd quarter
Crane equilibrium
Engineering
Electrostatics
3rd quarter
Electric force
Guided
Inquiry
A bar on a hinge will have a
string attached to its end and
extended up to a hook on the
wall. There will be a spring
scale attached to the string.
Student will be given a single
mass
Balloons, Scale, Sting,
Protractor
Circuits
4th quarter
Circuits
Guided
Inquiry
Laptops with DC circuit builder
from pHet
Circuits
4th quarter
Series-Parallel circuit
Engineering
Waves
4th quarter
Mechanical waves
Guided
Inquiry
Circuit with one resistor in
series with two parallel
resistors
Slinky, Brass spring, Thick
string, Smartphone with
tracker, Meter stick,
𝑘
Does the formula 𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑚
accurately model the period of a
mass-spring system?
Is momentum conserved during
collisions and explosions?
Report
Report
How does the placement of masses
affect the rotational inertia of a
round object?
Based on the motion of Jupiter’s
moons Europa, Ganymede, Io and
Callisto, what is the mass of
Jupiter?
Calculate the force the spring scale
will read.
Report
What is the charge placed on two
balloons that repel each other due
to an electrostatic force?
How does the placement of
resistors affect the conservation of
energy and charge for a circuit?
Calculate the current flowing into
the battery and the voltage drop
across the lone resistor.
What are the properties of
mechanical waves?
Report
Report
Sudden
Death (2
bonus points)
Report
Sudden
Death (2
bonus points)
Report
Waves
4th quarter
Standing waves
Engineering
4th quarter
Capstone
Open
Inquiry
Various tuning forks, sliding
tubes, Meter sticks,
Smartphones
Use grant to find what
students need
What is the speed of sound in air?
Report
Use grant to learn student’s
question
Report and
Student
Presentation