Download AP Physics 2 Syllabus Student

AP Physics 2 Syllabus
Mr. Mark Lesmeister, Dawson High School
Course Introduction:
AP Physics 2 is a one year, algebra-based course in general physics that is comparable in scope and level
to the second semester of a college physics course. The course follows the College Board AP Physics 2
curriculum and prepares students to take the AP Physics 2 exam. The content in the course is centered
on seven big ideas, as specified by the College Board:
Big Idea 1 – Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal
structure.
Big Idea 2 – Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
Big Idea 3 – The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
Big Idea 4 – Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
Big Idea 5 – Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
Big Idea 6 – Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the
permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other
phenomena.
Big Idea 7- The mathematics of probability can be used to describe the behavior of complex systems and
to interpret the behavior of quantum mechanical systems
The emphasis in this course is on student-centered learning through inquiry, in which students are
expected to develop the principles of physics for themselves.
Textbooks:
This course uses for its primary text Cutnell, John and Kenneth Johnson, Physics, 9th Edition. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012.
This text is supplemented with the online textbook OpenStax College, College Physics. OpenStax College.
21 June 2012. http://cnx.org/content/col11406/latest/
Evaluation:
Student grades are based on the following percentages:
60% - Tests and projects. Tests include both multiple choice and free response items, taken
from a variety of sources and chosen to be comparable to AP Physics test items. Projects are long term,
and generally completed in groups.
30% - Lab investigations.
10%- Homework and other daily grades.
Topics Covered
1. Review of AP Physics 1 Concepts and Practices
2. Fluids (Chapter 11)
a. Fluid statics
i. Density and pressure
ii. Buoyancy
c. Fluid dynamics
i. Continuity in fluid flow
ii. Bernoulli’s equation
3. Thermal Physics (Chapters 12-15)
a. Temperature and heat
b. Transfer of heat
c. Ideal gas law and kinetic theory
d. Laws of Thermodynamics
4. Electrostatics (Chapters 18-19)
a. Electric forces and fields
b. Electric potential energy and electric potential
5. Electric circuits (Chapter 20)
a. Current
b. Ohm’s Law and Resistance
c. Kirchhoff’s Laws
d. Ohm’s Law and Kirchoff’s Laws as applied to
i. Complex DC circuits
ii. Steady state RC circuits
5. Magnetism (Chapters 21-23)
a. Magnetic forces and fields
b. Electromagnetic induction
6. Optics (Chapters 24-27)
a. Electromagnetic waves
b. Geometric optics
c. Physical optics
7. Quantum, Atomic and Nuclear Physics (Chapters 29-32)
a. Quantum Physics: Particles and waves
b. Atomic physics
c. Nuclear physics
d. Ionizing radiation, nuclear energy and elementary particles
8. Review for AP Physics 2 Exam
9. Special Topics and Projects