Download PHYSICS

AP PHYSICS LEVEL C: MECHANICS
Course Syllabus
Parkland High School
Teacher: Mr. Flueso
Phone: 610-351-5600 ext. 73147
Email: [email protected]
PHS course number: 444
Prerequisites: A final grade of B or better in AP Physics I. Must be taking or have taken
Calculus.
Course text: Fundamentals of Physics, Tenth Edition, Halliday, Resnick, Walker, 2014
Class website: http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/SFlueso/index.cfm
Materials needed for each class: Pencil and pen, Physics notebook with extra paper,
scientific calculator (preferably graphing), textbook, and all appropriate handouts
announced. It is highly recommended (not required) that you have a tablet or laptop for
this course because most of the homework is online.
How you will be graded: You are expected to chart your progress and keep track of
your own grade. Knowing your percentages in each category, the formula below may be
used to calculate your own grade at any given time throughout the marking period.
Percentage of Marking Period Grade
Graded assignments
25%
Laboratory
20%
Class Participation
5%
Tests and Quizzes
50%
Total:
100%
Tracking your grade: Home Access Center will be updated approximately one week
following an assessment. There is also an Excel template available on my website that
will calculate the grade for you if you would like faster information.
Attendance policy: You are responsible to get the notes that you missed and complete
whatever assignments you missed. You will not always be reminded. Making up missed
work is your responsibility. If you cut class, you will receive a zero for whatever was
completed on the day you cut. You are responsible to make up missed labs available on
the Moodle portal, or set up a time to make labs up in the classroom. Use the class
website and Moodle to keep up if you are out. You are expected to be aware of what was
missed during an absence prior to returning to class.
Notebook suggestions: Your notebook should be a three-ring binder of about 1.5-inch
width. The notebook is not graded, however, the course is cumulative in nature, and the
College Board requires that you keep a lab portfolio for this course.
Classroom Rules
1. One person speaks at a time. You are to respect the instructor and one another at all times in
the classroom. Raise your hand when you want to speak. Use good manners and be polite!
2. Act appropriately while in the classroom. This means no foul language or discussions that
are not appropriate for school. No talking negatively about other people. No gossip or
drama!
3. Hands off equipment. No touching any gadgets or equipment unless told to do so by an
instructor. When you do use equipment, you may only use it for the intended use so that it
does not break, and we keep everybody safe.
4. Keep the room clean and neat. This means no graffiti on any school property. Throw away
all of your garbage. No food or drink in the classroom. Push chairs in nicely when you
leave.
*Rules and procedures may be changed if the instructor determines it is necessary.
* In the event of a substitute or student teacher, the same rules, procedures, and expectations
apply.
Homework: Homework will often be collected and graded, or just checked for
completion. Homework will not always be assessed. However, you will not always
know when it will be assessed, so have it done! It is your responsibility to be aware of all
assignments and progress before you return from an absence. Use the website, Moodle,
and WileyPlus portal to print out any documents that were handed out during class.
Quizzes: Pop quizzes may be given at any time.
Extra Credit: Extra credit will be offered periodically by Mr. Flueso on a class-wide
basis. Bonus assignments will be part of your “graded assignments” grade.
What to do if you feel lost: If you ever become overwhelmed, or feel that you are falling
far behind the class, please set up a time to meet with Mr. Flueso and discuss an action
plan to get you back on track.
Good luck!
Course Overview
This course is designed for students interested in a career in engineering or the physical
sciences; however, the course is also appropriate for anyone with proper prerequisites
who is interested in expanding their understanding of physics. The course covers the
physics of motion, energy, and force. Engineering and science applications are studied
and include rockets, airplanes, cars, roller coasters, structures, accident investigation,
ballistics, navigation, and sports. Throughout this course, students will learn through
guided inquiry. The instructor will guide students to make their own discoveries and
formulate their own understandings. A focus of this course will be problem-solving
activities that require critical thinking. Many forms of assessment including labs, tests,
quizzes, and homework will have open-ended questions and problems in which students
will be evaluated on the processes and reasoning they employ to arrive at their answers.
This course is student-centered in that students are required to be active learners and
participate in numerous learning experiences such as laboratory investigations, problem
solving, research, and presentations. The student and instructor use of technology will
also be infused throughout the course. Demonstrations and real-time computer based
laboratories using acceleration, force, and motion sensors are an integral part of the
laboratory. Certain labs will feature movement studied through video capture and
computer analysis. This course meets for 1 semester each day for a double period.
Content
The following is a course content outline with an associated percentage of time spent on
each topic.
Topic
Motion Along a Straight
Line


Motion in Two and Three
Dimensions
Newton’s Laws of Motion
and Classical Mechanics








Kinetic Energy and Work
Potential Energy,
Conservation of Energy,






Sub-Topics
position, displacement,
velocity, acceleration
uniform and non-uniform
acceleration
graphing motion
projectile motion
relative motion
vector operations
force and mass
Newton’s First and Second
Law
Newton’s Third Law
friction, tension and normal
force, drag
uniform circular motion
applications of Newton’s Laws
work-kinetic energy theorem
work done by a spring force
work done by a variable force
potential energy
Time Percentage
8
10
20
7
7
and Power
Systems of Particles







Collisions

Rotation







Rolling, Torque, and
Angular Momentum




Equilibrium

Oscillations

Gravitation









conservative and nonconservative forces
conservation of energy
potential energy curves
power
center of mass
Newton’s Second Law and
center of mass
linear momentum and its
conservation
impulse-momentum theorem
elastic and inelastic collisions
in one and two dimensions
rotation and constant angular
acceleration
relationship to linear motion
kinetic energy of rotation
rotational inertia and the
parallel-axis theorem
torque
Newton’s Second Law of
Rotation
work and rotational kinetic
energy
rolling
rolling and kinetic energy
friction and rolling
angular momentum and its
conservation
equilibrium and its
requirements
simple harmonic motion and
uniform circular motion
Hooke’s Law
energy and SHM
pendulums
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
gravitation near and inside the
Earth
gravitational potential energy
satellites and planets
navigating in space
General Relativity
6
6
8
10
1
10
7
Laboratory Activities
Our student-centered labs are placed throughout the instructional year. An attempt is
made to do them when they fit best in the curriculum. A variety of types of labs are used.
Some are full labs that are discovery-based where the student is presented with a problem
and he or she must come up with the procedure and record all necessary data, calculations
and analysis to form a conclusion. Some labs are “cookbook” where the student follows a
pre-set procedure where data collection, calculations, analysis, and conclusions are
formed. Many other experiments are smaller, mini-labs, where the students as teams
solve physical problems.
The course includes a laboratory component comparable to a semester-long, college-level
physics laboratory. Students spend approximately 35 percent of instructional time
engaged in laboratory work. A hands-on laboratory component is required. Each student
should maintain a portfolio of the labs completed as part of the notebook grade.
Name of Lab
Acceleration
Topic
One Dimensional Motion
Ticker Tape
One Dimensional Motion
Treasure Hunt
Motion in two and three
Dimensions
Vector Lab
Motion in two and three
Dimensions
Motion in two and three
Dimensions
Angle of Launch
Projectile Motion
Motion in two and three
Dimensions
Inclined Plane/Newton’s
Second Law Lab
Force and Motion
Atwood's Machine
Force and Motion
Friction on Inclined Planes
Force and Motion
Terminal Velocity Lab
Force and Motion
Conical Pendulums and
Centripetal Force
Force and Motion
Description
Inclined planes are used to
dilute gravity and find the
gravitational acceleration
Uses a ticker tape to find
gravitational acceleration
Students are given vectors
and a compass and must
find the “treasure” on the
campus
Force tables are used to find
resultant vectors
Angles of launch and
corresponding ranges are
investigated
Students must calculate
angles and launch velocities
necessary to hit a target
Newton’ s Second Law
studied using force and
motion sensors with a
PASCO cart and track
Atwood’ s machine is
analyzed using Newton’ s
Second Law
The effects of friction on
motion are studied on
inclined surfaces
Video capture is used to
examine terminal velocity
of falling coffee filters
Find “g ” using a tethered
toy airplane that flies in a
Centripetal Force
Force and Motion
Bow and Arrow
Kinetic Energy and Work
Loop-the-Loop
Potential Energy and
Conservation of Energy
Impulse lab
Systems of Particles
Coefficient of Restitution
Collisions
Moment of Inertia
Rotation
Rolling Motion
Rolling, Torque, and
Angular Momentum
Compound Machines
Equilibrium
Gravity Simulation
Universal Gravitation and
Orbit
Springs
Oscillations
circle.
The Pasco centripetal force
apparatus is used to
examine how speed, mass,
and radius affect centripetal
force
Variable force doing work
is studied by predicting the
distance an arrow will travel
if shot from the bow. To do
this a graph is made and the
area under the curve is
found
Hot wheels tracks are to
used to examine the
minimum release height for
a toy car to round a vertical
loop
The motion of colliding
Pascoe carts is analyzed
using concepts of
momentum, force, and
center of mass.
The coefficient of
restitution is analyzed
between a variety of objects
The moment of inertia of
the Pascoe centripetal force
apparatus and point masses
are measured and the
relationship between mass,
radius, and I are measured
The motion a sphere, hoop,
and disk rolling down an
incline are predicted
Meter sticks are used to
build a system that find the
mass of an unknown using a
first class lever connected in
series to a second class
lever.
A computer simulation lab
is run through the PHET
site examining gravity and
predicting orbital motion.
Hooke’s Law and
oscillating motion are used
Pendulum
Oscillations
to compare the spring
constant
the relationship between the
period of a pendulum and
the acceleration due to
gravity is studied using an
adjustable air table