Week 1
Course overview & the scientific method.
Motion in one dimension & the equations of motion.
Displacement, velocity and acceleration.
The motion of falling objects
Copernicus and the heliocentric view
Homework sheet for unit 1 assigned.
My favorite physicist.... In assigned pairs you will research one physicist from the past 400 years. You must explain his or her contribution to physics and also why you chose that person. Make 2-5 pages of notes, and scan them to PhotoShop. Make a page that shows how you use the most important information only and print it. You will then prepare a 5 minute Powerpoint presentation, which is due on Friday.
Mirror this page on your DP. Create your own header. Link to completed assignments in column 2. Document what you learned in column 3 (we will call this "digital notes")
Copy of the course syllabus
Worked example of velocity and distance.
Worked example of velocity and acceleration.
Worked example of distance and acceleration.
Worked example of a falling body.
Week 2 (no school Monday)
Vectors - splitting things into components.
Motion in 2 dimensions: projectile motion
Orbits & planetary motion
Galileo Galilei & Johannes Kepler
Read this article from Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Write a summary and response. Due Friday
Link all completed work to your DP. Update your learning journal with "digital notes"
email me the link (due by mid-day Friday)
Worked example involving vectors
Worked example with Keplers Laws
Worked example of components
Week 3
Newton's law of Gravitation
Newton's 1st Law (The law of inertia)
Newton's 2nd Law (F = ma)
Newton's 3rd Law (action and reaction)
Review for exam.
Homework sheet on unit 1 is due Friday. Write up your answers electronically and link to the document from your learning journal.
Choose an invention from the time period 1550 - 1800 for your first project. You must be able to explain how the device works, and build a model of it, so choose carefully. Research your invention, and make careful, detailed notes.
Complete your digital notes for the first 3 weeks and email me the link by 11:59 PM on Thurs.
Worked example 1
Worked example 2
Worked example with graphs
Someone else's PowerPoint on projectiles
Professor Walter Lewin of MIT has a video lecture on Newton's laws.
The effect of a small force on a large object is mentioned in this article.
Week 4
Forms of energy in Physics
Kinetic Energy equation
Potential Energy equation
Isaac Newton
Make at least 4 visuals for how you will explain how your device works. Make sure that you include several "styles" (cartoon, technical, mathematical, etc...)
Put visuals and notes together into 11 x 17 document in PhotoShop (Illuminated notes)
Illuminated notes poster 1st draft due Friday
Some important trig values
Projects can be seen HERE!
Week 5
Conservation of energy
Work and Power
Conservation of Momentum
Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle
Homework sheet for unit 2: page 1, page 2
More on digital notes:
Digital notes are used to keep a permanent record of your learning in class. You should update them at least every week.
You may copy and paste any interesting pictures and tables from the Web.
You may NOT copy and paste text!!
Final draft of Illuminated Notes must be printed by the end of week 5.
Design for your installation, plus a proof of principle model due by wednesday of week 6
Homework sheet 2 due Friday of week 6
Complete your digital notes for weeks 4, 5 & 6 and email me the link before class on Friday.
Week 6
Elastic and inelastic collisions
Forms of energy dissipation (friction)
Notes: [1]
Worked example involving power
Week 7
Waves and wave phenomenon
Types of wave phenomenon
Light and the Electromagnetic spectrum
Electomagnetic waves in-class worksheet
Shadows and reflection of Light homework
Project Check-in 1
Week 8
Refraction & refractive index.
Total Internal Reflection (TIR) & fiber optics.
Refraction Homework Sheet
Project Check-in 2.
Animation showing the bending of wavefronts due to light-speed change in glass
This Flash Applet shows Snells Law & TIR
Some images related to refraction and dispersion can be found here, but not all are correct!!
Week 9
Concave and convex lenses, the telescope.
Albert Einstein
Lenses Homework sheet.
Progress on your project will be evaluated Wednesday. Make sure you can show your personal contibution to what has been done.
Light Quiz on Friday. Topics from weeks 7 - 9.
DP check #3. Update your DP. Post all completed project work in column 3. Include your plans for week 10.
Fill out THIS SHEET in class to show where images are formed in a double-convex lens. (solution)
Review sheet for unit 3.
Week 10
Optics 2
Traveling and standing waves
Interference & Diffraction.
Niels Bohr
Project is due week 11. Finalize any science this week. Your project should be in working order by the end of this week!! Work on graphics and explanation.
Week 11
Pulses and dispersion.
Light waves, color, IR and UV light
Fluorescence and optical transitions in atoms
Edwin Hubble
Week 12
Richard Feynman
Merchant of Venice groups assigned this week
Optics Lab experiments 1 - 3.
Week 15