AP Physics C: Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism Textbook: Giancoli, D. (2000). Physics for Scientists & Engineers Third Edition. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ. AP Physics C is a second year physics course that expects students to enter with a basic understanding of principles in physics. Due to the mathematical nature of this course, students are expected to be taking Calculus concurrently so that it may be implemented in this course. The use of derivatives and integrals will be used throughout the year. Homework will be given on a daily basis and will be announced in class. The course will be supplemented by weekly lab sessions, group projects, and other studentcentered inquiry-based activities. Although lecture will occur on a regular basis, the majority of this course will be taught with student-centered pedagogy. Students will often be working together in co-operative groups or working at the board to develop critical thinking. The pedagogy of this course is heavily influenced by the constructivist epistemology, which suggests that knowledge is not transmitted by the teacher but is actively constructed by the student in terms of viability. It is recognized that students enter the classroom with knowledge that may and may not be consistent with the physicist s viewpoint. Therefore experiences will be provided throughout the year for students to evaluate their own preconceptions and to foster assimilation and accommodation. This course meets everyday of a six-day cycle for 56-minute periods. Twice a cycle there will be a double period to provide additional time for labs. Due to the tentative nature of scientific knowledge the use of guided inquiry will be used throughout the course. There are many levels to inquiry that vary in structure, however every concept taught is subject to investigation. Investigations will be designed that test hypotheses derived through class discussion. Some of the investigations will be short demonstrations that the students observe together and others will be conducted individually or in groups lasting multiple periods. Students will use data to support or disprove ideas. In many circumstances anomalous data may arise. In these circumstances students will cooperatively work together to determine if the anomalies are due to errors made by the experimenters or by an incomplete understanding of a phenomena. Student centered inquiry learning will be at least 20% of this course. Students are expected to record and analyze data in their lab notebook and throughout the year write formal lab reports. Formal lab reports will include a section describing the problem to be investigated, the hypothesis (with reasoning), the procedures used, a presentation of data (includes observations, tables, graphs, and calculations), a discussed analysis of the data, conclusions (which provides applications for future predictions), and error analysis. Assessment, both formally and informally, will be conducted on a daily basis. Examples of informal assessment will be through class discussions and students presenting homework
problems on the board. Formal assessment will include tests, homework, written lab reports, lab practicals, projects, and formal presentations, which will determine your grade. Semester One: Mechanics Each unit is approximately two weeks in length. Unit Title Chapter in text Motion in One Dimension Measurements and Units Displacement Velocity Graphs Constant Acceleration Changing Acceleration Introduction to use of derivatives Kinematic equations for constant acceleration Free-Fall Motion in Two Dimensions Scalars vs. Vectors Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration in 2 dimensions Projectile Motion Relative Motion Centripetal Acceleration Activity 2 Cart on an inclined plane Lab. Learning objective: through the use of ticker tape, the collection and analysis of data students determine if kinematic equations and graphical methods accurately predict the speed and velocity of a cart with a constant acceleration. Kinematics Traffic Activity Learning objective: Through assuming driving conditions and the use of kinematics students create an argument to determine if it was possible for someone to not be speeding. 3 Projectile Motion Lab: Learning objective: to discover the independence of vertical and horizontal directions of motion for a marble rolling off a table and to test their ideas by predicting where a launched marble will land. Conceptual Understanding of Newton s Laws Newton s 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd law Mass Free-Body-Diagrams Vectors Normal Force Friction Tension Weight 4 Newton s Second Law Lab Learning objective: By applying a constant force on a cart through a pulley system and by using CBL equipment to collect data students will discover a constant net force causes a constant acceleration, the direction of the net force is the same as the acceleration, the net force and acceleration are directly proportional, and the mass and acceleration are inversely proportional.
Applications of Newton s Laws I Mathematical analysis of static and nonstatic force problems in 2-dimensions including tensions, friction, pulleys, springs, and inclined planes. Applications of Newton s Laws II with Universal Gravity Centripetal Applications of Newton s Laws Universal Gravity Circular and Elliptical Orbits Force Vector Lab: Learning Objective: Through the use of a spring scale to measure tensions at different angles acting on a mass, students learn that an object remains at rest if the vector sum of tensions remains zero. 4 and 5 Newton s Second Law Revisited Lab will learn that by analyzing all the forces acting on a cart being pulled across a table, it is possible to predict its acceleration. The students use CBL equipment to collect data for the acceleration of a cart. Windlass Accident Analysis Activity. Learning Objective: through the analysis of testimony from an accident and the use of Newton s Laws student determine if a warehouse accident was due to faulty cables or operator error. 5 and 6 Newton s Second Law for Centripetal Motion Lab Learning Objective: To understand how Newton s Law can be applied to centripetal motion to predict the period of a conical pendulum. Applications of Gravity Activity Learning Objective: To understand how Newton s Law of Gravity can be integrated with Newton s Second Law and centripetal motion. Students use data from NASA s website for the Mars Global Surveyor s closest and furthest approach from Mars and its period to determine the mass of Mars.
Work and Energy Work (constant and varying forces) Introduction to the Integral Kinetic Energy Conservation of Mechanical Energy Gravitational Potential Energy (local and universal) Potential Energy of a Spring Power Impulse and Momentum Impulse Momentum Conservation of Momentum in one and two dimensions Elastic and Inelastic Collisions Center of Mass and Momentum of the Center of Mass Rotational Dynamics and Oscillations Rotational Kinematics (constant and nonconstant angular speed and acceleration) Torque, Moment of Inertia, and Newton s Second Law Rotational Work, Rotational Kinetic Energy, and Conservation Angular Impulse, Angular Momentum, and Conservation Simple Harmonic Motion for an Oscillating Spring and a Simple 7 and 8 Roller Coaster Lab Learning Objective: Through analyzing a marble rolling on a CPO roller coaster and photo gates, students discover the need to develop a rotational model of kinetic energy. K Nex Roller Coaster Project: Students build a K Nex Learning Objective: for students to understand how conservation of energy can be applied in the design of a roller coaster. In addition, students analyze why the cart does not make it through the loop on the roller coaster. Students then redesign the cart and the coaster. 9 Cart Explosion Lab discover through the use of carts (with varying mass) and CBL equipment that although speed may vary, momentum is conserved. 10, 11, 12, and 14 Physics of Pool Project Learning Objective: by playing a friendly game of pool, students learn how an understanding of elastic collisions in two dimensions can be an advantage. The Atwood Machine Lab Learning Objective: through the use of a stopwatch, meter stick, and balance students use an Atwood Machine to support Newton s Second Law Springs and Pendulums Lab Learning Objective: Through the use of photo gates and CBL equipment students discover what variables affect an oscillating spring and pendulum
Pendulum Semester Exam: Previously Released AP Physics C: Mechanics Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions. Semester Two: Electricity & Magnetism Unit Title Electrostatics Basics of Electric Attraction, and Repulsion, and Induced Charge Coulomb s Law Electric Field (point charges, and through integration line of charge and sheet of charge) Electric Field Lines Electric Flux Gauss s Law (point charge, line of charge, sheet of charge, conductors and nonconductors) Electrical Energy and Capacitors Electrical Work and Kinetic Energy Electrical Potential Energy Electrical Potential Potential Difference Voltage and Relationship to Electric Field Equipotential Lines Applications for point charge, line of charge, sheet of charge Capacitors (parallel plate, cylindrical, and spherical) Capacitors in Series and Parallel Energy Stored in Capacitors Dielectrics Chapter Activity in text 21 and 22 Induction Lab Learning Objective: Through the use of charged rods, students discover and develop explanations for neutral pith balls attracting to charged objects and how objects can be charged through induction. Coulomb s Law Lab Learning Objective: By measuring the amount of deflection between a charged rod and pith balls, students discover the inverse square relationship of Coulomb s Law. 23 and 24 Mapping the Electric Field Lab Learning Objective: By using conducting ink, a battery, and a multi-meter, students discover what the equipotential and electric field lines look like for a charged point, charged line, and a charged circle. Particle Accelerator Activity how capacitors can be used to accelerate a charged particle.
Circuits Current, Current Density, and Drift Velocity Resistance and Resistivity Ohm s Law and Power EMF and Internal Resistance Simple Series and Parallel Circuits Kirchoff s Laws RC Circuits 25 and 26 Circuits Lab I series and parallel circuits by analyzing light bulbs (which have hidden wiring) to determine how they are wired in a combination of series and parallel. Circuits Lab II discover that the voltage across a battery drops when it is placed in a circuit. The students discover that the only viable explanation is that batteries have an internal resistance. Circuits Lab III simple and parallel circuits by predicting and measuring currents through different branches of simple and parallel circuits. Circuits Lab IV Kirchoff s Laws by predicting and measuring currents through different branches of complex circuits. Magnetism Basics of Magnetism and the Magnetic Field Oerstead s Discovery of RC Lab discover the exponential nature of the RC circuit and the significance of the time constant by measuring the voltages across a battery, resistor, and capacitor in a RC circuit. 27 and 28 Solenoid Lab Ampere s Law and the right-
Currents Creating Magnetism Force on a Current Carrying Wire in a Magnetic Field Force on a Moving Charge in a Magnetic Field Right-Hand-Rules for Direction of a Magnetic Field Created by a Current Carrying Wire and for the Direction of a Force Acting on a Current Carrying Wire or a Moving Charge Biot-Savart Law and Applications Ampere s Law and Applications Magnetic Field of a Long Straight Wire, Loop of Wire, and Solenoid Interaction Between Parallel Current Carrying Wires Motors hand-rule for the direction of a magnetic field for a current carrying solenoid. Students predict and verify, with the use of a compass, the variable that affects the strength and direction of a magnetic field created by a solenoid. Current Balance Lab how a magnetic field from a solenoid can exert a force on a current carrying wire and what the direction and magnitude depends upon. Motor Building Activity how a motor works and recognize applications of physics to technology. Field Trip to MIT Bates Linear Accelerator gain a greater appreciation for the nature of science and discover that particle accelerators operate on basic principles of electricity and magnetism.
Electromagnetism Motional EMF Magnetic Flux Faraday s Law Lenz s Law Electric Generators Self-Inductance LR and LC Circuits Energy Stored due to Inductors 29, 30, and 32 Induced Voltage Lab Faraday s law by discovering how the speed of a magnet pushed into a solenoid affects the amount of induced current. In addition students gain a greater understanding of Lenz s Law by predicting and testing the direction of an induced current for various combinations of a magnet and a solenoid. AM Radio Activity how inductors are used in AM radio receivers. Final Exam: Previously Released AP Physics C Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism Multiple Choice and Free-Response Questions. Post AP Exam Maxwell s Equations and its prediction of electro-magnetic waves traveling at a speed c relative to no frame of reference or medium Special Relativity and Particle Physics-Ch 32, 37, and various handouts. Guest lecture from theoretical physicist.