Physics A

Physics A Syllabus

Course Description
Physics delves into the interactions of matter and energy, from the subatomic level of quarks and leptons to the astronomical level of the Big Bang and black holes. This first course on physics focuses on the ordinary interactions seen on our everyday world. The model of Newton's laws of motion applies to all such interactions and serves as a basis for analyzing the forces of gravity, friction, heat, and other forms of energy. This first course deals with motion, forces, momentum, heat, and waves, along with their subtopics, such as work and energy. A short description of this physics course might be "engineering physics," since the most obvious applications of everyday physics is in engineering machines and facilities.
Course Objectives
• Understand the concepts of forces and matter as they relate to ordinary interactions to an introductory level.
Topics to be Covered
Unit 1: Motion and Forces
Unit Description
Physics began in the modern era with a study of motion, forces, and gravity. Galileo's bold assertions that observation and experimentation were of greater authority than the classical masters or the theologians may have landed him in trouble with the religious authorities, but it set the stage for a new way of scientific thinking. Isaac Newton, buoyed by the new discoveries from the telescope, looked at the world around him as part of a greater universe, subject to universal laws. His formulation of three Laws of Motion and the concept of gravity stand among the top intellectual triumphs of the modern era
Unit Objectives
• Analyze and describe motion in three dimensions
• Standardize and understand the communication of accuracy and precision in measurements
Lesson 1: Physics—What’s That?
Lesson Description
Scientific method, definition of physics, models, graphs and mathematics
Lesson Objectives
• Describe how human needs and curiosity have impacted the development of science.
Lesson 2: A Full Measure
Lesson Description
SI, dimensional analysis, accuracy and precision, significant figures
Lesson Objectives
• Communicate results clearly and logically.
Lesson 3: Speeding Along
Lesson Description
Velocity, displacement, average vs instantaneous, frame of reference
Lesson Objectives
• Determine the rate of change for a quantity.
Lesson 4: Accelerating
Lesson Description
Acceleration, calculating final velocity, acceleration graphs, problem solving
Lesson Objectives
• Analyze the relationships among position, velocity, and acceleration.
Lesson 5: Vectors from Head to Tail
Lesson Description
Vectors, scalars, vector addition, multiplication of vectors by scalars.
Lesson Objectives
• Analyze the two-dimensional motions of objects.
Unit 2: Laws of Motion
Unit Description
It is time to delve into the laws that govern motion. First, we look at projectile motion, that is, the behavior of moving objects in the pull of Earth's gravity. Everything from basketballs to bombs are launched with the intent that they come back to Earth at a precise point, and knowledge of the laws of motion and of gravitation enable men to calculate their paths precisely. In the last two lessons of this unit, Newton's well-established three laws of motion are presented. Though they were formulated over 300 years ago, Newton's laws are still being used today to calculate forces, accelerations, and inertia for moving things
Unit Objectives
• Understand and apply the principles of projectile motion.
• List and understand Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Lesson 6: Vectoring Projectiles
Lesson Description
Mathematical conversions (Pythagorean Theorem, trig functions), adding vectors mathematically, projectile motion
Lesson Objectives
• Give an example that shows the independence of vertical and horizontal components in projectile motion
• Analyze the two-dimensional motions of objects
Lesson 7: Relative Motion
Lesson Description
Relative motion, variables, addition of frame of reference values
Lesson Objectives
• Analyze the relationships among position, velocity, and acceleration.
Lesson 8: Changes in Motion
Lesson Description
Forces, contact and field forces, free-body diagrams
Lesson Objectives
• Determine the rate of change of a quantity
Lesson 9: Newton’s First Law
Lesson Description
Newton’s First Law, net external force, inertia
Lesson Objectives
• Explain how Newton’s 1st Law applies to objects at rest and in motion.
Lesson 10: More Newton
Lesson Description
Newton’s 2nd Law, Newton’s 3rd Law, action-reaction pairs
Lesson Objectives
• Use Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion, analyze the forces upon an accelerating object.
• Use Newton’s 3rd Law to explain forces as interactions between bodies.
Unit 3: Work, Energy, and Power
Unit Description
Force is a useful concept, but only if it is put into a real-world context. Force must operate over a distance, and when it does, it is considered work. That is not to say that it is drudgery, but the concept of work in physics indicates that something has moved or changed. If nothing moves, no work is done. The rate of work is power, and the ability to do work is energy. The concepts of work, energy, and power are interrelated, but they all apply to many kinds of forces.
Unit Objectives
• Understand the relationships of force, energy, work, and power and their effect on matter.
• Apply the concept of conservation of energy to the interactions of matter and energy.
Lesson 11: Everyday Forces
Lesson Description
Mass vs. weight, normal force, friction
Lesson Objectives
• Represent the force conditions required to make a change in motion.
• Describe the nature and magnitude of frictional forces.
Lesson 12: Work, Work, Work
Lesson Description
Work definition, sign conventions, and calculations
Lesson Objectives
• Describe various ways in which matter and energy interact.
Lesson 13: Energy
Lesson Description
Kinetic energy, work-energy theorem, potential energy, elastic energy and spring constant
Lesson Objectives
• Describe various ways that energy is transferred within a system.
Lesson 14: Nothing Lost, Nothing Gained
Lesson Description
Conservation of mechanical energy, friction loss, types of energy
Lesson Objectives
• Recognize that energy is conserved in a closed system.
Lesson 15: Power
Lesson Description
Definition of power, relation to force and speed
Lesson Objectives
• Calculate quantitative relationships associated with force, work, energy, and power.
Unit 4: Manipulating Forces
Unit Description
Forces are everywhere. Except in empty space (and this is debated) few things travel in straight lines, and every deviation from a straight line motion indicates that there is a force at work. In this unit, you will study how forces work, and how we use forces to do our work. Momentum, collisions, circular motion, and machines are all artifacts of forces and motion. In addition, throughout history, men have used the buoyant forces of water and other fluids to move themselves and other things. Today's machines and tranportation are simply extensions of what was learned and employed in earlier eras. A thorough understanding of physics must include such engineering applications.
Unit Objectives
• Using the conservation of momentum, distinguish between elastic and inelastic collisions.
• Convert energy and motion values in circular motion situations.
• List and categorize simple and complex machines.
• Recognize buoyancy as a force and apply it to fluid mechanics.
Lesson 16: Conserving Momentum
Lesson Description
Momentum, impulse, collisions
Lesson Objectives
• Analyze the impulse required to produce a change in momentum.
Lesson 17: A Collision Course
Lesson Description
Elastic collisions, perfectly inelastic collisions, mass considerations
Lesson Objectives
• Quantify interactions between objects to show conservation of momentum in collision and recoil.
Lesson 18: Going in Circles
Lesson Description
Centripetal acceleration, circular motion forces, law of universal gravitation
Lesson Objectives
• Analyze the general relationships among force, acceleration, and motion for an object undergoing uniform circular motion.
• Using the Law of Universal Gravitation, predict how the gravitational force will change when the distance between tow masses changes, or the mass of one of them changes.
Lesson 19: Space and Machines
Lesson Description
Torque, simple machines, mechanical advantage, efficiency
Lesson Objectives
• Determine the rate of change of a quantity.
• Using Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion, analyze the forces on an accelerating object.
Lesson 20: Buoyancy and Fluids
Lesson Description
Density, buoyant force, floating objects
Lesson Objectives
• Describe various ways in which energy is transferred from one system to another.
Unit 5: Heat and Energy
Unit Description
The most common form of energy is heat. Heat is the kinetic energy of molecules. Temperature is the average kinetic energy of molecules. The Second Law of Thermodynamics implies that the universe is heating up, since all processes tend to generate heat. How do humans manage to stand all this universal warming? By recycling heat energy.
Unit Objectives
• Relate the concept of pressure to fluid mechanics.
• Distinguish between heat, the total kinetic motions of particles, and temperature, their average motion.
• Describe the action of heat energy on gases, liquids, and solids.
Lesson 21: Pressure and Fluid Mechanics
Lesson Description
Pressure defined, Pascal’s principle, Bernoulli’s principle, ideal fluids
Lesson Objectives
• Calculate quantitative relationships associated with the conservation of energy.
Lesson 22: Temperature
Lesson Description
Internal energy, thermal equilibrium, temperature scales and conversions
Lesson Objectives
• Distinguish between heat and temperature.
Lesson 23: The Heat is On.
Lesson Description
Heat vs. temperature, convection, conduction, radiation, heat and work
Lesson Objectives
• Distinguish between heat and temperature.
Lesson 24: Heat—Inside and Out
Lesson Description
Specific heat capacity, calorimetry, latent heat, heat of vaporization, heat of fusion
Lesson Objectives
• Explain how molecular motions is related to temperature and phase changes.
Lesson 25: Heat and Work
Lesson Description
Isovolumetric, isothermal, adiabatic conditions, volume and work considerations
Lesson Objectives
• Calculate quantitative relationships associated with the conservation of energy.
Unit 6: Heat Waves
Unit Description
Energy comes in multiple forms, including heat and waves. Heat studies comprise the science of thermodynamics; wave studies, on the other hand, are dispersed through several branches of physics, including optics and acoustics. In this final unit of Physics A, thermodynamics will conclude and wave studies will be overviewed. Waves are simply energies that exhibit periodic properties, such as frequency and period. The acoustic properties of pitch and loudness, and the optical properties of color and brightness share the same properties of wavelength and amplitude.
Unit Objectives
• Understand and apply the laws of thermodynamics.
• Recognize and describe harmonic motion and its relationship to waves.
• Identify the properties of waves and their interaction with matter.
Lesson 26: The Laws of Thermodynamics
Lesson Description
First and second laws, engine efficiency, combustion engines
Lesson Objectives
• Calculate quantitative relationships associated with the conservation of energy.
• Analyze the relationship between energy transfer and disorder in the universe.
Lesson 27: Harmonic Motion
Lesson Description
Harmonic motion, Hooke’s law, pendulums, period and frequency, spring constants
Lesson Objectives
• Describe the characteristics of waves.
Lesson 28: Waves
Lesson Description
Transverse and longitudinal, pulse and periodic, wave properties
Lesson Objectives
• Describe the characteristics of waves.
Lesson 29: Interference and More
Lesson Description
Superposition, constructive and destructive interference, reflection, standing waves
Lesson Objectives
• Describe the characteristics of waves.
Lesson 30: Finally!
Lesson Description
Final Exam and case study discussion
Lesson Objectives
• Demonstrate mastery over the concepts of introductory physics.
Assessment of Concepts and Skills/Evaluation of Student Progress
Pretests
Pretests assess a student’s prior knowledge of the content in a unit. These questions are taken directly from the unit exam but do not count toward a student’s grade.
Workbook Questions
Workbook questions are presented to students after most activities containing content. They assess a student’s knowledge of the content immediately after they view/learn the content. Workbook questions typically include multiple choice, true/false, and/or fill-in-the-blank questions.
Checkpoints
Checkpoints assess a student’s knowledge of the concepts taught in a lesson. Typically, multiple choice and true/false questions are presented.
Exams (including Vocabulary Exam)
Exams assess a student’s knowledge of the concepts taught in a unit. Typically, multiple choice and true/false questions are presented.
The Vocabulary Exam assesses a student’s knowledge of several key terms taught throughout the entire course. Typically, multiple choice and true/false questions are presented.
Final Exam
The Final Exam assesses a student’ knowledge of all of the content taught throughout the entire course. Typically, multiple choice and true/false questions are presented.
Discussion Boards
Discussions assess a student’s knowledge of the content taught in each lesson of a unit through answering questions and discussing the content with fellow students.
Unit 1
“Physics and Math” discusses the close relationship of physical events to the math that describes them.
Unit 2
“Thought Experiments” discusses the trend toward using thoughts and idealized events as experiments in physics.
Unit 3
“All Things Being Equal…” discusses the use of mathematical equations and functions in describing physical events and things.
Unit 4
“Friction and Transportation” discusses our need for rapid transportation and the friction that must be overcome.
Unit 5
“Universal Warming” discusses the time arrow of thermodynamics and the warming of the Universe.
Unit 6
“Harmonics and Waves” discusses harmonic motion in atoms and their relationship to waves of light.
Unit Projects
Unit 1: 1) Measurement; 2) Acceleration calculations

Unit 2: 1 ) Projectile Motion; 2)Acceleration

Unit 3: 1) Relationship of Angle to Work Done; 2) Spring Constant

Unit 4: 1) Collisions w/ Different Masses; 2) Fulcrum and Lever

Unit 5: 1)Brownian Motion and Temperature; 2)Specific Heat Capacity of Gum

Unit 6: 1)Waves and Interference