Course title

Pre-requisite

Course description

The new course is the continuation of the present AP Physics C: Mechanics. The course covers the fundamentals of electricity and magnetism and follows the AP Physics curriculum from the College Board. The course is Calculus based. AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism prepares students for; and students are expected to take the AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Examination. Prerequisites: AP Physics C: Mechanics; Calculus I. Fee required.

AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism is the second semester of the second or third year of a two or three-year sequence that is designed to prepare students to take the AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism examination. It begins by integrating the use of calculus (differentiation and integration) into the AP Physics topics of electricity and magnetism. This allows students to solve calculus based problems.

This course emphasizes problem solving in the context of the principles of physical laws and principles; as well as the ability to apply that knowledge and skill to phenomenon in either an experimental or theoretical setting. Great attention is given to strengthening and reinforcing the natural connections between the sciences and with mathematics.

Proper preparation to take this course includes the completion of Physics Honors; AP Physics 1 or 2. While it is best if Calculus is completed prior to the start of this course; it is possible to take it in parallel if the student can commit additional time and effort. [SC8]

Students will be involved in problem-solving activities on an individual; small group and large group basis. Through this process the ability to read and understand problems; break them down into their component parts and then create and present solutions will be developed.

These same skills will be developed with activities in the physics laboratory. In that case; problem solving will be done in real time with hands-on problems. Much of the work done in the laboratory will include the gathering of data through PASCO electronic sensors. That data will be configured by the students using the PASCO software and then analyzed using that software as well as several compatible programs; including Word and Excel. Through this process both analytical techniques as well as technological capability will be developed. [SC11]

3. Course Outline

Unit Topics Number of Days 1 Electric Charge and Field [SC1] 7 Electric Charge and Atomic Structure Coulomb’s Law Electric Field of Point Charges Electric Field of Continuous Charge Distributions Uniform Disc of Charge and Electric Dipoles

2 Gauss’ Law [SC2] 6 Electric Flux Sphere; Infinite Rod of charge; Infinite Plane of charge Electrostatic Equilibrium of Conductors

3 Electric Potential and Capacitance [SC3] [SC4] 9 Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential Electric Potential Energy of Point Charges Electric Potential of Continuous Distributions Capacitance Energy Stored in Capacitors and Dielectrics

4 Current and Circuits [SC5] 8 Electric Current; Resistivity; EMF Energy and Power of Resistors Kirchhoff’s Rules and Measuring RC Circuits

5 Magnetic Field and Forces [SC6] 5 Magnetic Fields Magnetic Force on a Current Carrying Wire Mass Spectrometer Torque on a Loop and Magnetic Dipole Moment Magnetic Flux Gauss’s Law & Hall Effect

6 Sources of Magnetic Field [SC6] 6 Biot-Savart Law Magnetic Field due to a Loop of Wire Ampere’s Law

7 Electromagnetic Induction [SC7] 8 Electromotive Force Maxwell’s Equations  Faraday’s Law of Induction  Gauss’ Law for Electricity  Gauss’ Law for Magnetism  Ampere’s Law EMF induced in a Moving Conductor

8 Inductance [SC7] 8 Self-Inductance Mutual Inductance Magnetic Energy RL Circuits LC Circuits RLC Circuits

4. Physics Labs and Activities

The course includes a laboratory component; including traditional labs and Pasco computer sensor/analysis labs. All labs must be performed before the completion of the course and the AP Exam. The student will have a complete portfolio of lab reports listed below. [SC11; SC12]

1. Electric Field Maps [SC1] [SC2] 2. Ohm’s Law [SC5] 3. Measuring resistance of a rheostat [SC5] 4. Series and Parallel Circuits [SC5] 5. Resistivity [SC5] 6. E.M.F and internal resistance of a battery [SC5] 7. Wheatstone bridge [SC5] 8. Measuring capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor [SC3] [SC4] 9. R-C circuits [SC3] [SC7] 10. R-L circuits [SC7]

5. Course Assessment

Formative assessments are done by the teacher to assure that the students understand the material that has been taught. These occur during class and divide into two categories. The first category is ungraded and consists of student participation; student responses to questions; observed student-student interactions and homework completion.
The second type of formative assessment is graded and consists of quizzes; based on previously discussed homework assignments; quests; which are full period assessments that check a broader set of problems at the same level of difficulty as quizzes; and reading quizzes; which check to see if students have been completing reading assignments. Altogether these assessments represent about 20 - 30 % of the marking period grade.
Summative assessments take the form of chapter tests; a midterm and final exam. These are all given in the same form as the AP exam; half multiple choice and half free response. The multiple-choice questions are conceptual in nature while the free response section involves solving multi-step problems; often taken from prior AP exams. Chapter tests comprise about 50 - 60% of each marking period grade. The midterm and final exam each represent 10% of the full year grade; combined they equal a marking period grade.
The intention is for identical summative assessments to be given to all the students in the course on the same day; regardless of their teacher. This is to encourage students to study together in groups; with or without a teacher; to advance their skill and understanding.
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Laboratory work is graded and typically represents about 20% of each marking period grade. The grade is divided evenly between the work done in the lab; based on teacher observation; and the lab report. [SC10; SC11; SC12]

6. Teaching Recourses

Progressive Science Initiative AP Physics Calculus Based Electricity and Magnetism digital textbook course documents from the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning found at https://njctl.org/courses/science/ap-physics-c-electricity-magnetism/ ; published in 2014. This digital textbook includes SMART Notebooks Presentations; homework; labs; unit plans and assessments. [SC8]

7. Methodology
Lecture
Use of this method will be limited to the introduction of new topics and will be of short duration; no more than 10 minutes in one class period. Many classes will not include this component at all. The students will need to use their visual; listening; writing skills and organization skills to benefit from this part of the course. Students will be required to keep complete and organized notebooks.
Large group Problem Solving and Discussion Sessions
The teacher will lead these sessions where students will actively participate in raising questions; answering questions and expanding upon topics. The entire class will work together to solve complex problems which test their understanding of the ideas being developed. The teacher will coordinate these sessions to ensure that all the students participate. This is vital in that this gives each student the opportunity to expand their understanding. By increasing the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) for all the students; they will be able to quickly advance their understanding. [SC9]
Small Group Problem Solving Sessions
In these sessions; a few problems will be given to the entire class and they will work in groups of 2 to 4 students to solve them. Once most of the problems have been solved; each group will present a solution to one of the problems to the rest of the class. Disputes and different approaches will be discussed in the Large Group format with the class taking the lead in determining the best approach. The teacher serves to chair the discussion. Once again this activity is designed to allow the students to quickly learn in an environment where their ZPD has been expanded.
Hands-On Activities / Laboratory / Discovery
Students need to not only solve problems analytically but also apply those solutions to real hands-on problems. These sessions are generally; but not exclusively; held in the physics laboratory and involve two to four students working together. The students will be asked to
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conduct experiments that either apply or develop new understandings. These will not be cookbook experiments; where the students simply walk through a procedure. Rather; these experiments involve gathering data and making analyses where the results are unknown to them; and sometimes even to the instructor. Laboratory days are typically once a week for one or two class periods amounting to at least 20% of instructional time.
These labs will use actual physical apparatus; often with electronic probes to gather data and computers to conduct analysis. Whenever possible; they will be performed towards the beginning of each unit; affording the student the experience of discovering the concepts before they are formally taught by the instructor. One objective of each lab exercise is for each student to analyze their data using data and error analysis techniques to judge the accuracy and meaning of their results. [SC10; SC11; SC12]
Homework problems
Problems will be assigned every night so that students can apply the learning that was done during class that day. This will be checked by periodic homework quizzes that will be given the day after the assignment was due. In that way; student who made an honest effort but need to ask questions in class to reach a correct solution are not penalized. The homework quizzes are designed to test that students are learning how to do these problems. This contrasts with collecting assignments; which can lead to copying rather than understanding. [SC9]

School country

School state

School city

School / district Address

School zip code

Requested competency code

Date submitted

Approved

Approved competency code

• LADV
• Advanced science

• LPHY
• Physics

Approved date

Online / Virtual