Advanced Placement Physics
Topics on this page:Daily Assignment Web Log About AP Physics Links and Resources Textbooks and Supplies UC a-g requirements Document Archive
These pages are designed for students of Jeff Adkins at Deer Valley High School in Antioch, California. Click the links at left to go to the other pages belonging to Mr. Adkins.
AP Physics Fall 2008 (Jan. 2009) Practice Final Exam : Click here
Lesson Planning Calendar: Click here
News
AP Physics at DVHS has been audited and approved by the College Board for Fall 2007.
This is the message recieved from the College Board.
"The College Board is pleased to announce that your Physics B course is authorized to use the "AP®" designation for the 2007-08 academic year. The College Board applauds and recognizes your efforts to provide your students with the academic rigor and college-level experience that is the promise of AP.
What Does Authorization Mean?
The authorization of your course is an official recognition by the College Board that your course meets or exceeds the expectations colleges and universities have for your AP subject. Your syllabus was reviewed by experienced college and university faculty, who have confirmed that it outlines how your course provides a college-level learning opportunity to students. This authorization grants your school permission to use the "AP" designation on students' transcripts in association with the authorized course. In addition, your course will appear in a publicly-available ledger to be published on the Web in November 2007. "Thanksgiving homework:
page 151
3,6,7,11,15,23,27,32Looking for a syllabus? Mine is here. The College Board lists several others here.
AP PHYSICS SUMMER HOMEWORK
do this when you sign up for the course
1. All students should purchase a copy of the Princeton Review Cracking the AP Physics B and C AP Exam book. It can be purchased from Barnes and Noble or ordered from Amazon.com. The current 2006 edition is here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375765409/ref=pd_cp_b_title/104-1600306-0424721?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155
The ISBN is 0375765409 if you are buying from a bookstore that is out of stock.
Visit the College Board's AP Physics B page to download the documents for the class, or use the links below.
2. Download a copy of the AP Physics Equation list. Print out the B equations and not the C equations. Also print out the physical constants and trig formulas page.
3. Read "GREEAT Science" (see link at left).
4. Analyze every equation in the "B" equations list, one equation per page.
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Identify all the variables by name.
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List the units of measurement for each variable. You may need to look these up somewhere. Since you will not have books, I recommend the web site hyperphysics.
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Identify every relationship between variables. Ignore constants such as 1/2, or physical constants which cannot change such as the speed of light. Identify the name of the relationship, sketch the graph showing the relationship, and write a sentence describing the relationship. This will be from 3-10 relationships per equation.
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Create a sample problem for each equation where you make up values for all the variables except one, and solve for that. If you're aggressive abouit it, make a sample problem for each variable.
5. Download the course description and especially the detailed course outline, and prepare a binder with these items in it. (Only print out the B section parts from the course description. It is quite long.) We will be covering approximately 5 bullet points per day on the course outline to stay on schedule for the test. The course outline is your exam review guide for every test in the class.
6. Put all of this in a binder. We'll be using this binder throughout the year.
This is due on the first day of class! Write me if you have questions. GREEAT science has many examples.
Punkin Chunkin Bonus Problem:
This gentleman fired a small (~1 lb) pumpkin from a slingshot for me at the Punkin Patch sponsored by the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association's annual train ride/pumpkin patch. (Go to the western railway musem near Fairfield sometime in the next two weeks to try it yourself for $1.) I captured the following video frames from the firing.
Given the following:
The punkins are about 1 lb. each.
The post closes to us is perhaps 4.5 feet tall, as is the next post farther away.
The punkin is fired between the posts, and I am standing perpendicular to the line of fire as I took the picture. If you measure the angle of firing from the picture it should be reasonably accurate.
Each frame is 1/15 of a second apart, and these three frames are consecutive, so from the first to the third is a total of 2/15 of a second.Calculate the following:
Final velocity based on the three frames shown.
Average acceleration during the three frames shown.
Mass of the punkin in kg.
Force required to cause the punkin to accelerate at this rate.
Maximum altitude.
Range.
Time to highest point and total time of flight.
The operator told me the punkins travel around 60 yards to a nearby wagon in the adjacent field. Does that sound about right?
Here is a link to the companion site for our new textbook: Click here. Solutions to problems marked "web" are here. There are several other study guide-type pages as well.
The AstronomyTeacher.com online store now offers a "Deer Valley AP Physics Equation shirt" with all the equations from the 2003-2004 exam printed upside down. The shirt has been updated to make the letters darker and the print on the back has been added with the equations right-side up, for the person sitting behind you. No, you cannot wear this shirt during the exam. But in general, you can wear it in class. It's OK to order it now, so go for it...You can also wear the shirt during the final.
About AP Physics
I study nuclear science
I love my classes
I got a crazy teacher, he wears dark glasses
Things are going great, and they're only getting better
I'm doing all right, gettin' good grades
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
...gotta wear shades--Timbuk 3 (1988)
This course provides an understanding of the basic principles involved with physical concepts and the ability to apply these principles in the solution of problems. The course content includes topics in mechanics, kinetic theory and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, and modern physics. Students are encouraged to take the AP Physics "B" exam in the spring. Some support will be offered for students wishing to take the "C" exam, including after school tutoring. Most students should take the "B" test.
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Note: Gr. 10 students may take this course as an elective while concurrently enrolled in Biology CP
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Board Policy 6465: Special demands of this course may require students to complete assignments over vacation/off-track periods.
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Students who do well on the AP Physics B or C exams will be offered college credit for introductory physics by some institutions. Not all institutions offer such credit and the interested student should check with individual schools.
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Since this is a challenging course--possibly one of the most challenging courses in high school--students will be assigned a gread deal of homework, not all of which will be checked.
UC a-g Requirements Information
The University of California counts Physics as a UC - d course.
The purpose of this course is to prepare students for the AP Physics B exam. Some after school sessions will be held for students interested in pursuing the Physics C test, which is given at the same time as the B. I will teach the course with the expectation that all students will take the AP exam if they decide to enroll in AP physics. Otherwise, they really should be enrolled in general physics. Greater success will be achieved if students have had either 9th grade science or General Physics prior to taking this course, but those courses are not official prerequisites.
College Physics by Serway and Faughn
This is an excellent physics book and we have seen dramatic increases in our scores since we began using it. Please take care of it because the binding is fragile.
The following purchases are recommended for this class:
Lab notebook (a looseleaf binder is acceptable)
Links and Resources
Although many of these links look like they are just for teachers, many of them lead directly to hundreds of other links suitable for students seeking to understand specific concepts.
My favorite physics page is Hyperphysics, a graphically organized general reference to physics with interactive examples. :http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
The AP CENTRAL AP PHYSICS B PAGE
This includes a link to the equation pages. Be sure to use the B equations and not the C equations.Download the course description to see the topics on the exam.Conceptual Physics resource page-- A HUGE list of links sorted by chapters in Hewitt's Conceptual Physics book
http://www.phschool.com/science/cpsurf/Job database for physics majors
http://www.psrc-online.org/careers/jobsearch.htmlPION: Northern California Physics Teachers organization
http://phys-astro.sonoma.edu/people/faculty/tenn/PION.htmlOver 200 Physics lessons including lesson plans
http://www.iit.edu/~smile/physinde.htmlAmerican Association of Physics Teachers Science Resource Center
http://www.psrc-online.org/American Science and Surplus (fun stuff!)
http://www.sciplus.com/Exploratorium "Snacks" (small demos)
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/snackintro.htmlSurplus hardware and want-ads
http://www.labx.com/v2/categories.cfmOfficial AP Physics course outline from College Board
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/physics/html/cours002.htmlPhysics Shareware for Macintosh:
http://www.ecs.fullerton.edu/~jperryl/Physics.html#anchor361120University of Maryland Physics Demonstration List
http://www.physics.umd.edu/deptinfo/facilities/lecdem/indexx.htmAmerican Association of Physics Teachers
http://www.aapt.org/
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