Syllabus

General information

Instructor: Mr. Andrew Bennett

Instructor e-mail address: abennett1@waukeeschools.org (note the “1”)

Location: Room 503

Prerequisites: Geometry, Physics or AP Physics 1 pre-calc recommended

Textbook: College Physics, 10^th edition, by Raymand A. Serway and Chris Vuille, CENGAGE Learning, 2014.

Assessments

Because the ultimate goal in this class is to master the skills and knowledge expected of a college physics student, and to prove this by taking and passing the AP Physics Exam, your grade will be calculated based on assessments of the learning goals outlined for AP Physics. You will take multiple assessments for each learning goal, and your grade will be updated with new information about your level of mastery of each goal when you complete new assessments. Your progress will be assessed through problems completed at home, in-class quizzes, and exams.

When you view your grades on PowerSchool, you won't see individual assignments. Instead, you'll see your performance on the learning goals for each unit. Many students lack an effective system for keeping track of the work they have done and will do, and instead rely on the PowerSchool grade book to do this for them. This will not work in AP Physics, so we will spend some time deciding how to keep yourself organized as you work through the course. You'll also notice that your grades on each standard are not numbers, but rather are letter codes. The codes are explained below:

M - Master (100%) - I understand this material completely, and routinely put it into practice without errors. I understand when these ideas apply to a situation and when they don't.

E - Expert (90%) - I understand this material well, and routinely put it into practice with only minor errors. I usually recognize when these ideas apply to a situation and when they don't.

P - Practitioner (75%) - I have some understanding of this material.

N - Novice (50%) - I cannot demonstrate understanding of this material. This is the level you will typically begin at for new topics in physics.

ID - Insufficient Data (missing) - I have not provided evidence of my level of understanding of this learning goal.

Because we know that people learn at different rates, and may make a connection later that helps you understand an earlier concept, you will always have the option to do additional learning and reassess on previous learning goals. Since material in physics builds throughout the semester, however, it is not feasible to learn new material effectively without first mastering previous material. If, 3 class days after an assessment is due, you have been unable to complete the learning and assessment on your own, I will intervene with the assistance of your parents / guardians to get it done. This is subject to special cases, such as extended illnesses or family emergencies.

Class structure

One of my goals is to spend little of our time in class on lectures and notes. I can serve you better as a resource by interacting with you individually and in small groups. While there will be times when we work as a class, students will be expected to complete some reading and note-taking outside of class to free up more class time for activities that you can't do from home. This will include class, group, and individual practice, class and group discussions, demonstrations of physics principles, and the completion of guided-inquiry style lab activities. With this format for the class, we can maximize the effectiveness of our time together. However, students must keep up with their reading and other outside work in order to be successful, so time-management and organization will be essential.

This is a college-level class, and as such will be very challenging. Students are encouraged to utilize all available resources on a regular basis, including their textbook, peers, the course web site, other web sites (that students find on their own or that are recommended by their teacher), and the teacher. We will conduct regular assessments to monitor learning progress, the results of which will guide instruction and methods of differentiation to ensure that all students reach the stated learning goals.

This course is divided into nine units, described in more detail below:

1. Electric interactions - Charge, electric forces, electric fields, electric potential
2. Circuits - a continuation of the work in AP Physics 1, introduces capacitors into circuit networks
3. Magnetism and EM induction - Magnetic forces, fields, and potential, and interactions between electric charges and magnetic fields
4. Thermodynamics - heat, energy, temperature, and entropy
5. Fluids - pressure, density, ideal gasses, fluids in motion
6. Optics - light and how it interacts through reflection, refraction, interference, and diffraction
7. Atomic, Nuclear, and Quantum physics - decay, radiation, the photoelectric effect, mass-energy conversions, nuclear collisions and absorption/emission

Experiments

Students will complete a variety of lab experiments in class. In general, the teacher will supply only the equipment, an explanation of how to use it, and the purpose for a lab. Students will work in groups to develop and carry out an experiment to learn about the target behavior. Students will complete all lab work in lab journals, which they will save in case their college requires evidence of the lab work they’ve completed before awarding credit for AP Physics.

Through the completion of experiments in class, students will

· design experiments;

· observe and measure real phenomena;

· organize, display, and critically analyze data;

· analyze sources of error and determine uncertainties in measurement;

· draw inferences from observations and data; and

· communicate results, including suggested ways to improve experiments and proposed questions for further study.

Experiments will serve as learning opportunities, not as assessments. While it will be important for your own understanding and later reference to maintain accurate record in lab journals of what you do and learn from your experiments, the work you do in them will not be graded. Any questions you have about what should be included or how to record something should be addressed during class.

Entries in lab journals typically use the following format:

· A statement of the purpose or problem - what is it you're trying to learn through this activity?

· An hypothesis - what is your prediction for your conclusion, and what are you basing that prediction on? This helps to identify confirmation bias, and should not be overlooked.

· A description of the equipment used and procedure to be followed. Include all settings on equipment and describe what measurements will be made and how they'll be made.

· Data recorded (clearly labeled and organized)

· Calculations, graphs, and written descriptions of how the data was analyzed

· A conclusion including uncertainty analysis and suggestions for improvement or further study

Labs will conclude with group presentations about your findings. Groups will frequently be examining different aspects of a single phenomenon, so keep in mind that other students are depending on your lab work to learn.

Closing

My goal is for you to learn physics, and I will work very hard to accomplish that goal. I cannot complete that goal on my own, however. You bear a great deal of responsibility in this course.

I don't hold one particular way of doing things above all others. I think it's important to try a variety of approaches in any situation to find what works best, so you'll find that the way we do things in class will likely change over the course of the semester we work together. I appreciate your flexibility and welcome your feedback about what is and is not working for you in our class.

Please also try to remember that I (and your other teachers) are people with our own personal lives and families. We all spend a great deal of our unpaid time working to help you learn, rather than enjoying the company of our friends and families. Remember that when you fail to turn something in on time, your teachers have to make adjustments in their schedules to accommodate grading that they didn't plan on, emails and phone calls to you and your parents, and redesigning elements of class to allow you to participate and learn when you fall behind. You don't work in isolation; everything you do affects other people. Please be considerate of me and my time, and I'll do the same for you.