2015-2016
3
AP Physics 2 Syllabus
Table of Contents
Course Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 2-3
Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Description ................................................................................................................................................ 2
Required Materials ................................................................................................................................... 3
Grading Policy ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Grading Scale ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Grade Breakdown ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Homework..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Expectations .............................................................................................................................................. 5
Obtaining Help .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Lab Work ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Lab Notebook ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Expectations ........................................................................................................................................... 6-7
Unit Descriptions...................................................................................................................................... 8-14
1
Course Overview
Prerequisites
Successful completion of AP Physics 1 will be required to assure success in this course. As with AP
Physics 1, an appetite to better understand the scientific world around you will lay the foundation for
another great year in the AP Physics classroom. As with AP Physics 1, Algebra and Trigonometry will be
the mathematical tool’s used to support analytical examination of the many observations made by the
student throughout the year.
Description
AP Physics 2 is the second year of a two year algebra based curriculum which covers all topics found in a
typical college introductory physics course. AP Physics 2 will continue to develop the skills needed to
succeed not only in physics, but in the college classroom where a relentless pursuit of excellence and a
confident understanding of subject matter are a must. Experimentation, at home and in the lab, will
foster observations that will be supported via physical models that the student will become familiar with
during the year. Topics of study in AP Physics 2 will be:
- Fluid statics and dynamics
- Thermodynamics with kinetic theory
- PV (Pressure Volume) diagrams and probability
- Electrostatics
- Electrical circuits with capacitors
- Magnetic fields
- Electromagnetism
- Physical and geometric optics
- Topics in modern physics
Laboratory investigation focused on developing critical thinking and reasoning skills, along with
traditional classroom work (i.e. quizzes & exams), and a regular dose of fun (aka homework), will be the
primary assessment tool used during the year.
2
Required Materials
Item
Textbook
3” 3-ring binder + 7 dividers
1” 3-ring binder + 7 dividers
Lab Notebook
Calculator
Other items
Description
Cutnell & Johnson's Physics: 9th Edition
Large 3-ring binder with 7 sections labeled:
- Class syllabus
- Classroom Discussion & Activities (Not including labs)
- Homework
- Lab Reports
- Quizzes
- Exams
- Completed quizzes from “Quiz Bank”
This binder will contain material for the whole year and will be kept at
home. Mr. Hurrell will ask students to bring this binder in once per
month to check for completeness.
Small 3-ring binder with 7 sections labeled:
- Grade Sheet
- Classroom Discussion & Activities (Not including labs)
- Homework
- Lab Reports
- Quizzes
- Exams
- Completed quizzes from “Quiz Bank”
This binder will contain material for the current unit and will be brought
to class every day. Binder checks will be performed once per week.
9-3/4" x 7-1/2" 100 sheet Composition notebook
Used by student in data collection activities for all “in class” and “at
home” laboratory investigations
One of the following scientific/graphing calculators:
- TI-83, TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver
- TI-84 Plus, TI-84 Plus Silver, TI-84 Plus C Silver
- TI-85
- TI-86
- TI-89, TI-89 Titanium
- Several mechanical pencils
- Several erasers
- Several #2 pencils
- Several black pens
- Colored pencil set
- Ruler
Table 1: Required Materials for AP Physics 2
3
Grading Policy
Grading Scale
Grade
Numerical Equivalent
98-100
93-97
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
59 and below
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Points Awarded
4.3
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.3
1.0
0.7
0.0
Table 2: Grading Scale for AP Physics 2
Grade Breakdown
Activity
Homework
% of grade
15
Classwork
10
Labs
30
Quizzes
10
Exams
35
Description
Each homework assignment will be graded by Mr. Hurrell for,
correctness, completeness, and timeliness. Late assignments will be
accepted but the overall grade will be docked 25% for each calendar day
late.
Bell ringers, other classroom activities (excluding labs), and
organizational skills (binder checks) will be assessed by Mr. Hurrell.
Effort and correctness will be the primary concerns for these items.
Laboratories will comprise a significant portion of the students learning
experience (~25 %). Pre-lab activities, the data collection phase, and the
analysis phase including the associated write-up, will be assessed by Mr.
Hurrell.
Quizzes will be comprised of free response questions that closely
resemble questions available to students in the online quiz bank.
Students will be provided with a formula sheet (including appropriate
constants) during the quizzes.
Exams will be comprised of free response and multiple choice questions,
which closely resemble quiz bank questions and the new College Board
AP Physics 1 & 2 test design. Students will be provided with a formula
sheet (including appropriate constants) during the exams.
Table 3: Grading Breakdown for AP Physics 2
4
Homework
Expectations
Homework is the student’s opportunity to exercise concepts covered in the classroom and/or
laboratory. So Mr. Hurrell can assess your understanding of the concepts please show all work.
Homework feedback provided by Mr. Hurrell and student follow-up are critical components of
homework.
On the homework due date (Day after it’s assigned):
- Place completed HW in your classes INBOX at the beginning of the class period
- Make sure your name is on each piece of paper
- If you have more than one piece of paper staple the pieces together
- Pickup corrected HW from your classes OUTBOX which will be available the day after you turn it in
- Place corrected HW in your binder
Obtaining Help
By appointment, Mr. Hurrell will be available before and after school for any student requiring
assistance with their homework. If prior arrangements are made, Mr. Hurrell will also be available
during his lunch time or planning period.
5
Lab Work
Lab Notebook
Students will record all laboratory investigations in their “Lab Notebook”, a 9-3/4" x 7-1/2" 100 sheet
Composition notebook using a pen. Incorrect entries can be noted as such with an accompanying
reason, but regardless of the reason they will become part of the permanent record. Typical entries in
the Lab Notebook will be:
- Lab Title
- Lab Overview
- Date of laboratory observations
- Laboratory observations (aka data collection)
- Observation notes
Expectations
Laboratory investigations will be used to stimulate student engagement with the physical world in a
team based environment. Experimentation, making initial expectations and arguments, analyzing
observations, problems solving, and presentation of these elements in an organized report, will be some
of the skills exercised and sharpened in the Physics lab. Students will be expected to actively participate
with other team members during all phases of each investigation and team members will be determined
by Mr. Hurrell.
6
A typical lab investigation and report will be comprised of the following elements and the following
rubric will be used to assess the student performance:
Element
Contents
Pre-lab Report
Pre-lab
Typically one page long and should contain your thoughts regarding:
investigation
- Physical phenomena that will be investigated
- Everyday instances where the physical phenomena can be observed
(Provide at least three examples)
- Short summary of procedure that will be used in the investigation
- List of Physics models that apply to the investigation
- Expected observations (How close will they be to the physics
models)
Lab Report
Top-level
- Informative title
Information
- Date
- Your Name
- Lab partners names
Lab Overview
- Physical phenomena investigated
- Everyday instances where the physical phenomena can be observed
- Goal of the lab
- Summary of the results of the investigation
Description of
- Step-by-step description of procedure
Procedure
Note: Include sufficient detail so investigation can be repeated by
someone not in the class
o Apparatus used (Include picture if needed)
o Measuring devices used
Data Collection
- List all data collected
and observations
- List any qualitative observations that are used to support
conclusions
Physical models
- List all physical models (aka formulas) used to examine the data
used (Calculations)
- Make sure to include appropriate units
Tabulate and
- Summarize all data collected in the appropriate format(s) (i.e. table,
Graph to present
graph)
data and/or
- Table headers should be properly labeled, including correct units,
findings
and a proper caption included below table
- Graph’s should be properly labeled, including correct units, and a
caption should be included below the graph.
Examine sources
- Discuss sources of error during the data collection phase
of error
(Measuring device errors, apparatus induced errors, etc. …)
- State how the sources of error impacted your results
Conclusion
- Discuss your results and compare your real-world observations to
theoretical physical model’s
- Discuss what you learned and what you might do differently if you
repeated the investigation
Total
7
PTS
10
5
10
15
10
15
10
10
15
100
Unit Descriptions
Unit 1: Fluids
Topics Covered
-
-
Mass Density
Pressure
o Depth in static fluid
o Gauges
Pascal’s Principle
Archimedes’ Principle
Fluid Dynamics
o Equation of continuity
o Bernoulli’s principle
o Viscous flow
Questions to ponder
-
Coming soon
Unit 2: Temperature & Heat
Topics Covered
-
-
-
Temperature Scales
Thermal expansion
o Linear
o Volume
Heat & Internal Energy
Heat & Change
o Specific Heat
o Latent Heat
o Calorimetry
Heat Transfer
o Conduction
o Convection
o Radiation
Questions to ponder
-
Coming soon
8
Unit 3: Ideal Gas Law & PV Diagrams
Topics Covered
-
Molecular Mass & Mole
Ideal Gas Law
Kinetic Theory
PV diagrams and probability
-
Coming soon
Questions to ponder
Unit 4: Thermodynamics
Topics Covered
-
-
Systems & surroundings
First law of thermodynamics
o Thermal processes
o Specific heat capacities
Second law of thermodynamics
o Heat engine
o Carnot engine
o Entropy
Third law of thermodynamics
-
Coming soon
-
Questions to ponder
9
Unit 5: Electrostatics
Topics Covered
-
Conductors and Insulators
Charging by Contact & Induction
Coulomb’s Law
Electric Field
-
Coming soon
Questions to ponder
Unit 6: Electrical Circuits with Capacitors
Topics Covered
-
-
Capacitors
o Characteristics
o Series circuits
o Parallel circuits
RC circuits
-
Coming soon
Questions to ponder
10
Unit 7: Magnetic Forces & Fields
-
-
-
Topics Covered
Magnetic fields
o Force on a moving charge
o Motion of a charged particle
Current in a magnetic field
o Force
o Torque
Fields produced by currents
Ampere’s law
Questions to ponder
Coming soon
Unit 8: Electromagnetic Induction
Topics Covered
-
-
-
Magnetic fields
Induced EMF & current
o Motional EMF
o Magnetic flux
Faraday’s law
Lenz’s law
Inductance
o Mutual
o Self
Transformers
Questions to ponder
-
Coming soon
11
Unit 9: Electromagnetic Waves
Topics Covered
-
-
The nature of EM waves
EM spectrum
EM waves
o Energy
o Doppler effect
The speed of light
Polarization
-
Coming soon
Questions to ponder
Unit 10: Geometric Optics
Topics Covered
-
-
-
-
-
Reflection: Mirrors
o Reflection
o Plane mirror
o Spherical mirror
o Mirror & magnification equation
Refraction: Lenses
o Index of refraction
o Snell’s Law
o Total internal reflection
o Polarization
o Dispersion
Lenses
o Image formation
o Thin lens equation
o Lens systems
Optical devices
o Human eye
o Telescope
o Compound microscope
o Lens aberrations
Questions to ponder
Coming soon
12
Unit 11: Physical Optics
Topics Covered
-
-
Linear superposition
o Thin-film interference
o Double-Slit interference
o Interferometer
Diffraction
o Resolving power
o Grating
o X-ray
Questions to ponder
-
Coming soon
13
Unit 12: Topics in Modern Physics
-
-
-
-
-
Topics Covered
Particles & Waves
o Wave-particle duality
o Blackbody radiation & Planck’s constant
o Photons
 Photoelectric effect
 Momentum
 Compton effect
o DeBroglie wavelength
Nature of the Atom
o Rutherford scattering
o Bohr model
o Quantum mechanics of hydrogen
Nuclear Physics
o Nuclear structure
 Nuclear force
 Binding energy
 Stability of the nucleus
o Radioactivity
 Decay & activity
 Decay series
Nuclear Energy
o Nuclear Reactions
 A. Fission
 B. Reactors
 C. Fusion
o Elementary particles
o Ionizing radiation
Questions to ponder
Coming soon
14