AP Physics 1
2015-16 Syllabus
AP Exam: May 3, 2015 (PM)
Ms. Elisa Cardnell
Carnegie Vanguard High School
Room 234
713-732-3690
ecardnel@houstonisd.org / *cardnell@emcphysics.com / elisacardnell@gmail.com
*email is preferred method of contact
Class website
Site: emcphysics.com
Textbook
OpenStax College Physics for AP Courses (online, https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physicsap/get)
Tutorials
Tutorials: 2nd half of lunch on Mondays and Thursdays, or by appointment during SSEP
Bottom line, up front:
Attendance and participation are critical to your success.
I expect collaboration on labs and learning activities, but assessments are individual work.
I try to post everything online that you need; communication should flow both ways between you and
me.
You will be expected to keep all digital work and notes in an online lab notebook on Google Drive.
About the class
AP Physics 1 is designed to be a first-year physics course. We will study fundamental physics concepts in
translational and rotational mechanics, mechanical waves, and simple circuits. This course is designed
to emphasize deep understanding of concepts, problem solving and experimental (lab) design.
I have done my best to make homework assignments brief or spread out over several days to allow you
to budget your time. Also, lectures will be online (“flipping” the class) so that we can maximize the inclass time with activities, discussion and problem practice. This means that ATTENDANCE is critical to
your success – if you are absent, you MUST check my website, under “Assignments,” for the daily
rundown of what we did and what was assigned.
Working together is encouraged in this class – except on quizzes, tests and exams. As a note,
collaboration is a fundamental part of science, but the homework problems are for YOU to learn how to
solve problems, so I recommend that you know how to solve them on your own, even if you work
together on them. There will be no one to help you on the tests and the AP exam. Tests and quizzes are
how I assess how well you have grasped the material and what I need to re-teach. We keep using
concepts once we have introduced them, so it is important that I get an ACCURATE assessment of what I
need to work on with you. I would rather that you admit you don’t know and I work with you than have
you cheat and think that you understand!
Rules/Expectations
Rules:
1. When you are in class, you are in class. You will participate in all activities for the full class time.
2. Do not participate at the expense of someone else’s experience. Everyone deserves to learn.
3. Do not hold back because you might be wrong. If you were expected to know physics already, I
wouldn’t have a job – your job is to take academic risks and learn from them.
4. The only mistake is the one that you don’t learn from – we only learn and grow by making
mistakes.
5. Safety will trump any other concern at all times.
Expectations:
- Bring your laptop to class; we will often use them (not always), and your primary textbook is
online.
- Bring a PENCIL and paper to class every day. We do calculations, and I don’t want you to
feel like you have to get everything right the first time.
- If you have a calculator, bring that too, but I will expect you to learn to work without it as
much as possible.
- Attendance is CRITICAL to your success. If you miss a day of class, check the website under
“Assignments” prior to seeing me for any missed work and any assigned homework. Some
days you will need to see me to complete a task (lab, quiz, etc) to also make up your daily
work grade.
- If you need extra help or resources for a particular topic, ask for it! I am here to help you!
Academic Honesty and Collaboration
Labs:
Most of your work on labs is expected to be collaborative; sometimes I will ask you to
write individual conclusions based on group data and analysis. In those cases, I expect your individual
portion to be your own work. I reserve the right to check similar answers using text-comparison tools.
Homework:
Homework is turned in individually for a completion grade. Feel free to collaborate on
the process but you must turn in your own work.
Projects:
If you use sources in your work, you must properly cite them as part of your project. For
audio-visual projects, this can be an attachment to your actual product.
Quizzes, Exams, and Tests:
These are individual assessments of your mastery of the material. I
expect ALL work to be your own. Talking about the questions on the assessment before the end of the
school day is not allowed.
Any violation of these policies will result in a disciplinary referral.
Units of Study
Unit 1: Thinking like a physicist
Unit 2: How things move
Unit 3: Fundamental quantities
Unit 4: Why things move
Unit 5: Periodic motion
Unit 6: Rotational motion
Unit 7: Waves
Unit 8: Circuits
Special Topics (after the AP exam): TBD based on interests of the class
Grading Categories
Exams and Tests
Labs, Investigations, Quizzes
Homework
Classwork
40%
30%
20%
10%
A note for ALL graded work: All work has an assigned due date. As per school policy, I reserve the right
to not allow makeups for work not completed due to an unexcused absence. All routine work that is
turned in by the original due date is eligible for point recovery. Late work will be considered on a
case-by-case basis, and may be capped for a maximum grade. This does not include final exams for
either semester, projects or daily work. Exams, tests and quizzes require test corrections. Labs,
investigations, online lessons and problem sets may be redone through the end of the grading cycle.
Exams will be given at the end of each unit. These will be AP Physics 1 style questions and
comprehensive for the unit, and will include a lab component. The exam will be given once (Part 1),
then you will, as small groups, determine the answers. Then, EVERYONE will be given a similar exam
(Part 2) again the following day. You will receive the highest grade between the two versions of the
exam. Exams count for twice as much as a test. Prior to determining a retake day, I will have one day
designated for makeups for all students who missed one (or both) parts of the exam. Following the two
in-class exam days and the makeup day, retakes will be individually scheduled and normal CVHS policy
(max grade = 70%) applies. Within each unit except Unit 1, there are subtopics which will each have a
test – these tests are only given once in class (with makeups available), but for each question you miss,
you may complete test corrections to increase your grade. ALL students are able to complete test
corrections for each graded assessment to improve their score, on both exams and tests.
In class, every day will be crucial to your learning. We will do labs, have discussions, and practice
problem solving. Labs and major activities in class (usually spanning several days) will be graded in the
Labs and Investigations category.
Most units will begin with a lab. DO NOT EXPECT TO KNOW THE ANSWER GOING INTO THE LAB.
These labs will introduce concepts and vocabulary and let you discover physics concepts in a
hands-on, personal manner.
Short quizzes may be given at ANY TIME in class and may be counted as a quiz grade.
Homework will consist of video lectures (with accompanying online assignments), pre- or post-lab
activities, reading assignments and problem packets. Late work loses 10% for every day late (except for
after an absence, in accordance with CVHS policy). It is YOUR responsibility to find me to turn in late
work.
You will be required to maintain an online lab notebook in Google Drive, and share it with me
(cardnell@emcphysics.com). More details will be provided in class, and posted on my website.
Problem packets will be posted under Materials on the website and handed out in class. These
will be given with several days to work on them. They will be checked IN CLASS on the due date
and graded for COMPLETION. We do problems to PRACTICE – I do not expect that you will solve
all of them correctly the first time – and to LEARN how to do the problems that you will see on
tests.
In the classwork category, each day you may receive up to 10 pts for the daily in-class activities /
assignment(s). This may include (but isn’t limited to) class activities, mini-labs, discussions, problemsolving, note-taking, warm-up questions, exit tickets and review activities. Non-participation in or
failure to complete some or all of the class activities will result in a loss of some or all of those
points. Not every class day will have a daily work grade, if what you are doing is graded in another
category.
If you are absent, there are some days that have an activity/assignment that can be made up;
you must do so within one week of returning to school. It is your responsibility to check the
website and coordinate a time with Ms. Cardnell. In cases of makeup tests, the date will be
announced in class.
Not all days are able to be made up – in those cases, as per school policy, if you have an excused
absence, you will be excused for the in-class assignment.
In all cases, you are still responsible for any homework assigned the day that you are absent.
Assignments are posted on the “Assignments” page of the course website.
My Commitments to YOU!
I am committed to your success – if you don’t give up, I promise that I won’t! I will try to make as many
resources available as possible online, and if you see something missing, please let me know.
I will try to let you know how I think things are going, and I expect you to do the same. If I don’t know
that something isn’t working, I can’t fix it!
I want you to be successful in life, not just in physics class – I will try to draw connections between
physics skills and things that you will use forever. Also, if you have something going on that is affecting
your school work, let me know and I will work with you.
I am looking forward to having fun and learning a lot this year with you!
Signatures
To indicate that you have read and understood this document. An electronic copy is posted on my
website.
Student
Date
Parent/Guardian
Date