Science
Course: AP Physics 1
Units: 1. Electrostatics
2. Simple Circuits
College Board
Guiding
Learning
Questions/
Objectives
Specificity
Sample
Assessment
Designated six weeks: Fifth Six Weeks
Days to teach: Unit 1: 12-15 days
Unit 2: 12-15 days
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Resources and
Weblinks
Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal structure.
Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
Unit 1: Electrostatics
I.B.1.1: Make claims
about natural phenomena
based on conservation of
electric charge.
I.B.1.2: Make predictions,
using the conservation of
electric charge, about the
sign and relative quantity
of net charge of objects or
systems after various
charging processes,
including conservation of
charge in simple circuits.
I.B.2.1: Construct an
explanation of the twocharge model of electric
charge based on evidence
produced through
scientific practice.
I.B.3.1: Challenge the
claim that an electric
charge smaller than the
elementary charge has
been isolated.
3.C.2.1: Use Coulomb’s
Written Summer 2014
What is lightning,
and why is it so
dangerous?
A balloon is rubbed
on a sweater and
receives an electric
charge. What is the
What are the
relationship
fundamental carriers between the charge
of electrical charge, on the balloon and
and how
the charge on the
may they be used to sweater?
charge objects?
Two pieces of tape
How is
are placed down on
gravitational force
a table, one on top
similar to electrical of the other, then
force, and in what
removed one at a
ways are
time. How will they
these forces very
behave when
different?
brought near each
other?
elementary charge
point charge
Coulomb's law
Coulomb's Law
Lab: determine the
charge on two
objects which are
repelling each other
electrostatics
positive charge
negative charge
Electrostatics
Simulation: use a
computer
simulation of two
positive charges to
explore electrostatic
forces.
Giancoli, Physics:
Principles with
Applications, text
book, 6th edition,
Pearson, 2012
Electrostatic and
circuit simulations:
http//:phet.colorado.
edu
Resources on
Electrostatics
http://www.physicsc
lassroom.com/class/
estatics
Electrostatics
http://hyperphysics.p
hyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/el
Science
Course: AP Physics 1
Units: 1. Electrostatics
2. Simple Circuits
College Board
Guiding
Learning
Questions/
Objectives
Specificity
law qualitatively and
quantitatively to make
predictions about the
interaction between two
electric point charges
(interactions between
collections of electric
point charges are not
covered in Physics 1 and
instead are restricted to
Physics 2).
3.C.2.2: Connect the
concepts of gravitational
force and electric force to
compare similarities and
differences between the
forces.
5.A.2.1: Define open and
closed/isolated systems for
everyday situations and
apply conservation
concepts for energy,
charge, and linear
momentum to those
situations.
Written Summer 2014
Sample
Assessment
Designated six weeks: Fifth Six Weeks
Days to teach: Unit 1: 12-15 days
Unit 2: 12-15 days
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Resources and
Weblinks
ectric/elefor.html
A manufacturer
claims to have
isolated a charge
smaller than the
charge on an
electron. Why is
this unlikely?o
move
Two identical point
charges are fixed
1m apart and the
force between them
is measured to be F.
What is the force
between them if
they are allowed to
move to a distance
of 4m?
College Board
Sample Questions
http://media.collegeb
oard.com/digitalServ
ices/pdf/ap/samplequestions-apphysics-1-and-apphysics-2-exams.pdf
MIT Course
http://ocw.mit.edu/c
ourses/physics/8-02electricity-andmagnetism-spring2002/videolectures/lecture-4electrostaticpotential-andelectric-energy/
Science
Course: AP Physics 1
Units: 1. Electrostatics
2. Simple Circuits
College Board
Guiding
Learning
Questions/
Objectives
Specificity
Unit 2: Simple Circuits
I.B.1.1: Make claims
about natural phenomena
based on conservation of
electric charge.
I.B.1.2: Make predictions,
using the conservation of
electric charge, about the
sign and relative quantity
of net charge of objects or
systems after various
charging processes,
including conservation of
charge in simple circuits.
I.E.2.1: Choose and
justify the selection of data
needed to determine
resistivity for a given
materials.
5.B.9.1: Construct or
interpret a graph of the
energy changes within an
electrical circuit with only
a single battery and
resistors in series and/or
in, at most one parallel
branch as an application of
Written Summer 2014
How are voltage,
current, and
resistance related in
a series circuit?
How are voltage,
current, and
resistance related in
a simple parallel
circuit?
Sample
Assessment
Compare the power
of a circuit when
three identical
resistors are wired
in series versus
wired in parallel for
a given voltage
using ohm's law.
Designated six weeks: Fifth Six Weeks
Days to teach: Unit 1: 12-15 days
Unit 2: 12-15 days
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Voltage
resistance
current
series
parallel
Ohm's law
In the circuit
pictured above, use
Kirchoff's loop and
junction laws to
determine the
particular voltage
and current across
resistor R3.
Kirchhoff's Laws
Series and Parallel
Lab: Using a
number of resistors,
explore current and
voltage when the
resistors are
connected to a
power supply.
Resources and
Weblinks
Giancoli, Physics:
Principles with
Applications, text
book, 6th edition,
Pearson, 2012
Electrostatic and circuit
simulations:
http//:phet.colorado.edu
Resources on
circuits:
http://www.physicsclassroo
m.com/calcpad/circuits
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/e
circon.html
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/
electrical-engineering-andcomputer-science/6-002circuits-and-electronicsspring-2007/
Science
Course: AP Physics 1
Units: 1. Electrostatics
2. Simple Circuits
College Board
Guiding
Learning
Questions/
Objectives
Specificity
the conservation of
energy.
5.B.9.2: Apply
conservation of energy
concepts to the design of
an experiment that will
demonstrate the validity of
Kirchhoff’s loop rule
(ZAV—0) in a circuit with
only a battery and resistors
either in series or in, at
most, one pair of parallel
branches.
5.B.9.3: Apply
conservation of energy
(Kirchhoff’s loop rule) in
calculations involving the
total electric potential
difference for complete
circuit loops with only a
single battery and resistors
in series and/or in, at most,
one parallel branch.
5.C.3.1: Apply
conservation of electric
charge (Kirchhoff’s
junction rule) to the
comparison of electric
current in various
segments of an electrical
circuit with a single
battery and resistors in
Written Summer 2014
Sample
Assessment
Designated six weeks: Fifth Six Weeks
Days to teach: Unit 1: 12-15 days
Unit 2: 12-15 days
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Resources and
Weblinks
Kirchhoff’s Gambit
http://apcentral.collegeboar
d.com/apc/members/course
s/teachers_corner/44593.ht
ml
Kirchhoff’s Rule
http://www.phyastr.gsu.edu/cymbal
yuk/Lecture20.pdf
Conservation of
Electrical Charge
http://www.physicsst
udyguide.com/physi
cs-2/law-ofconservation-ofelectric-charge/
Science
Course: AP Physics 1
Units: 1. Electrostatics
2. Simple Circuits
College Board
Guiding
Learning
Questions/
Objectives
Specificity
series and in, at most, one
parallel branch and predict
how those values would
change if configurations of
the circuit are changed.
5.C.3.2: Design an
investigation of an
electrical circuit with one
or more resistors in which
evidence of conservation
of electric charge can be
collected and analyzed.
5.C.3.3: Use a description
or schematic diagram of
an electrical circuit to
calculate unknown values
of current in various
segments or branches of
the circuits.
Written Summer 2014
Sample
Assessment
Designated six weeks: Fifth Six Weeks
Days to teach: Unit 1: 12-15 days
Unit 2: 12-15 days
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Resources and
Weblinks
Drawing Circuits
http://www.physics.
umd.edu/courses/Ph
ys122/Streets/23_Cir
cuits.pdf
Calculating voltage
from Schematics
http://www.learnc.com/schemat.htm