AP Physics 1 Syllabus
Course Introduction
AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based course in general physics that meets for one traditional period (50
minutes) and two block periods (90 minutes each) per week. Additionally, 90 minutes per week is
available, within the school day, for students to get help or complete labs. General physics topics
presented during the course closely follow those outlined by the College Board and also mirror an
introductory level university physics course.
AP Physics 1 is organized around six big ideas that bring together the fundamental science principles and
theories of general physics. These ideas are intended to encourage students to think about physics
concepts as interconnected pieces of a puzzle. The solution to the puzzle is how the real world around
them functions. The students will participate in inquiry based explorations of these topics to gain a more
conceptual understanding of these physics concepts. A strong emphasis will be focused on developing
critical thinking and reasoning skills beyond traditional formula-based learning.
Textbook
Physics: Principles with Applications, Giancoli; 6th Edition, New Jersey [CR1]
Big Ideas for AP Physics 1
Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal
structure.
Big Idea 2: Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
Big Idea 4: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
Big Idea 6: Wave can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent
transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena.
The following tables depict the correlation between the content of the course, lab activities, and inquirybased investigations to the AP Physics 1 Big Ideas.
Unit 1: KINEMATICS IN ONE AND TWO DIMENSIONS [CR2a]
Big Idea(s): 3
Estimated Time: 5 Weeks
Topics
-Position-time and velocitytime graphs
-Equations of motion under
constant acceleration
- Projectile Motion
Guiding Questions
- How can the motion of an object
moving at constant velocity be
described and represented?
- How can the motion of an object that
is accelerating be described and
represented?
- What information can be gathered
from motion graphs?
- What are the characteristics of the
motion of a projectile launched at an
Activities/Labs
-Constant Velocity Lab
-Graph Matching
-Velocity of a Projectile
angle?
Unit 2: DYNAMICS IN ONE AND TWO DIMENSIONS
Big Idea(s): 1, 2, 3, 4
Estimated Time: 4 Weeks
[CR2b]
Topics
Guiding Questions
Activities/Labs
-Vectors and Free-Body
Diagrams
- Static equilibrium (N1L)
- Dynamics of a single particle
(N2L)
-Systems of two or more bodies
(3rd Law)
-How can the forces acting on an
object be represented?
- How can a free-body diagram be
used to create a mathematical
representation of the forces acting on
an object?
- How do Newton’s laws apply to
interactions between objects at rest and
in motion?
- How do Newton’s laws apply to
systems of two or more objects?
-Coefficient of Friction
-Angle of an Inclined Plane
-Terminal Velocity Lab
-Modified Atwood’s
Machine Lab
Unit 3: CIRCULAR MOTION AND GRAVITATION [CR2c]
Big Idea(s): 1, 2, 3, 4
Estimated Time: 3 Weeks
Topics
- Kinematics of Uniform
Circular Motion
- Dynamics of Uniform
Circular Motion
Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
Kepler’s Laws
Guiding Questions
Activities/Labs
-What does it mean for a force to be
-Flying Pigs
fundamental?
-Whirlygig Lab
- What force or combination of forces
keeps an object in circular motion?
- How is the motion of the moon around
the Earth like the motion of a falling
apple?
- How does the effect of Earth’s
gravitational field on an object change
as the object’s distance from Earth
changes?
Unit 4: WORK, ENERGY, AND CONSERVATION OF ENERGY [CR2f]
Big Idea(s): 3, 4, 5
Estimated Time: 4 Weeks
Topics
-Work and the work-energy
theorem
- Conservative forces and
potential energy
- Conservation of energy
- Power
Guiding Questions
- How are the different modes of
energy storage transformed within a
system and transferred between a
system and the environment?
- How can energy be represented with
graphs and equations?
-What does it mean for energy to be
conserved?
Activities/Labs
-Conservation of Energy
Lab
-Watts Your Power?
Unit 5: IMPULSE, MOMENTUM, AND CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM [CR2e]
Big Ideas: 3, 4, 5
Estimated Time: 3 Weeks
Topics
- Impulse and momentum
- Conservation of linear
momentum, collisions
Guiding Questions
-How does a force exerted on an
object change the object’s
momentum?
- How are Newton’s second and third
laws related to momentum?
-What does it mean for momentum to
be conserved?
- How can the outcome of a collision
be used to characterize a collision as
elastic or inelastic?
Activities/Labs
-Impulse vs. Change in
Momentum
-Types of Collisions Lab
Unit 6: ROTATIONAL MOTION AND CONSERVATION OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM [CR2g]
Big Idea(s): 3, 4, 5
Estimated Time: 3 Weeks
Topics
- Constant Angular
Acceleration
- Rolling Motion
- Torque
- Rotational Inertia
- Rotational Kinetic Energy
-Angular Momentum and Its
conservation
Guiding Questions
- How can the particle model be
extended to a rigid-body model of an
object?
- How are the rotational quantities
(angular position, velocity, and
acceleration) related to linear quantities?
- What does it mean for angular
momentum to be conserved?
Activities/Labs
-Torque Lab
-Really Modified
Atwood’s Machine Lab
Unit 7: SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION [CR2d]
Big Idea(s): 3, 5
Estimated Time: 2 Weeks
Topics
Guiding Questions
- Simple harmonic motion
- Mass on a spring
- Pendulum and other
oscillations
- How is simple harmonic motion
connected to uniform circular motion?
-How can oscillatory motion be
represented graphically and
mathematically?
- How is conservation of energy applied
in simple harmonic oscillators?
Activities/Labs
-Pendulum Lab
-Mass on a Spring Lab
Unit 8: MECHANICAL WAVES AND SOUND [CR2j]
Big Idea(s): 6
Estimated Time: 3 Weeks
Topics
- Properties of traveling and
standing waves
- Doppler effect
- Superposition
- Interference and diffraction
- Dispersion of light and the
electromagnetic spectrum
Guiding Questions
- How are waves energy transport
phenomena?
- How do the relative velocities of the
source of a wave and of the observer
affect the frequency of the observed
wave?
- How do waves from more than one
source interfere to make waves of
smaller or larger amplitude, depending
on the location where the waves meet?
- How can wave boundary behavior be
used to derive and apply relationships
for calculating the characteristic
frequencies for standing waves in
strings, open pipes, and closed pipes?
Activities/Labs
-Speed of Sound Lab
Unit 9: ELECTRIC CHARGE, ITS CONSERVATION, AND ELECTRIC FORCE [CR2h]
Big Idea(s): 1, 3, 5
Estimated Time: 2 Week
Topics
- Conservation of charge
- Charge, field and potential
- Coulomb’s Law
- Point charge
- Electric field and potential
-Capacitance
Guiding Questions
- How can the charge model be used to
explain electric phenomena?
- How is charge conserved?
- How can the forces between two
charges be characterized using
Newton’s third law?
- How can pre-existing knowledge of
forces and energy be applied to
processes involving electrically charged
objects?
Activities/Labs
-Charging and
Electroscope
Unit 10: DC CIRCUITS [CR2i]
Big Idea(s): 1, 5
Estimated Time: 2 Weeks
Topics
-Current, resistance, power
-Ohm’s Law
- Kirchoff’s Laws
Guiding Questions
-How do charges move through a
conductor?
-How can phenomena occurring in
electric circuits be described by physical
quantities such as potential difference
(voltage), electric current, electric
resistance, and electric power?
- How do conservation laws apply to
electric circuits?
Activities/Labs
-Build-a-Circuit Lab
-Ohm’s Law Lab
Laboratory Activities (Curriculum Requirements 5, 6, 7, 8)
Students in AP physics will be given many opportunities to apply concepts learned in a hands-on activity
– at least 25 percent of instructional time is spent in the laboratory. [CR5] Most of these activities will be
presented as a problem or a question for the students. The students will then be required to discuss and
formulate a procedure for solving the problem or answering the question which demonstrates knowledge
of general experimental procedures. Separate groups of students may be required to combine data or to
work on separate parts of a larger problem. Students will then implement their procedure, collect
appropriate data, perform calculations and then reach some sort of conclusion or resolution. Students will
also be required to perform some error analysis recognizing both assumptions made in the calculations
and limitations inherent in the collection of experimental data. For Guided and Open Inquiry laboratories,
lab groups will be given time to collaborate in pairs of lab groups after completion of the lab in order to
discuss and share the methods used, what went well and what did not go as well. Students will be
required to make an oral presentation on one lab per semester[CR 8]. Students are required to maintain a
lab notebook documenting all labs. Lab notebooks will include the following [CR7]:
Problem/Question
Hypothesis
Experimental procedure
Data/Observations
Calculations
Error Analysis
Conclusion
Below is a list of the laboratories and investigations performed in AP Physics 1, their goals, unit in which
the occur and the level of inquiry established in the lab. More labs may be added as time permits.
[CR6a] & [CR6b]
Unit
Lab Title & Description
Science Practices
Level of Inquiry
1
Constant Velocity Lab- Students develop a
procedure to collect and analyze data to determine
if the velocity of several objects is constant.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1
Guided Inquiry
1
Graph Matching Lab - Students use motion
detectors and attempt to match position/time and
velocity/time graphs. Students then explain the
motion used to match the graph and perform
calculations based upon their graphs.
1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 2.3, 4.3, 5.2
Structured Inquiry
1
Velocity of a Projectile Lab- Students develop a
procedure to collect and analyze data to determine
the initial velocity of a projectile.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
Guided Inquiry
2
Coefficient of Friction Lab - Students use a spring
scale to pull a variety of block across a variety of
surfaces and/or at different constant velocities to
determine the coefficient of friction between the
block and the surface
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2,
Guided Inquiry
2
Angle of an Inclined Plane Lab - Students pose a
question and design an experiment to examine the
motion of an object on an inclined plane.
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1
Open Inquiry
2
Terminal Velocity Lab - Students use coffee
filters and motion detectors to find a relationship
between mass and terminal velocity.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Guided Inquiry
2
Modified Atwood’s Machine Lab - Students
explore the relationship between force and
acceleration of a cart as it is pulled by a
descending mass.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1
Guided Inquiry
3
Flying Pig Lab- Students will investigate the
motion of and forces acting on a small, battery
powered pig that is suspended from the ceiling
and moving with uniform circular motion.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Guided Inquiry
3
Whirlygig Lab- Students will investigate the
relationship between rotational velocity and
centripetal force by swinging a rubber stopper
connected through a tube to a mass or a force
probe. Horizontal and vertical circular motion
will both be investigated.
2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2
Guided Inquiry
4
Conservation of Energy Lab- Students evaluate
whether total mechanical energy is conserved as a
toy popper converts between multiple forms of
energy.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 6.4, 7.1
Guided Inquiry
4
Watts Your Power Lab- Students calculate their
power as they run up a staircase at various speeds.
2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
Structured Inquiry
5
Impulse and Momentum Lab- Students calculate
impulse using both a dual range force probe and a
motion detector.
1.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1
Structured Inquiry
5
Types of Collisions - Students will have objects
collide and make measurements related to speed
and momentum changes.
2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 6.1,
7.1
Guided Inquiry
6
Torque Lab - Students find the mass of a meter
stick by balancing it with several masses attached
to it. Students perform this with the various
combinations until they are confidently close to
the correct answer.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Guided Inquiry
6
Really Modified Atwood’s Machine- Students
will set up an experiment to determine the
rotational inertia of different objects. Students
will establish and develop their own variables and
procedures for measurement.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 7.2
Guided Inquiry
7
Pendulum Lab- Students will investigate the
effects of different variables on the period of a
pendulum.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2,5.3,
6.1, 6.2, 6.3
Guided Inquiry
7
Mass on a Spring Lab- Students will investigate
the effects of different variables on the period of a
mass on a spring.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 6.4,
Guided Inquiry
8
Speed of Sound Lab- Students develop a
procedure to calculate the speed of sound using
graduated cylinders, pvc piping and tuning forks.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Guided Inquiry
9
Charging an Electroscope - Students will charge
an electroscope using conduction and induction
and describe the differences.
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 6.2, 6.5
Guided Inquiry
10
Ohm’s Law Lab - Students will measure the
voltage across and current through a resistor and
determine the resistance
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 4.1,
4.2, 4.3
Guided Inquiry
10
Build-a-Circuit Lab - Students will construct and
test circuit that meets certain guidelines including
series and parallel circuits.
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 4.1,
4.2, 4.3,7.2
Structured Inquiry
Argumentation Skills [CR8]
In each unit, students will be given a scenario that addresses common misconceptions. They will develop
a written explanation and engage in scientific argument within small groups to reach a consensus. For
example, two tracks of equal length are bent identically except for an additional dip in the second track.
Students must evaluate whether a ball released from rest at the top of each track will be moving faster at
the end of track one or track two.
Additional Activities
Throughout the course, students will engage in many real-world activities as well as projects that connect
multiple enduring understandings as a way to build their reasoning skills and deepen their understanding
of physical principles.
Cross-Cutting Activity [CR3]
Students use data on the orbital positions of the Galilean moons of Jupiter to determine the mass of
Jupiter and to test Kepler’s law. Students will explain how simple harmonic motion can be related to
orbital motion. (LOs: 3.A.1.3, 3.A.3.1, 3.A.3.3, 3.C.1.2)
Enduring Understandings [CR3]
1.C: Objects and systems have inertial mass and gravitational mass that are experimentally verified to be
the same and that satisfy conservation principles.
3.A: All forces share certain common characteristics when considered by observers in inertial reference
frames.
3.C: At the macroscopic level, forces can be categorized as either long-range (action-at-a-distance) or
contact forces.
Learning Objectives
3.A.1.3: The student is able to analyze experimental data describing the motion of an object and is able to
express the results of the analysis using narrative, mathematical, and graphical representations.
3.A.3.1: The student is able to analyze a scenario and make claims (develop arguments, justify assertions)
about the forces exerted on an object by other objects for different types of forces or components of
forces.
3.A.3.3: The student is able to describe a force as an interaction between two objects and identify both
objects for any force.
3.C.1.2: The student is able to use Newton’s law of gravitation to calculate the gravitational force
between two objects and use that force in contexts involving orbital motion.
Real-World Activity [CR4]
Students are provided with data from a car crash. They are asked to analyze the data and provided specific
evidence to determine which driver is at fault. Students will present their findings in a brief report.