AP Physics B - Syllabus
Text: College Physics, 7th Ed., Serway, Thomson Learning/Brooks-Cole
About the AP Physics B Course: This is an algebra based course in physics. The course is the
equivalent of an introductory course in General Physics. The main objective of the course is to teach
students the concepts and how to apply them while solving Physics problems. Topics covered are
mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and light. The student must be concurrently enrolled in precalculus or calculus. Evaluation will be based on quizzes, unit tests, homework, laboratories and
group work.
Teaching Methodology
The instructional time will be divided among three common forms: laboratories and activities,
interactive lecture discussions, and problem solving. Classes meet 3 times each week with two of
those classes being blocked periods. Each class will be divided among all 3 activities or just one
depending on the need of the topic.
Laboratories will be mainly application. The students will use their knowledge of the laws of
physics to verify the theory through experiments and investigations. Some of the labs will allow for
the students to use the inquiry process to explore the subject and discover the principals in a
collaborative group.
Many of the questions posed in the course will be of an open ended nature as well as practical
problems. The open-ended questions will challenge the students to use their understanding of the
subject as well as their critical thinking skills. Some laboratories will involve investigation and
application elements. The students will be required to write at least one formal lab report each month.
All lab materials will be kept in a notebook.
Lectures will be varied in style. Some will be the traditional lecture type in which topics are
formally introduced to the students and problems will be solved. These sessions will lead to a
discussion between the teacher and students where real life applications and phenomena are
explained via the laws of physics. Classes will begin with a warm up exercise where students will
provide a written explanation.
Lecture MF Laboratory W
Evaluation:
Quizzes 10%
Unit Tests 60%
Homework 10%
Lab and Group work 20%
Course Planner
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Motion in One Dimension: Position, distance, displacement, average speed and velocity,
instantaneous velocity, acceleration, motion with constant acceleration, freely falling objects.
Chapter 3: Vectors: Scalars versus vectors, the components of a vector, adding and subtracting
vectors, unit vectors, position velocity and acceleration vectors, relative motion.
Chapter 4: Two-dimensional Kinematics: Motion in two dimensions, projectile motion, zero launch
angle, general launch angle, key characteristics of projectile motion.
Chapter 5: Applications of Newton’s Laws: Force and mass, Newton’s First Law of Motion,
Newton’s Second Law of Motion, Newton’s Third Law of Motion, The Vector Nature of Forces:
Forces in Two Dimensions, Weight, Normal Forces.
Chapter 6: Applications of Newton’s Laws: Frictional forces, strings and springs, translational
equilibrium, connected objects, circular motion.
Chapter 7: Work and Kinetic Energy: Work done by a constant force, kinetic energy and the workenergy theorem, work done by a variable force, power.
Chapter 8: Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy: Conservative and nonconservative forces,
potential energy and the work done by conservative forces, conservation of mechanical energy, work
done by nonconservative forces, potential energy curves and equipotentials.
Chapter 9: Linear Momentum and Collisions: Linear momentum, momentum and Newton’s Second
Law, impulse, conservation of linear momentum, inelastic collisions, elastic collisions, center of
mass, systems with changing mass: rocket propulsion
Chapter 10: Rotational Kinematics and Energy: Angular position, velocity, and acceleration,
rotational kinematics, connections between linear and rotational quantities, rolling motion, rotational
kinetic energy and moment of inertia, conservation of energy.
Chapter 11: Rotational Dynamics and Static Equilibrium: Torque, center of mass and balance,
angular momentum, conservation of angular momentum, rotational work and power.
Chapter 12: Gravity: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, gravitational attraction of spherical
bodies, Kepler’s Laws of Orbital Motion, gravitational potential energy, energy conservation.
Chapter 13: Oscillations About Equilibrium: Periodic motion, simple harmonic motion, connections
between uniform and circular motion and simple harmonic motion, the period of a mass on a spring,
energy conservation in oscillatory motion, the pendulum, damped oscillations, driven oscillations and
resonance.
Chapter 14: Waves and Sound: Types of waves, waves on a string, sound waves, sound intensity,
Doppler Effect, superposition and interference, standing waves, beats.
Chapter 15: Fluids: Density, Pressure, Static Equilibrium in Fluids: Pressure and Depth, Archimedes’
Principle and Buoyancy, Applications of Archimedes’ Principle, Fluid Flow and
Continuity, Bernoulli’s Equation, Applications of Bernoulli’s Equation, Viscosity and Surface
Tension
Chapter 16: Temperature and Heat: Temperature and the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics,
Temperature Scales, Thermal Expansion, Heat and Mechanical Work, Specific Heats, Conduction,
Convection, and Radiation
Chapter 17: Phase and Phase Changes: Ideal Gases, Kinetic Theory, Solids and Elastic Deformation,
Phase Equilibrium and Evaporation, Latent Heats, Phase Changes and Energy Conservation
Chapter 18: The Law of Thermodynamics: The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics, The First Law of
Thermodynamics, Thermal Processes, Specific heats for an Ideal Gas: Constant Pressure, Constant
Volume, The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Heat Engines and the Carnot Cycle, Refrigerators,
Air Conditioners, and Heat Pumps, Entropy, Order, Disorder, and Entropy, The Third Law of
Thermodynamics
Chapter 19: Electric Charges, Forces, and Fields: Electric Charge, Insulators and Conductors,
Coulomb’s Law, The Electric Field, Electric Field Lines, Shielding and Charging by Induction,
Electric Flux and Gauss’s Law
Chapter 20: Electric Potential and Electric Potential Energy: Electric Potential Energy and the
Electric Potential, Energy Conservation, Electric Potential of Point Charges, Equipotential Surfaces
and the Electric Field, Capacitors and Dielectrics, Electrical Energy Storage
Chapter 21: Electric Current and Direct Current Circuits: Electric Current, Resistance and Ohm’s
Law, Energy and Power in Electric Circuits, Resistors in Series and Parallel, Kirchoff’s Rules,
Circuits Containing Capacitors, RC Circuits, Ammeters and Voltmeters
Chapter 22: Magnetism: The Magnetic Field, The Magnetic Force on Moving Charges, The Motion
of Charged Particles in a Magnetic Field, The Magnetic Force Exerted on a Current-Carrying Wire,
Chapter 23: Magnetic Flux and Faraday’s Law of Induction: Induced Electromotive Force,
Magnetic Flux, Faraday’s Law of Induction, Lenz’s Law, Mechanical Work and Electrical Energy,
Generators and Motors, Inductance, RL Circuits, Energy Stored in a Magnetic Field, Transformers
Chapter 24: Alternating-Current Circuits: Alternating Voltages and Currents, Capacitors in AC
Circuits, RC Circuits, Inductors in AC Circuits, RLC Circuits, Resonance in Electrical Circuits
Chapter 25: Electromagnetic Waves: The Production of Electromagnetic Waves, The Propagation of
Electromagnetic Waves, The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Energy and Momentum in Electromagnetic
Waves, Polarization
Chapter 26: Geometrical Objects: The Reflection of Light, Forming Images with a Plane Mirror,
Spherical Mirrors, Ray Tracing and the Mirror Equation, The Refraction of Light, Ray Tracing for
Lenses, The Thin-Lens Equation, Dispersion and the Rainbow
Chapter 27: Optical Instruments: The Human Eye and the Camera, Lenses in Combination and
Corrective Optics, The Magnifying Glass, The Compound Microscope, Telescopes, Lens Aberrations
Chapter 28: Physical Optics: Interference and Diffraction: Superposition and Interference, Young’s
Two-Slit Experiment, Interference in Reflected Waves, Diffraction, Resolution, Diffraction Gratings
Chapter 29: Relativity: The Postulates of Special Relativity, The Relativity of Time and Time
Dilation, The Relativity of Length and Length Contraction, The Relativistic Addition of Velocities,
Relativistic Momentum, Relativistic Energy and E=mc^2, Relativistic Universe, General Relativity
Chapter 30: Quantum Physics: Blackbody Radiation and Planck’s Hypothesis of Quantized Energy,
Photons and the Photoelectric Effect, The Mass and momentum of a Photon, Photon Scattering and
the Compton Effect, The de Broglie Hypothesis and Wave-Particle Duality, The Heisenberg
Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Tunneling
Chapter 31: Atomic Physics: Early Models of the Atom, The Spectrum of Atomic Hydrogen, Bohr’s
Model of the Hydrogen Atom, de Broglie Waves and the Bohr Model, The Quantum Mechanical
Hydrogen Atom, Multielectron Atoms and the Periodic Table, Atomic Radiation
Chapter 32: Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Radiation: The Constituents and Structure of Nuclei,
Radioactivity, Half-Life and Radioactive Dating, Nuclear Binding Energy, Nuclear Fission, Nuclear
Fusion, Practical Applications of Nuclear Physics, Elementary Particles, Unified Forces and
Cosmology
Review for AP Exam
Labs
There is a one to two hour lab every week. That means that for each week there will be 1
hour of hands on laboratory and 3 hours of lecture. The lab report will be graded on the student’s
participation in the actual experiment and the written report.
Students must save all the graded lab reports. They will be required to present the
Lab reports as a proof of having done these labs when they seek credit for this course in college.
1. Motion on an Incline: Students will collect position, velocity, and time data as a cart rolls up an
inclined track. Students will then analyze the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs. They
will determine the best fit equation for position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs by transforming
the data so that it will become linear. They will then use the linear fit to determine the acceleration
due to gravity.
2. Error Analysis: Students will use a picket fence and photo gate timers to determine the value of
the acceleration of a freely falling object. They will then compare the value with the accepted value
for this quantity. They will then learn how to describe and account for variation in a set of
measurements.
3. Newton’s First Law: Students will record position, velocity, and time as a cart is launched by a
spring and is steadily slowed by friction. Analyze the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs.
Investigate the effect of varying the friction on the velocity of the cart.
4. Newton’s Second Law: Students will identify the forces acting on an object both when its change
v, is zero and when it is accelerating. They will then collect force, velocity, and time
data as a cart is accelerated on a track and use graphical methods to determine the acceleration of the
cart. They will determine the relationship between the cart’s acceleration and the net force applied to
it and the effect of the mass on the relationship between acceleration and force.
5. Newton’s Third Law: Students will use force sensors to observe the magnitude and direction of
forces exerted by interacting objects. Students will also observe the time variation of these forces.
Students will in turn develop a more robust expression of Newton’s Third Law.
6. Conservation of Energy: In this lab, students will investigate the role of energy in a system. They
will determine the relationship between the applied force and the deformation of an elastic object
(spring or rubber band) and an expression for the elastic energy stored in spring or rubber band that
has been compressed or stretched.
7. Impulse and Change in Momentum: Students will gather force, velocity, and time data as a cart
experiences different types of collisions. Next, they will determine an expression for the change in
p, in terms of the force and duration of a collision.
8. Projectile Motion: Students will use video analysis techniques to obtain position, velocity, and
time data for a projectile. Next, they will analyze the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs
for both the horizontal and vertical components of the projectile’s motion and determine the best fit
equations for the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs for both the horizontal and vertical
components of the projectile’s motion. They will relate the parameters in the best-fit equations for
position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs to their physical counterparts in the system and the
horizontal and vertical components of the projectile’s motion to any forces acting on the object while
it is moving. Finally a movie of an object undergoing projectile motion will be produced.
9. Circular Motion: Students will analyze velocity vectors of an object undergoing uniform circular
motion to determine the direction of the acceleration vector at any given moment. Students will also
collect force, velocity, and radius data for a mass swinging as a pendulum. Students will then analyze
the force vs. velocity and force vs. radius graphs. They will determine the relationship between force,
mass, velocity, and radius when the force in perpendicular to the velocity. Ultimately they will use
this relationship and Newton’s second law to determine an expression for centripetal acceleration.
10. Conservation of Angular Momentum: Students will collect angle vs. time and angular velocity
vs. time data for rotating systems. Students will the analyze θ-t and ω-t graphs both before and after
changes in the moment of inertia. Then the students will determine the effect of changes in moment
of inertia on the angular momentum of the system.
11. Simple Harmonic Motion: Students will collect position vs. time data as a weight, hanging
forma spring, is set in simple harmonic motion (SHM). Then the students will determine the best-fit
equation for position vs. time graph of an object undergoing SHM. The students will then define the
terms amplitude, offset, phase shift, period and angular frequency in the context of SHM.
12. Pendulum Periods: Students will collect angle vs. time data for a simple pendulum. The students
will then determine the best-fit equation for the angle vs. time graph. From an analysis of the forces
acting on the pendulum bob, they will derive the equation describing the motion of the pendulum.
They will relate the parameters in the best-fit equation for the angle vs. time graph to their physical
counterparts in the system. Then they will determine the period of oscillation from an analysis of the
angle vs. time graph.
13. Ohm’s Law: Students will determine the mathematical relationship between current, potential
difference, and resistance in a simple circuit. They will also compare the potential vs. current
behavior for Ohmic and non-Ohmic materials.
14. Capacitors: Students will measure and experimental time constant of a resistor-capacitor circuit.
They will then compare the time constant to the value predicted from the component values of the
resistance and capacitance. They will also measure the potential across a capacitor as a function of
time as it discharges. Finally, they will fit an exponential function to the data. One of the fit
parameters corresponds to an experimental time constant.
15. Magnetic Field Coil: Students will use a magnetic field sensor to measure the field at the center
of a coil. They will then determine the relationship between magnetic field and the number of turns
in a coil. They will also determine the relationship between magnetic field and the current in a coil.
They will also explore the Earth’s magnetic field in my room.
16. Electrical Energy: Students will measure the power and electrical energy used by an electric
motor. They will then measure the gain in potential energy of a mass lifted by the motor. They will
also calculate the efficiency of the motor. At the end, they will study the efficiency of the electric
motor under different conditions.
17. Polarization of Light: Students will observe the change in light intensity of light passing through
crossed polarizing filters. Students will also measure the transmission of light through two polarizing
filters as a function of the angle between their axes and compare it to Malus’s Law.
18. Newton’s Law of Cooling: Students will use a temperature probe to record the cooling process
of hot water. They will then test Newton’s law of cooling using the collected water temperature data.
Ultimately, they will use Newton’s law of cooling to predict the temperature of cooling water at any
time.
19. Sound Waves and Beats: Students will measure the frequency and period of sound waves from
tuning forks. Students will also measure the amplitude of sound waves from tuning forks. They will
then observe beats between the sound of two tuning forks.
20. Speed of Sound: Students will measure how long it takes sound to travel down and back in a
long tube. They will also determine the speed of sound. They will finally compare the speed of sound
in air to the accepted value.
Each lab will require:
The formation of a hypothesis or hypotheses, based on in class discussion of the presented
problem or focus of each experiment. Design of (an) experiment(s), also based on in class discussion,
to test the hypothesis or hypotheses. Collection of data and observations. Calculations using the
collected data. Conclusions about how well the hypothesis or hypotheses held up based on the
experiment. Class discussion of variance and error analysis. Written report for some of the
laboratories will be required.
Make Up Exam Policy
Students will be given the opportunity to make any unit exam given that the following
conditions are met:
1. Student completes all of the homework for the unit that they wish to make up.
2. Student has demonstrated that they made an effort to do well in the unit.
Homework Policy
No late homework will be accepted. The homework will be due at once the teacher finishes
reviewing the homework. No exceptions. In the event that a student is absent, the homework will be
due the day after the student returns from the absence.