AP Physics B
Syllabus
Course Overview
A student’s schedule consists of a rotating set of seven classes, held during five daily 48-minute periods and a
90 minute long block. Every seven-day cycle, each class rotates through a 90-minute laboratory period.
Texts
College Physics, 8th edition; Serway, Faugn, Vuille. 2008
Glencoe Physics: Principles and Problems, McGraw Hill, 2007
Principles and Problems is used as a text to explain the fundamental concepts behind the AP curriculum.
College Physics is used as a text to push student understanding, and as a source of college-level concepts and
practice problems.
Course Outline
The following is a course content outline with a suggested timeline. The percentages are those listed in the AP
Physics Course Description for coverage on the AP Exam. Chapters relate to our textbook. Review generally
consists of AP Released Exams. Review problems are assigned over our class website, and solutions are
submitted electronically.
I.
Waves and Optics (3 ½ weeks)
a. Wave motion (sound and physical optics)
i. Properties of standing waves
ii. Doppler effect
iii. Superposition
iv. Interference and diffraction
v. Dispersion of light and the EM spectrum.
b. Geometric optics
i. Reflection and Refraction
ii. Mirrors
iii. Lenses
II.
Electricity and Magnetism (4 ½ weeks)
a. Electrostatics
i. Charge, Field, and Potential
ii. Coulomb’s law and point charge field and potential
b. Conductors and capacitors
i. Electrostatics with conductors
ii. Capacitors – parallel plates
c. Electric circuits
i. Current, resistance, and power
ii. Direct current circuits
d. Magnetostatics
i. Forces on moving charges in magnetic fields
ii. Forces on current-carrying wires in magnetic fields
iii. Fields of long current carrying wires
e. Electromagnetic induction and waves
III.
Fluid Mechanics, Heat, Kinetic Theory, and Thermodynamics (1 ½ weeks)
a. Fluid mechanics
i. Fluid statics
1. Pressure and density
2. Variation of pressure with depth
3. Pascal’s principle
4. Archimedes’ principle (buoyancy)
ii. Fluid dynamics
1. Continuity equation
2. Bernoulli equation
3. Applications
b. Temperature and heat
i. Mechanical equivalent of heat
ii. Specific and latent heat
iii. Heat transfer and thermal expansion
c. Kinetic theory and thermodynamics
i. Ideal gasses
1. Kinetic model
2. Ideal gas law
ii. Laws of thermodynamics
1. First law (pV diagrams)
2. Second law (heat engines)
IV.
Mechanics (1/2 year)
a. Kinematics
i. Motion in one dimension
ii. Motion in two dimensions
1. Projectile motion
2. Uniform circular motion
3. Torque and rotational statics
4. Angular momentum and its conservation
iii. Work, energy and power
1. Work and the work-energy theorem
2. Conservative forces and potential energy
3. Conservation of energy
4. Power
iv. Systems of particles, linear momentum
1. Impulse and momentum
2. Conservation of linear momentum
v. Oscillations and gravitation
1. Simple harmonic motion
2. Mass on a spring
3. Pendulum and other oscillations
4. Newton’s law of gravity
5. Kepler’s laws
V.
Modern Physics (1 ½ weeks)
a. Atomic physics and quantum effects
i. Alpha particle scattering and Rutherford model
ii. Photons and the photoelectric effect
iii. Bohr model
iv. Wave-particle duality
b. Nuclear physics
i. Radioactivity and half-life
ii. Nuclear reactions
iii. Mass and energy effects
Laboratory
Our labs are placed throughout the instructional year. An attempt is made to do them when they fit into the
curriculum. We use TI-83 and CBL materials in the lab program along with CPO, Vernier data collection tools
and LoggerPro data analysis software, but most of the labs are still done without computers. Labs begin with
the presentation of guiding question or problem. For example, “Given some lenses, a diffraction grating, and
meter sticks, how can one determine the wavelength of a laser pointer?” Students are led in a guided discussion
to formulate a hypothesis to answer the question or solve the problem. They are then presented with an
assortment of equipment to test their hypothesis. They make observations, collect data, manipulate the data (if
necessary) and then form conclusions. Each experiment requires a written report, kept in an organized lab
notebook.
The following is a list of our labs, most of which we will do during the school year before the AP exam.
General Labs
1. Measurement of Error
Objective:
-To use standard measuring techniques for length, mass, or liquid volume to generate data with
some degree of certainty.
-To determine how the number of significant figures in a measured value depends on the least
count of the measured instrument.
-To learn how to deal with uncertainty in measured and calculated values.
Light and Optics
2. Properties of Light
Objective:
-To use colored filters, laser pointers, diffraction glasses and lenses to explore the relationship
between filtered light and monochromatic light.
3. Part 1. Reflection
Part 2. Snell’s Law
Objective:
-Analysis of reflection and determination of the index of refraction of a material.
4. Part 1. Images Formed by Curved Mirrors
Part 2. Images Formed by Curved Lenses
Objective:
-Experimental, geometrical, and analytical determination of the formation of images.
5. Wavelength of Light
Objective:
-Measurement of the wavelength of a laser beam using a diffraction grating.
Electricity and Magnetism
6. Static Electricity
Objective:
-Discovery activity to understand how attraction and repulsion between charged objects occurs.
7. Part 1. Ohm’s Law
Part 2. Series and Parallel Circuits
Objective:
-Measurement of the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance dependence of
resistance on length and cross-sectional area, series and parallel combinations of resistances.
8. Magnetic Fields Around Magnets
Objective:
-Determining and tracing magnets fields around magnets.
9. Electromagnetic Induction
Objective:
-Determination of the induced emf in a coil as a measure of the magnetic field from an
alternating current in a long, straight wire.
Fluid Mechanics
10. Archimedes’ Principle/Cement Boat
Objective:
-Discovery activity to understand how even a material like cement can be shaped to float on
water.
Velocity and Acceleration
11. Bulldozer
Objective:
-Analysis of the measurements of position and time of a toy car to calculate its velocity and
acceleration.
11. Graphing Motion
Objective:
-To use a motion detector to replicate the motion given in a teacher-generated worksheet.
12. What Goes Up Must Come Down
Objective:
-Determination of the acceleration due to gravity.
Projectile Motion
13. Marble Launcher Battle!
Objective:
-Determination of muzzle velocity and calculation of range.
Newton’s Laws and Vectors
14. Newton’s Second Law
Objective:
-Graphical analysis of the variation of acceleration and force for different masses on an
Atwood’s machine.
15. Addition of Force Vectors
Objective:
-Experimental, graphical, and analytical addition of force vectors using force tables.
16. Coefficient of Friction
Objective:
-Determination of static and kinetic coefficients of friction for various materials.
Work, Momentum, and Energy, Circular Motion, Torque
17. Conservation of Momentum in Explosions
Objective:
-Analysis of the “explosion” of a dynamics cart system to determine if momentum is conserved.
18. Work and the Inclined Plane
Objective:
-Design two methods to determine the work due to nonconservative forces using an inclined
plane.
19. Conservation of PE and KE
Objective:
-Verify the conservation of mechanical energy using a modified Atwood’s machine.
20. Conservation of Momentum and Energy – Collision in 2D
Objective:
-Vector conservation of momentum in two-dimensional collisions of a “hover-puck”.
21. Centripetal Force
Objective:
-Relationship between the period, mass, speed, and radius of an object in uniform circular
motion.
22. Torque
Objective:
-Determination of an unknown mass using translational and rotational equilibrium.
Forces, Simple Harmonic Motion, Waves
23. Hooke’s Law
Objective:
-Analysis of the spring constants of several springs.
24. Simple Pendulum
Objective:
-Investigation of the dependence of the period on the mass, length, angle, and determination of
the acceleration due to gravity.
25. Wave Properties
Objective:
-Relationship among wave variables using a virtual wave generator.
26. The Speed of Sound
-Determination of the speed of sound using tuning forks and a column of water.
Classes
Classes that do not involve labs generally consist of short lecture involving demonstrations and real world
applications. Time is set aside for student-driven questions. Practice problems or projects are presented, and
students are given time in class to work. Solutions are found online at the student-maintained wiki webpage.
Students are encouraged to work together.
Problem Assignments
Problems given to students come from the textbook, review book, AP Released Exams, and worksheets
designed by the instructor. An orderly problem-solving process is stressed to enable students to find solutions to
all problems they may encounter. This process is covered every time the instructor reviews a problem. Reallife, problem-based learning assignments are also given.
Evaluation
Students are tested at the end of every unit with some quizzes given in between. Tests consist of multiplechoice questions for part one and AP free-response questions for part two. Students are allowed to use AP
reference tables and calculators. Laboratory and homework scores are combined with test/quiz scores to give an
overall grade for the class.