®
AP Physics B - Syllabus
Text: Physics, Walker, James S; 4th Ed. San Francisco: Addison Wesley
About the AP Physics B Course:
(Lecture-Discussion 4 hours/week; Lab 1 hour/week)
Advance Placement Physics B is an algebra-based course in general Physics. Its syllabus is designed by the
College Board. It is equivalent to an introductory algebra-based university level physics course. This course
will be a full year course. The emphasis is on understanding the concepts and skills and using the concepts and
formulae to solve problems. Laboratory work will be an integral part of this course.
Evaluation:
Tests
Homework
Lab
Mid-Term Exam
Final Exam
40%
20%
20%
10%
10%
Calendar:
Aug 23 – Sept 3
Introduction
Kinematics
(Walker chapters 1-4)
Units and Dimensions
Scalars and Vectors
Motion in one Dimension
Projectile Motion [C1]
Sept 7 – Sept 24
Newton’s Laws of Motion:
(Walker chapters 5-6)
Friction
Inclined Plane
Weight and Weightlessness [C1]
Sept 27 – Oct 7
Work, Energy, and Power
(Walker chapters 7-8)
Conservation of Energy
Conservation of Mechanical Energy [C1]
Oct 8 – Oct 15
Systems of Particles
Linear Momentum
(Walker chapter 9)
Impulse-Momentum Theorem
Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum [C1]
Oct 18 – 26
Circular Motion and Rotation
(Walker chapter 10-11)
Uniform Circular Motion
Torque and Rotational statics
Rotational Kinematics and Dynamics
Angular Momentum and its Conservation [C1]
Oct 27 – Nov 12
Oscillations and Gravitation
(Walker chapter 12 – 13)
Simple Harmonic Motion
Mass on a Spring
Pendulum and Other Oscillations
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Circular Orbits [C1]
Nov 15 – 24
Fluid Mechanics
(Walker chapter 15)
Hydrostatics
Fluid Pressure
Pascal’s Principle
Archimedes Principle [C2]
Nov 29- Dec 1
Temperature and Heat
(Walker chapter 16)
Heat
Temperature
Thermal Expansion
Heat Transfer [C2]
Dec 2 - 17
Kinetic Theory and Thermodynamics
(Walker chapter 17-18)
Ideal Gas Laws and PV diagrams
Kinetic Theory and rms speed of gas molecules
Reversible Thermodynamic Processes
Heat Engines and the Carnot Cycle
First law of Thermodynamics
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Entropy [C2]
Jan 3 – 11
Electrostatics
(Walker chapter 19)
Coulomb’s Law
Electric Field
Motion of Charged Particle in Electric Field
Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential [C3]
Jan 12 – 19
Conductors, Capacitors, Dielectrics
(Walker chapter 20)
Electrostatics with Conductors
Capacitors
Dielectrics [C3]
Jan 20 - Feb 3
Electric Circuits
(Walker chapter 21)
Current, Resistance, Power
Steady State DC Circuits
Capacitors in Circuits [C3]
Feb 4 - 11
Magnetic Fields
(Walker chapter 22)
Forces on Moving Charges in Magnetic Fields
Forces on Current Carrying Wire
Fields of Current Carrying Wires in Magnetic Fields
Biot-Savart Law and Ampere’s Law [C3]
Feb 14 – 23
Electromagnetism
(Walker chapter 23-24)
Electromagnetic Induction
Inductance
Maxwell’s Equations [C3]
Feb 24 – Mar 4
Wave Motion
(Walker chapter 14, 25)
Traveling Waves
Properties of Sound
Standing Wave and Beats
Doppler Effect [C4]
Maxwell’s
Equations
Mar 7 - 23
Geometric Optics
(Walker chapter 26)
Reflection and Refraction
Mirrors
Lenses [C4]
Mar 24 – Apr 1
Physical Optics
(Walker chapter 27-28)
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Snell’s Law
Total Internal Reflection
Image Formation by Plane and Spherical Mirrors
Image Formation by Lenses
Image Formation by a Two-Lens System
Interference and Diffraction [C4]
Apr 5 - 15
Atomic Physics and Quantum Effects
(Walker chapter 30-31)
Photoelectric Effect
Energy and Linear Momentum of Photon
Energy Levels in an Atom
DeBroglie Hypothesis: Davisson-Germer experiment
Compton Effect [C5]
Apr 18 - 21
Nuclear Physics
(Walker chapter 32)
Nuclear Reactions
Mass-Energy Equivalence [C5]
April 25 – 29 Review of the Fall Semester material
May 2 - 6 Review of the Spring Semester material
AP Exams
C1 - Course Requirement 1: The course provides instruction in each of the five content areas outlined in the Course Description:
Newtonian Mechanics.
C2 - Course Requirement 2: The course provides instruction in each of the five content areas outlined in the Course Description: Fluid
mechanics and Thermal Physics.
C3 - Course Requirement 3: The course provides instruction in each of the five content areas outlined in the Course Description:
Electricity and Magnetism.
C4 - Course Requirement 4: The course provides instruction in each of the five content areas outlined in the Course Description:
Waves and Optics.
C5 - Course Requirement 5: The course provides instruction in each of the five content areas outlined in the Course Description:
Atomic and Nuclear Physics
C6 - Course Requirement 6: The course utilizes guided inquiry and student-centered learning to foster the development of critical
thinking skills
C7 - Course Requirement 7: The course includes a laboratory component comparable to college-level physics laboratories, with a
minimum of 12 student-conducted laboratory investigations representing a variety of topics covered in the course. A hands-on
laboratory component is required. Each student should complete a lab notebook or portfolio of lab reports. Note: Online course
providers utilizing virtual labs (simulations rather than hands-on) should submit their laboratory materials for the audit. If these lab
materials are determined to develop the skills and learning objectives of hands-on labs, then courses which use these labs may receive
authorization to use the "AP" designation. Online science courses authorized to use the "AP" designation will be posted on the AP
Central Web site.
**Laboratory: All lab experiments are “hands-on” activities. Students will be required
to keep a lab notebook containing all of their lab reports. [C6] [C7]
Fall Laboratory Inquiries:
1. Rebound height
2. Indirect measurement of inaccessible heights and distances
3. Areas, Volumes, and densities of given solids and liquids
4. Prediction and reproduction of kinematics graphs with motion detector
5. Determination of acceleration due to gravity
6. Projectile Motion – Relationship between θ and Range
7. Elastic Force in Rubber Bands – Nonlinear spring
8. Inclined Plane – Coefficient of friction
9. Uniform Circular Motion – Relationships between F and r
c
10. Conservation of Mechanical Energy Spring-mass system – Air Track
11. Conservation of Linear Momentum – Air Track
12. Spring-Mass System – Force sensor
13. Simple Pendulum
14. Density Using Archimedes Principle
15. Dependence of Cooling Rate on Surface/Volume Ratio
Spring Laboratory Inquiries:
1. Electrostatics – Ordering the given materials in the order of their electronegativity
2. Mapping Electric Fields I: Plotting equipotential and field lines
3. Mapping Electric Field II: 3-D Landscape
4. Ohm’s Law and Internal Resistance
5. Resistors in Series and Parallel
6. Standing Waves on a String
7. Standing Waves for sound in a pipe
8. Verification of the Laws of Reflection and Refraction
9. Image formation by Spherical Mirrors and Lenses
10. Young’s Double-Slit Experiment
11. Single Slit Diffraction and Diameter of Hair
12. Photoelectric Effect
Laboratory Notebook Format
Problem/Question
Hypothesis
Experimental Procedure
Data/Observations (in the form of a data table, graph and/or equation)
Calculations
Conclusion and error analysis [C6]