Advanced Placement Physics
2011-2012
Room B-249
Mr. Baron
Mbaron@pdsd.org
ext. 2249
Sun Valley High School
Science Department
I.
Goals of the Course
A. To score a "3" or better on the AP Physics B Exam.
B. To achieve a high level of understanding of the major principles of physics.
C. To understand the nature of scientific thought, utilize the scientific method properly when conducting an
experiment (including proper and accurate measurements and precise data analysis), and appreciate
scientific processes and development of technology.
D. To enhance critical thinking skills.
E. To fine-tune relevant mathematical concepts.
F. To be adequately prepared for any "other" science/ technical course in 12 th grade or college.
G. For all students to enjoy this class, have fun, yet keep a professional atmosphere.
II. Curriculum
The major principles of the Advanced Placement Physics B course are outlined below. The percents indicate
the percentage of the exam.
Major Principle
Percentage
Newtonian Mechanics
(35%)
Kinematics
(7%)
Newton's Laws of Motion
(9%)
Work, Energy, and Power
(5%)
Systems of Particles and Linear Momentum
(4%)
Circular Motion and Rotation
(4%)
Oscillations and Gravitation
(6%)
Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics
(15%)
Fluid Mechanics
(5%)
Temperature and Heat
(3%)
Kinetic Theory and Thermodynamics
(7%)
Electricity and Magnetism (25%)
Electrostatics
(5%)
Conductors and Capacitors
(4%)
Electric Circuits
(7%)
Magnetostatics
(4%)
Electromagnetic Induction
(5%)
Waves and Optics
(15%)
Wave Motion
(5%)
Physical Optics
(5%)
Geometric Optics
(5%)
Atomic and Nuclear Physics
(10%)
Atomic Physics and Quantum Effects
(7%)
Nuclear Physics
(3%)
Other Skills and Miscellaneous Topics
(inclusive)
Vectors and Scalars, Vector Mathematics, Graphs of Functions,
History of Physics, Contemporary Topics in Physics
III. The AP Physics B Exam
The Advanced Placement Physics B Exam has two sections - multiple choice and free response. Each
section will be 90 minutes in length. The multiple-choice section will have 70 questions with five choices each.
Calculators and formula sheets will not be permitted for this section. It is therefore critical that you have
mastery knowledge of all formulae and relationships used in this course. The free response section is 90
minutes. There will be 6 or 7 questions broken into several sections. Calculators and formula sheets are
permitted for this section. Calculators must not have a typewriting keyboard (QWERTY…). Visit
www.collegeboard.com/ap/students/physics to see if your calculator is acceptable.
The exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 5. The scores are defined as follows:
5
4
3
2
1
Extremely well qualified
Well qualified
Qualified
Possibly qualified
No recommendation
The total point value of the exam is 180 points. The two sections of the exam are weighted equally at 90 points
apiece. For the multiple choice section, one point is earned for every correct answer. Questions that are
incorrect or left unanswered do not affect the score. The raw score is then multiplied by a factor of 1.286 (or 90
out of 70) to obtain a total score for the section:
Faculty consultants, following carefully defined scoring guidelines, score the free response section.

1
  9 
multiple choice score  # correct answers -  * # incorrect answers  *  
4
  7 

Each question is assigned a point value, usually 10 or 15 points. The points for each question are simply added
together to obtain a total possible of 90 points for the section. The two sections are then added to obtain a final
score.
IV. Tentative Calendars
The following is a tentative timetable for all relevant topics for this course.
Topics
Week of:
Marking Period
Measurement, Scientific Notation, Sig. Digits, Graphs, Trigonometry
Vectors (Quantities, Operations, & Resolution), Displacement,
Velocity, Relative Velocity
Acceleration & Free-fall
9/6/2011
Projectile Motion & Relative Motion
9/26/2011
Forces, Reference Frames, Center of Mass, Static Equilibr'm
10/3/2011
Newton’s 1 & 2 Laws of Motion
Conservative & Non-conservative Forces; Newton’s 3rd Law of
Motion
Work, Kinetic Energy, & The Work-Energy Theorem
Mechanical Energy; Potential Energy; Conservation of Energy,
Power
Momentum & Impulse; Collisions; Conservation of Momentum
10/11/2011
st
nd
Notes
st
Begin 1 M.P.
4 day week
Progress Reports
4 day week
End of 1st M.P.
4 day week
9/11/2011
9/19/2011
10/17/2011
10/24/2011
10/31/2011
11/7/2011
Centripetal Forces
11/14/2011
Torques, Rotational Static Equilibrium
11/21/2011
Newton's Law of Gravity, Planetary Motion, & Satellite Motion
11/28/2011
Simple Harmonic Motion & The Pendulum
12/5/2011
Hooke's Law & The Inertial Balance
Waves, Wave Properties, Superposition Principle; Winter Break
Begins
Winter Break
12/12/2011
nd
Begin 2 M.P.
2 day week
Progress Reports
12/19/2011
4 day week
12/26/2011
No classes
Topics (cont’d.)
The Wave Equation, Standing Waves, Resonance, Harmonics, the
Doppler Effect
Dispersion of Light, Reflection, Refraction, Mirrors, Lenses,
Dispersion, & Optical Instruments.
Diffraction, Interference, Optical Phenomena, Lasers, The
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Midterms, Culminating Optics Labs
Fluid Mechanics, Hydrostatic Pressure, Buoyancy, Fluid Flow
Continuity, Bernoulli's Principle
Temperature & Heat, Mechanical Equivalent of Heat, Specific &
Latent Heats, Heat Transfer, & Thermal Expansion
Kinetic Theory, Ideal Gases, Boyle’s & Charles’ Laws, Kinetic
Model, Ideal Gas Law
The 0th, 1st, & 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics, PV Cycles
Week of:
Electric Charges, Electric Forces, Electric Fields
Electric Potential Energy, Electric Potential, Coulomb's Law, Charge
Distributions
Capacitance & Conductors
2/27/2012
Electric Current, Resistance, Ohm's Law, Electric Power
3/19/2012
Magnets; Magnetic Fields & Forces, Electromagnets
3/26/2012
Spring Break
4/2/2012
Marking Period
1/2/2012
1/9/2012
1/17/2012
4 day week
1/23/2012
End of 2nd M.P.
1/30/2012
Begin 3rd M.P.
2/6/2012
2/13/2012
2/22/2012
3 day week
Progress Reports
3/5/2012
3/12/2012
End 3rd M.P.
No classes
th
Electromagnetic Induction, Faraday's Law, Lenz's Law
4/10/2012
Atomic Physics, Photons, & The Photoelectric Effect
Atomic Energy Levels, Quantum Effects, Wave-Particle Duality,
Nuclear Reactions
Review/ Practice Exams
4/16/2012
4/30/2012
AP Exams
AP Exams/ Practice Exams
5/7/2012
P.R.’s/AP Exams
AP Exams/ Reflection & Course Evaluation
5/14/2012
Alternating Currents & Motors
5/21/2012
Topics in Astronomy
5/28/2012
Final Exams
Notes
Begin 4 M.P.
4 day week
4/23/2012
6/4/2012
4 day week
th
End of 4 M.P.
The following is a tentative timetable for laboratory investigations for this course:
Lab
Measuring Pi
Radioactive Dice-o-topes
Intro to Logger Pro
Free Fall
Projectiles
Date
9/12/11
9/20
9/21
9/28
10/6
Lab
Concave Mirrors (Midterm Exams)
Converging Lenses (ME’s)
Diffraction & Interference (ME’s)
Hydrostatic Manometer
Archimedes Principle
Date
TBD
TBD
TBD
1/30
1/31
Equilibrium (Newton’s 1st Law)
Friction & Inclined Planes
Atwood's Machine & Pulleys
Conservation of Energy
Elastic Collisions
Torque & Levers
Centripetal Motion
Satellites & The Solar System
Ballistic Pendulum
Hooke's Law
10/14
10/17
10/24
11/1
11/10
11/18
11/30
12/8
12/16
12/19
Specific Heat
Heat Engines & Efficiency
Equipotentials
Ohm’s Law
RC Circuits & Bridge Circuits
Speed of Light
Magnetic Loops & Solenoids
Magnetic Force on a Wire
The Photoelectric Effect
Photonics & Communication
Standing Waves/ Speed of Sound
Law of Reflection
Snell’s Law/ Index of Refraction
1/3/12
1/11
1/12
Practice Exam
Motors
Planetarium
2/7
2/15
2/27
3/6
3/14
3/22
3/30
4/10
4/17
4/25
5/3
5/21
TBD
V. Textbooks & Other Sources
There are a bunch of textbooks we will be using this year. Some we will use more than others. Some I will
use for problems. Some are for classroom use only, and some will be signed out to you. They are as follows:
Giancoli, Douglas C. Physics, 6th Edition. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1985.
("Mountain Book")
Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics. New York: Addison-Wesley, Inc., 1997. ("Concept Book")
Nolan, Peter J. Fundamentals of College Physics. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown
Publishers, 1993. ("Clock Book")
Serway, Raymond A. & Jerry S. Faughn. College Physics. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and
Winston, 1999. ("Bike Book")
The "Mountain Book" will be our principle textbook. Because it is actually legible, its author, Douglas
Giancoli, has also won many awards. This book (a newer edition of) is the most widely used textbook in freshman
physics courses in the United States. It is used at MIT, as well as community colleges. The 2 nd edition (“Bridge
Book”) of this text was used her for AP Physics in the early 1990’s. Wrapped up in its success, the publishers
charged too much for the third edition of this book, and was ultimately abandoned by Penn-Delco when it was time
to order new textbooks.
The "Bike Book" was the past AP book. This book is legible and contains all the theories and formulas
necessary for a good framework for this course. The accompanying study guide is very useful. These books will be
available in class; copies of each the text and the study guide may be used periodically in class as a source of
problems from which we will study. You may also sign a copy out to take home on request.
The "Clock Book" is the old AP book (before the Bike Book), and still proves valuable. It will serve as an
occasional source of homework/ classwork problems, and it provides another way of explaining concepts. It does
get quite wordy in places, but it has an excellent study guide for students as well as a very valuable solutions
manual. Copies of this book and its supplements will be available in class, and may be signed out for to take home
on request.
However, some students in the past have found some of the theory difficult to comprehend. For this we
have another supplementary textbook, which was your assigned summer reading. The "Concept Book" is an awardwinning approach to just the concepts of physics. The book contains very little math – certainly nothing too
complicated, so you'd think it wouldn't be right for an AP course, right? Wrong! Remember, the multiple-choice
section of the AP Physics B Exam does not allow calculators. One can do well on the multiple-choice section if one
used only the "Concept Book." This book is already in your possession, and I will assign readings from it to the
class or to individuals as needed.
In addition to textbooks, the science budget has been approved for study aids. These are valuable resources
and are aligned with the AP exam. While there are others on the market, the two that we have for this class are:
Wells, Connie and Hugh Henderson. AP Physics B, 2004 Edition. Kaplan Publishing (Simon & Schuster):
New York, NY, 2004.
Wolf, Jonathan S. How to Prepare for the AP Physics B Exam, 3 rd Edition. Barron’s, Hauppage, NY, 2002.
Finally, the Internet provides seemingly limitless resources. We will refer to websites which relate to
topics of interest on an as needed basis; however, the most important website for us will be referred to often. This is
www.apcentral.collegeboard.com. When you go to this website for the first time, log in as a teacher, and customize
it to suit your needs. You will receive e-mails on the subjects you choose, problems of the month, test-taking tips,
and exam questions from past AP Physics B exams.
VI. Requirements
A. Daily Notebook. (A loose-leaf binder is strongly recommended; however, since taking notes is always
personalized, other methods are acceptable.)
1. All reading assignments are to be outlined as instructed.
2. All class notes are to be included. Everything written on the board should be written into your
notebook unless otherwise told. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting the class notes.
3. Homework will be graded per assignment for both effort and accuracy, and it should then be
included.
B. Laboratory experiments. You must pass labs in order to pass the class. This is a usual requirement of
science courses in colleges and universities, and so it is policy here as well. All laboratory
investigations will be kept in your notebook. All lab notes, observations, data, calculations and analysis
are to be kept in your notebook. A typed (or, as a last resort, neatly written) lab report is to be turned
in by each group for each lab investigation. Test and quiz questions can be drawn from labs.
C. Preparation for Class. There are four things that contribute to preparation. They are notebook,
pen/pencil, calculator, and timeliness. The first three items must be brought to class everyday. Your
calculator must be a scientific calculator. Lateness will not be tolerated.
D. Behavior. This class can be very enjoyable and even fun, but all students are expected to exhibit a
mature attitude towards the class, a professional manner in the laboratory, and a general appreciation
for scientific equipment and property. Poor behavior will never be tolerated in an advanced
placement class! Appropriate behavior can be achieved by following a few rules.
1. During instructional time, only one person (teacher or student) may talk at a time.
2. Always come prepared to class. (See III.B.)
3. All information on the board or overhead is to be included in your notebook unless
otherwise instructed.
4. No food, drink, or gum is permitted. No buying or selling of food is permitted in the
classroom.
5. If you have a question, ask it; never assume.
6. It’s OK to make a mistake.
VII. Grading
Tests and Quizzes
Laboratory Reports
Problem Sets
40%
40%
20%
The percentages may change at the instructors discretion. All assignments that are turned in late will be penalized
for each day they are late by either points deducted or by being assigned an additional problem(s). Summer
assignments will count in the 1st marking period of the 2010-2011 year. Assignments will be updated on Mr.
Baron’s webpage.
VIII. Absentee Policy
If you are absent from class, you are responsible for all notes, announcements, and assignments
missed. Most good excuses for being absent are still not good enough to let your schoolwork slide. All
missed labs must be made up after school.
In accordance with school district policy, you will have one day to make up work for each day
missed. Missed tests and quizzes must be made up after school unless an alternate arrangement can be
made. Labs must be made up after school. (Oh yeah, and there is a late bus on Friday!)
In an advanced placement class, even fair attendance can have detrimental effects on your
progress. It is important to keep up. We cannot push back material/ learning if a couple of people are
absent from class. The AP Physics B Exam is on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 12 PM no matter what!