AP PHYSICS 1 COURSE SYLLABUS
NORTH HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL
TABLE OF CONTENTS/CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS
REQUIREMENT
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CR 1: Students and teachers have access to college-level resources including college-level textbooks and reference materials in
print or electronic format.
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CR 2a: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
kinematics in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2b: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
dynamics in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2c: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
gravitation and circular motion in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2d: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
simple harmonic motion in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2e: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of linear
momentum in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework
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CR 2f: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principle of energy
in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2g: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
rotational motion in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2h: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
electrostatics in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2i: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
electric circuits in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 2j: The course design provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the foundational principles of
mechanical waves in the context of the big ideas that organize the curriculum framework.
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CR 3: Students have opportunities to apply AP Physics 1 learning objectives connecting across enduring understandings as
described in the curriculum framework. These opportunities must occur in addition to those within laboratory investigations.
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CR 4: The course provides students with opportunities to apply their knowledge of physics principles to real world questions
or scenarios (including societal issues or technological innovations) to help them become scientifically literate citizens.
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CR 5: Students are provided with the opportunity to spend a minimum of 25 percent of instructional time engaging in handson laboratory work with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations.
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CR 6a: The laboratory work used throughout the course includes investigations that support the foundational AP Physics 1
principles.
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CR 6b: The laboratory work used throughout the course includes guided-inquiry laboratory investigations allowing students to
apply all seven science practices.
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CR 7: The course provides opportunities for students to develop their communication skills by recording evidence of their
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research of literature or scientific investigations through verbal, written, and graphic presentations.
CR8: The course provides opportunities for students to develop written and oral scientific argumentation skills.
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COURSE OVERVIEW
Textbook
Serway, R. A., and Vuille, C. College Physics. Independence, KY: Cengage Learning., 2009. [CR1]
AP® Physics 1 is an algebra-based course in general physics that meets daily for an 82 minutes block. The physics topics presented
during the course meet the College Board requirements and provide supplemental material as well. The primary goal of the course
is to provide students with the skills to analyze the interrelationship between physical science concepts in the interactions of the
world around them. To achieve this, students will be working extensively in inquiry-based laboratory investigations, as well as nontraditional (outside of the lab) investigations. In these lab investigations, students will be challenged to determine and quantify
relationships, evaluate and review the work of other students, and speculate on how changes to the experiment would alter the
outcome. Students will also have the opportunity to test their hypotheses of how the lab results would change by re-preforming the
altered experiment. While there will also be considerable time spent solving problems, this is not the focus of the course.
Expectations





Apply algebra and trigonometry to solve problems.
Complete both formal and informal labs, which may include graphing, discussion, and/or sample problems.
Design, carry out, and report on experiments of their own design with minimal guidance from the instructor.
Complete an assessment for each unit of study.
Take the AP Physics 1 exam.
EVALUATION
I will use a total points system to calculate your final grade. Each assignment is worth a certain value (a homework might be
5 points, a test might be 95 points.) and your grade is simply your total points earned out of total points possible. The following
structure gives a rough guideline as to the importance of each type of assignment.
Tests and Quizzes
65%
Labs
25%
HW/Classwork
10%
CONTENT
The content for this course is centered on six “Big Ideas:”
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: Waves 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.
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COURSE TOPIC OUTLINE
1. Kinematics (Big Idea 3) [CR2a]
a. Vectors/Scalars
b. One Dimensional Motion (including graphing position, velocity, and acceleration)
c. Two Dimensional Motion
2. Dynamics (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, and 4) [CR2b]
a. Newton’s Laws of Motion and Forces
3. Universal Law of Gravitation (Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, and 4) [CR2c]
a. Circular Motion
4. Energy (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5) [CR2f]
a. Work
b. Energy
c. Conservation of Energy
d. Power
5. Momentum (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5) [CR2e]
a. Impulse and Momentum
b. The Law of Conservation of Momentum
6. Rotation (Big Ideas 3, 4, and 5) [CR2g]
a. Rotational Kinematics
b. Rotational Energy
c. Torque and Rotational Dynamics
d. Angular Momentum
e. Conservation of Angular Momentum
7. Electrostatics (Big Ideas 1, 3, and 5) [CR2h]
a. Electric Charge
b. The Law of Conservation of Electric Charge
c. Electrostatic Forces
8. Circuits (Big Ideas 1 and 5) [CR2i]
a. Ohm’s Law
b. Kirchhoff’s Laws
c. Simple DC Circuits
9. Simple Harmonic Motion (Big Ideas 3 and 5) [CR2d]
a. Simple Pendulums
b. Mass-Spring Oscillators
10. Mechanical Waves and Sound (Big Idea 6) [CR2j]
a. Doppler Effect
b. Resonance
11. Optics
a.
b.
c.
d.
Refraction and Snell’s Law
Reflection
Simple lenses and mirrors
Thin Film interference
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LABORATORY
Twenty five percent of the course will be lab work. [CR5] Some labs will be a multi-day process, where students are peer-evaluating,
improving, or re-performing labs as problems or concerns emerge. Most labs performed will be either guided inquiry or open
inquiry, allowing students to design experiments to explore relationships or complete a challenge. All data and
reflections/revisions/reports will be kept in a lab notebook.
Lab reports will consist of the following components: [CR7]
1.
Title
2.
Objective/Problem Design/Overview:
What is the purpose of this investigation; what specifically will be done to collect data? What is the hypothesis?
3.
Data: All data gathered in the lab will go here
4.
Analysis:
a. Sample Calculations
b. Graphs
5.
Conclusion:
a. What was the outcome of the lab; was the hypothesis confirmed or refuted?
b. How did the data confirm or refute the hypothesis?
c. What is the broader relationship or context of these lab results?
d. What errors were present in this design and how could they have been mitigated?
Every major unit will have an inquiry-based lab, and inquiry-based labs will make up no less than half of the laboratory work.
Collectively, laboratory work will engage students in all seven science practices. The following chart gives an overview of the labs
performed in this course. This list is not exclusive, and additional labs may be added as students investigate concepts and develop
questions of their own.
Name [CR 6a]
InquiryDescription
Science Practices
Based
[CR 6b]
Speed Lab
Y
Students will design an experiment to determine the speed of a
2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
spring-cart on each of its three settings
Tickertape Lab
N
The value for the acceleration due to gravity will be determined
2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1
Rocket Launch #1
Y
Students will design an experiment to determine the initial velocity
1.2, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
of a vertically launched air-powered rocket
Projectile
N
Students will fire a marble from a launcher along a tabletop, then
1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.3
Launcher #1
predict where the marble will land on the floor below
Rocket Launch #2
Y
Students will design an experiment to determine the initial velocity
1.2, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
of an air-powered rocket launched at an angle
Projectile
Y
Using the projectile launchers at an angle, students will be
1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
Launcher #2
challenged to have their ball land in a cup or a set of rings.
Newton’s 2nd Law
Y
What is the relationship between the mass and the acceleration of a
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
system?
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
Friction Lab
Y
Students will design and conduct an experiment to determine which
2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
factors affect the force of friction
2D Forces Lab
N
Students will suspend a mass by spring scales attached to two
2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1
vertical posts, and compare the readings to the theoretical values.
Circular Motion
Y
What is the relationship between velocity, radius, mass, and force
1.1, 1.4, 2.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4,
Lab
acting on an object in uniform circular motion
5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
Horsepower Lab
N
Students will run up flights of stairs to determine their work and
2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1
power output.
Conservation of
Y
Students will design an experiment to explore the relationships of
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1,
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Linear Momentum
Momentum Ramp Lab
Conservation of
Angular
Momentum Lab
Egg Crash Design
[CR 4]
N
Y
Y
two carts being repelled by a spring from the rest position.
A ball is released from the top of a ramp, striking a second ball. The
two fall to the floor and can be used to verify the conservation.
What is the relationship between the moment of inertia of a system
and the angular momentum of a system?
Torque
Simulation
Coulomb’s Law
Lab
Series and Parallel
Lab
N
Pendulum Lab
Y
After reading about vehicle design and watching film related to it,
students will design a container for an egg that can withstand a
ceiling height drop. Materials available include only glue and
toothpicks. (See full description in the following section)
Students will use a computer simulation to explore torque and
rotation.
What is the charge stored on a pair of charged balloons that are
repelling each other?
Students will use ammeters, voltmeters, resistors and a voltage
source to determine the relationship between voltage, current, and
resistance.
What factors affect the motion of a simple pendulum?
Mass-Spring
Oscillator Lab
Pendulum
extension lab
Y
What factors affect the motion of a spring-oscillator?
Y
Resonance Lab
N
Design an experiment to determine the velocity of a constantvelocity cart using the principles learned in the pendulum lab.
Materials: meter stick, string, mass, car, ring stand
Students will use tuning forks, glass tubes, and buckets of water to
determine the temperature of the room and to compare the printed
frequency of a tuning fork to its experimental frequency.
Y
Y
4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 6.1,
6.2, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2
1.1, 1.4, 2.2, 4.3, 6.1
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2,
4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 6.1
OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
Part of the AP Physics 1 course guideline is that students must connect enduring understandings in an experience that is outside of
the lab. The following will meet that goal:
Students will attempt to answer the question of what would be necessary to stop the orbital motion of the moon, and could it be
done by humans. Research should be done on the orbital properties of the moon, as well as a variety of projectiles or other
energy/momentum sources that could be used to collide with or otherwise disrupt the moon. For example, a student could first
determine the total number of battleships during World War II, and the specifics of the weapons systems on each. Then, assuming a
perfectly inelastic collision, how many projectiles (how much time, how much mass…) would be needed to stop the moon? In what
ways would this be possible/realistic? Alternatively, students could research a classic Hollywood theme of using a nuclear weapon to
disrupt the path of an orbiting body. Students should show both data and calculations to support their contentions.
Students will present their work in class. Their presentation will be peer critiqued and/or questioned, and they will answer the
questions with supporting evidence. [CR 7, CR 8] The enduring understandings bridged by this project are:
3.A.1.1 3.B.1,1, 3.D.1.1, 4.B.1.2, 5.A.2.1,
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REAL WORLD PHYSICS
In order for students to become scientifically literate citizens, students are required to use their knowledge of physics while looking
at a real world problem. [CR 4] Students will complete a variety of readings, view a number of documentaries, and do their own
research to be able to describe some of the basic challenges in sending a crew to the Moon, and how these challenges were addressed.
The final product will be a research paper submitted by each student. Some of the topics that could be addressed are shown below,
with a bit of further detail as to what to research:
Motion: Getting to the moon – relative position of Earth and Moon as they rotate and revolve, day vs. night, timing of rendezvous,
re-entry (including recovery and predicting the location of the capsule)
Universal Gravitation/Circular Motion: Determining orbital velocity and height; time for 1 orbit, why launch from Cape Canaveral
Energy: Fuel needed to leave the Earth vs. weight (multi-stage rockets), lunar rendezvous vs. direct landing
Forces/Momentum: Adjusting course in spaceflight, spacewalking, life inside the spacecraft during flight.
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