Objective (Local, State, National)

12th Grade Physics AP B Objectives December, 2003 Revision

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 6 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
A. Kinematics (including vectors, vector algebra, components of vectors, coordinate systems, displacement, velocity, and acceleration)
1. Motion in one dimension
2. Motion in two dimensions, including projectile motion
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
Vectors: Have students construct a three-force equilibrium on a force table or similar device, and construct graphical scale drawing showing how any two forces add vectorially to become the equilibrant of the third force (see lab below). Be sure to expand the concept to the generalization that perpendicular vectors do not affect each other’s size; this idea is important in force analysis, circular motion, etc.
Displacement: Use concept of “distance” when doing 1-dimensional motion lab and work; introduce “displacement” concept with the introduction of vectors. Distinguish between the distance you run in a circle back to your starting point (circumference) and your displacement (zero), etc. Stress that the various one-dimensional motion equations are actually vector equations where “d” is displacement, and thus can be negative. This is important in a variety of problems, including falling bodies and projectiles.
Velocity and Acceleration: Have students collect data on an object undergoing constant acceleration, and plot distance vs. time and later speed vs. time graphs of the motion. A computer can help with the graphing and forming best-fit lines and curves, and you can relate the graphs to the one-dimensional motion equations. (See Core Lab 1 below.) Help students associate the slope of the d vs. t and v vs. t graphs with their physical meanings. (See Worksheet B below.) After inventing the two basic equations for average speed and the equation for acceleration, have the students use algebra to invent the remaining equations. (See Worksheet C below.)
Falling Bodies: Demonstrate the concept directly. Examples range from the simple to the complex:
· drop a piece of paper and a small ball or rock and note their different rates of fall, have the students prompt you to crumple the piece of paper into a ball and note how the rates of fall become quite similar
· use something like Pasco’s free-fall apparatus to time to the nearest thousandth of a second the fall time for a ball dropped about 1.5 meters, and have the students calculate the acceleration rate; or use one of the older types of free-fall apparatus (e.g. using photogates or spark paper) to find the acceleration
· arrange an ultrasonic motion detector underneath a protective grill and drop various objects; a connected computer or calculator can show the acceleration, graph the motion, etc.
Discuss Galileo’s logical argument for constant free-fall acceleration. (Tie a feather to an anvil: if Aristotle were right and heavier things fall faster, wouldn’t the heavier anvil fall faster than the feather and thus be retarded by the slower feather? But then again, the feather and anvil combination are heavier than an anvil by itself, so wouldn’t they fall faster than an anvil by itself? This logical paradox demonstrates the problem with the initial assumption that heavier things fall faster.)
Projectiles: Pose the question: If one bullet was fired horizontally from a gun over a level field, and another bullet was simultaneously dropped from the same height, which would land first? Have students argue the possibilities and later demonstrate the answer is that they strike at the same time by using a Simultaneous Velocities Apparatus (or simply two marbles, one dropped while another is flicked off a tabletop).
Pose the question: An object is fired straight upward from a cannon that is mounted on a train moving forward at a steady velocity; where will the cannonball land? Have students argue the possibilities and later demonstrate the answer is that the cannonball lands back in the cannon (neglecting air resistance and wind) by using a Ballistics Cart.
Pose the question: If a banana is thrown at a monkey in a tree, but the frightened monkey lets go of a branch and falls at the same instant the banana is thrown, where does the banana go relative to the monkey? Have students argue the possibilities and later demonstrate that the banana strikes the monkey using a Monkey & Hunter Apparatus.
Have students demonstrate their mastery of horizontal vs. vertical velocity graphs by acting out pre-set graphs you give them (see Kinesthetic Graphs activity below).

Objective (Local, State, National)

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 8 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
B. Newton’s laws of motion (including friction and centripetal force)
1. Static equilibrium (first law)
2. Dynamics of a single particle (second law)
3. Systems of two or more bodies (third law)
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
Use inertial balance to introduce mass concept; use airtracks or dynamics carts to illustrate force, mass, and acceleration relationships; use various tricks to demonstrate law of inertia (see core labs).
Carefully define action and reaction as forces between two objects; demonstrate using two force probes pulling on each other, with inverted graphs of F vs. t showing on computer monitor. Have students create free-body diagrams for a donkey pulling a cart (7 significant action/reaction pairs) or a student sitting in a chair (illustrates confusion between weight, normal force, and identification of the true reaction to weight: earth pulled up by object). Discuss complexities and misconceptions in applying the third law to rocket propulsion (no need for atmosphere; action and reaction can be vaguely defined as rocket pushing gas and vice versa or more precisely defined as exploding gas particles pushing on combustion chamber walls, etc.).
Check student understanding of laws of motion concepts by having them identify and correct the errors in various statements that contain a misconception or misstatement of one or more of the laws as applied to a situation (e.g. “A ton of feathers on earth has the same inertia as a ton of feathers on the moon.”)
Friction: The core lab will bring out the essential components of the objective, but there will be discrepant data due to the complex nature of friction phenomena. Students may have trouble with surface area concepts, reflecting the confusion in science between apparent and actual contact area, etc.
Centripetal force: see objective I.E.
Aligned Resources:
Laws of Motion:
Core Lab 3: Forces and Acceleration
Core Lab 4: Inertial Balance
Core Lab 5: Mass and Acceleration
Core Lab 6: The Laws of Motion
Core Lab 7: Friction
Interactive Physics simulations at BHS website or on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM: atwoods.ip, forcebal.ip, forcubal.ip, forceadd.ip, hangmass.ip, jetplane.ip
Case Study: Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel Disaster on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM
Videotape: The Mechanical Universe – Inertia
Copy of Newton’s Principia from school library
Friction:
Interactive Physics simulations at BHS website or on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM: airdrag.ip, carcurve.ip, h20drag.ip, h20vio.ip
Videotape: The Mechanical Universe – Friction

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 4 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
C. Work, energy, power
1. Work and work-energy theorem
2. Conservative forces and potential energy
3. Conservation of energy
4. Power
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
Core lab will help invent the concept of work. Analysis of errors in the data can illustrate how simple machines create extra work due to friction, leading to the concept of efficiency.
A fun power lab is to have students run stairs at the stadium and measure their horsepower output.
Do a concept web about the six forms of energy (mechanical, chemical, electrical, nuclear, radiant, thermal). A good activity is to walk students through the energy transformations in an automobile using videotape from Ford Motor Co.
Another interesting example is to calculate mass-to-energy conversions with E=mc2 and videotape of nuclear bombs.
Aligned Resources:
Core Lab 10: Work
Core Lab 11: Power
Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics Curriculum: Unit 13 – Work, Power, and Energy including Lab B: Personal Power
Videotape: Mechanical Universe segment on work and energy
Videotape and worksheet: Energy Transformations in an Automobile from Ford Motor Co.
Videotape: The Physics of Roller Coasters (and older NOVA videotape on same)
Videotape: Trinity – The Atomic Bomb Movie

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 1.5 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
D. Systems of particles, linear momentum
1. Impulse and momentum
2. Conservation of linear momentum, collisions
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
Use airtracks or dynamics carts with built-in push springs to demonstrate conservation of momentum (see core lab). Use Velcro on air gliders or dynamics carts to illustrate inelastic coupled collisions.
Demonstrate difference between elastic and inelastic collisions with “happy” and “sad” rubber balls made of different compounds.
Demonstrate more complex collisions using pucks on an air table.
Aligned Resources:
Core Lab 8: Linear Momentum
Demonstration equipment: “Happy” and “Sad” rubber balls, air table with pucks
Interactive Physics simulations at BHS website or on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM: 2delastc.ip, 2dinlstc.ip, colision.ip, momexamp.ip
Videotape: The Mechanical Universe – Conservation of Momentum

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 3 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
E. Circular motion and rotation
1. Uniform circular motion
2. Torque and rotational statics
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
Data-gathering on centripetal force can pose safety hazards, so core lab substitutes careful thought about an apparatus and a later geometric proof of the equation. For safety reasons, core lab also calls for a demonstration of released circular motion using a puck on an air table, rather than having students release circling stoppers.
Emphasize that centrifugal force is fictitious and used to explain inertial effects; in an inertial frame of reference, there is only centripetal force and acceleration. Illustrate the inward acceleration using an accelerometer: put a fishing bob in a jar or flask of water; the bob always moves in the direction of the acceleration due to the water’s greater mass and inertia; spin holding the accelerometer to see the bob swing inward.
Illustrate the distinction between angular and linear speed using a phonograph.
Illustrate vertical circles using a cup of water spun on a string-mounted platform; use this to lead into critical speed calculation and segue later into orbital velocity.
For torque, do a lab where students place weights on a meterstick with fulcrum. Have them discover the relationships between force and distance so that the stick balances, and use their formula to predict placement of a weight to restore balance.
Aligned Resources:
Core Lab 9: Circular Motion
Rotation Lab
Interactive Physics simulations at BHS website or on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM: circle.ip, circvert.ip
Videotape: The Mechanical Universe – Circular Motion
Demonstration equipment: accelerometer, vertical circle cup and platform, air table and puck

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 1.5 weeks

Objective (Local, State, National)

I. Newtonian Mechanics
F. Oscillations and gravitation
1. Simple harmonic motion (dynamics and energy relationships)
2. Mass on a spring
3. Pendulum and other oscillations
4. Newton’s law of gravity
5. Circular orbits of planets and satellites
Suggested Teaching Strategies:
The planetary gravitation concept does not lend itself to experiments or physical demonstrations, but the story of how Western models of the solar system progressed is one of the most compelling in the history of science. Emphasize historical development of solar system conceptions from the Greek geocentric to the Copernican heliocentric, followed by Galilean evidence, Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion, Newton’s Universal Gravitation equation, Cavendish’s measurement of the Universal Gravitation Constant, and Einstein’s reconception of gravity as a warp in space-time.
Oscillations are best covered when studying energy – elastic potential energy for simple harmonic motion, transfer between gravitational potential and kinetic for pendula, etc.
Aligned Resources:
Software at the BHS website or on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM:
Gravity – simple solar system simulator
STSPLUS – orbital tracking software for satellites, shuttles, space station (or online J-Track from NASA)
Epicycle – simulates use of epicycles to explain retrograde planetary motion in geocentric systems
Videotape: The Day the Universe Changed with James Burke – Infinitely Reasonable
NASA warped space simulation movies on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM to illustrate Einstein’s reconception
Seasons and Phases of the Moon Powerpoint Presentation on Meador’s 2000 Inquiry Physics CD-ROM

Assessment Sample Format

Course/Level / P.A.S.S. Strand: /

Time Range

AP Physics B / Not applicable; College Board-driven / 3 hours of night lectures

Objective (Local, State, National)