Physics for Graduation Credit Drew Isola Allegan High School Bob Poel Western Michigan University

Michigan’s Graduation Requirements  ALL students must have 1 credit of Physics (or Chemistry) to graduate  Must ‘cover’ all of the Physics HSSCE’s (the capital letters and the lower case)  This means we must develop a physics course where ALL students can be successful  and use teaching methods that will allow ALL students to be successful

Now What?  Seems to be lots of confusion over what has to be taught and what doesn’t have to be taught  Does this mean I have to “dumb down” my physics course?  Should we have our lower level students do chemistry or physics?  How can I teach physics to ALL students when they have such poor math skills?

P4GC Course Breakdown  Experimental Design  Describing Motion  Forces & Motion  Ramps & Projectiles  Gravity, Circular Motion & Orbits  Changes in Momentum

P4GC Course Breakdown (cont’d)  Mechanical Energy  Mechanical Waves  EM Waves  Electric Forces & Interactions  Electric Current  Energy Transfer & Transformations

Units 1 & 2 Should teach …don’t have to teach  Thinking like a scientist  Line graphs & Motion Diagrams Constant velocity Constant acceleration  d=½at 2, d=v/t  a=v f – v i t  The Scientific Method  Non-constant acceleration  Vector notation  Probably don’t need:

20 m, 45 deg m, 300 deg m, 210 deg. SCALE: 1 cm = 5 m Not This

 Newton’s Laws F = ma Linear motion  Weight  Net Force Force diagrams  Types of forces Contact Non-contact  Multiple forces involving Sin & Cos  Pulleys, Tension, Atwoods Machine  Pressure!!  Bouyancy Unit 3 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Ramps Draw forces to scale P3.2d says “calculate”, doesn’t say how Could use graph paper and measurement  PhET Simulation Unit 4 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Projectiles - P2.2g & P3.4e  Use basic equations Vertically  y=½gt 2  v f = v i + gt Horizontally  x= vt  Draw path on graph paper and use measurement  Horizontal motion with constant vertical force v ix = v i cos(θ) v iy = v i sin (θ) Unit 4 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Newton’s Law of Gravitation  Centripetal Force  Apply both to orbits  Draw orbits and circular motion with force vectors  Special case where force is always perpendicular to motion  Rotational Motion Φ ω α  Torque  Angular Momentum  Kepler’s Laws  Center of Mass  Moment of Inertia Unit 5 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 3 equations that describe collisions  Impulse = change in momentum (Ft=mΔv)  Total momentum before = total momentum after Don’t forget the negative!!  Total KE before is Total KE after  p=mv, KE=½mv 2 Unit 6 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Work done on an object is the change in its KE, GPE (mgΔh) and/or EPE  Examples of GPE changing into KE and/or EPE and back again  Bungee jumper, roller coaster, pendulum  W=Fd only works in special situations  Rotational KE  Escape velocity  U=0 when r=∞  Work done by a variable force  W=Fd(cos θ)  Power isn’t in the HSSCE’s but I teach it anyway  Simple Machines & efficiency Unit 7 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Wave types and characteristics  Sound, water, slinky, seismic waves  Recognizing periodic motion  v=fλ  Examples of wave interference  Inverse square law  P4.4e OMG…IDK  Harmonics  Resonance  Nodes & anti-nodes  Equations of periodic motion  The Doppler Effect Unit 8 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 EM Spectrum  Source of all EM waves is vibrating charges  EM wave technologies  Ray behavior of light Mirrors Lenses  Snell’s Law  Reflection, transmission, absorption  Color addition and subtraction of light (but I teach it anyway because it’s fun!!)  Single & double slit diffraction  Polarization  Critical angle Unit 9 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Charge distribution drawings  Build an electrophorus  Coulomb’s Law  Moving charges and moving magnets  Motors and generators  Not more than 2 charges using Coulombs Law  Electric fields  Electric field lines  Equipotential lines Unit 10 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Simple DC circuits Open Closed Series Parallel  Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts, kWh  Energy transformation by electrical devices  Electric bills  Capacitors  Kirchhoff’s Laws  Equivalent resistance  Combinations of series & parallel  AC circuits  RC and RL circuits Unit 11 Should teach …don’t have to teach

 Forms of energy  Energy transformations  Energy conservation  Energy transfer diagrams  E=mc 2  Nuclear fission, fusion & radioactivity  Very little thermodynamics (P4.11a, P4.11b)  Magnetic fields  Relativity  Quantum physics  What else did I forget not to teach? Unit 12 Should teach …don’t have to teach

Physics for Graduation Credit Drew Isola Allegan High School Bob Poel Western Michigan University