Honors Physics - Mrs. Longo
Introduction
Welcome to Honors Physics!
This advanced course involves:
 | Developing strong study skills for science |
| Careful work in your calculations, labs, and research
assignments |
| Being open to understanding new and perhaps difficult concepts |
| Being willing to work in groups as the year progresses
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Besides preparing you for college, hopefully you will also
become more aware in your daily world of the many, varied ways
that the universe expresses itself through physical
characteristics --motion, sound, light, gravity, energy,
electricity, and much more.
Be prepared!
Please bring to class every day:
| A binder with your class notes
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| In the binder, please use graphing paper instead of lined paper
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| Pencils with erasers
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| A ruler
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| Calculator (scientific calculator is fine – my favorite is the TI 3OXA, which you can get at K-Mart, Target, or Staples; graphing calculators are permissible)
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Study Skills
| Note-taking for math-based science (for textbooks and lectures) |
| Your notes will be checked and graded at the end of each marking period |
| Non-calculus (Algebra) math skills for physics |
| I strongly suggest you set up study partners or study groups |
Seating and Behavior
This is an advanced course and by now, I expect you to know the kinds of behavior that promotes optimal learning in a classroom. If you are unclear, please see me.
| You may sit at any desk you want |
| If another student asks to switch seats with you, negotiate and come to agreement between the two of you |
| If you cannot come to an agreement or have special needs (cannot see the blackboard, cannot hear everything, cannot see over the student’s head in front of you), then see me for resolution |
Grading
| You earn your grade by earning points. |
| For each assignment, quiz, test, or report, a certain number of points can be earned depending on the level of difficulty. |
| You will know the total points possible for each assignment ahead of time. |
| 40% of your total grade will be earned through tests |
| 30% of your total grade will be earned through homework, quizzes, class participation, and reports |
| 30% of your total grade will be earned through labs |
It is critical in the study of physics to be accurate in your calculations.
| Therefore, you must show all your work on a problem in order to receive full credit.
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| If you show all your work but have errors in any of the steps, you will receive partial credit.
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| If you do not show your work and write down the correct answer, you will only receive 50% of the full credit for the problem. |
| Similarly, if you do not show your work and write down an incorrect answer, you will get a 0 for that problem. |
Tests
Will cover information from reading assignments, classroom lectures, labs, and homework problems
Quizzes
| The best way to learn physics -- besides labs -- is to review the lessons you have learned frequently. One way to see if you learned daily lessons is to take frequent quizzes. |
| Quizzes may or may not be announced ahead of time – come prepared, always! |
Reports
| Being a good scientist means knowing how to communicate your findings to others, whether you are publishing your work for your peers or discussing your discoveries with the public. Therefore, periodically you will be assigned reports to research and write. You will receive adequate time to prepare these reports and also milestones (for example, milestone deadlines for choosing a topic, turning in notes, turning in an outline, first draft, and final draft).
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| Later on in the year, there will likely be at least one report that you will be required to present in class as a slide presentation. |
Making Up Work
| Tests
| You may make-up a test if you have an excused absence from class. |
| If you are present on the day of the test, you must take the test unless you have missed the previous 2 or more days in a row.
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| It is your responsibility to see me to arrange for the make-up test if you have an excused absence. |
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| Quizzes:
| If you miss a quiz, you will either be given a make-up quiz or an extra assignment to complete in lieu of the quiz. |
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| Assigned Work:
| All assigned work will have a due date. |
| Work received one day late after the due date will have 20% of the possible grade deducted. |
| Work received beyond one day late will have another 10% deducted for each additional school day late -- up to a maximum deduction of 50%. |
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Labs and Safety
Safety is an essential part of successful lab work. Unsafe lab practices will not be tolerated.
| You will receive safety instructions and a safety test before you are allowed to conduct any labs
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| You will have a checklist of safety habits to practice during a lab, the completion of which will be part of your lab report
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| If you demonstrate unsafe practices during a lab, either I will pull you out of the lab (and give you a worksheet to complete) or shut down the entire lab for the whole class, depending on the severity of the safety issue. You will not be able to participate in future labs until we develop a set of condition to which you comply in order that safety is ensured. |
Keep meticulous lab reports
| Precision and accuracy are key to good physics experiments |
| Lab information will be part of tests, the mid-term, and the final exam |
Communication is the Key!
I will help you understand material, strengthen your study skills, and prepare for tests if you ask for that help. I will work with you individually or in small study groups before school. I am not available after school, but if you phone me or email me, you can make an appointment to work with you during either of the two days I am here from 7 – 8 am. You and your parents are always welcome to contact me at any time. I will get back to you as soon as I am able.
Office Hours
From 7 – 7:50 a.m. Wed & Thurs Room 301
From 7 – 7:50 a.m. Thursdays Cafeteria
(Knock on Teacher’s Room to find me)
Course Outline
First Semester
- Measurement and Math Skills for Science
- Units of measurement, precision, accuracy, significant digits, scientific notation, SI units, conversions, dimensional analysis, and understanding graphs
- Motion
- Velocity, acceleration and gravity, Newton’s Laws of Motion
- Vectors
- Graphical and analytical methods of vector addition
- Motion in Two Dimensions
- Projectile motion, centripetal force, and simple harmonic motion
- Universal Gravitation
- Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion, Newton’s application of the Law of Universal Gravitation, motion of planets and satellites, weightlessness, gravitational field, Einstein’s Theory of Gravity
- Momentum
- Impulse, angular momentum, conservation of momentum, internal and external forces
Second Semester
- Work, Machines, and Energy
- Work, direction of force, simple machines, mechanical advantage, compound machines, kinetic and potential energy, conservation of energy, collisions
- Waves and Energy Transfer
- Types of waves, measures of a wave, wave interference, superposition, standing waves, reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference, sound
- Light, Refraction, and Reflection
- Characteristics of light, speed of light, sources of light, light and matter, polarization of light
Snell’s Law, index of refraction, total internal reflection, effects of refraction, dispersion of light
- Mirrors and Lenses
- Concave mirrors, parabolic mirrors, real vs. virtual images, concave mirrors, lenses, optical instruments
- Electricity
- Electrical charges, conductors and insulators, electrical forces, Coulomb’s Law
Any questions or concerns?
| If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please
email
me or call 456-4400 ex. 37 during the school day. I'll be
glad to get back to you ASAP. |
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Assignments
