Course Outline
Fall Semester
I. Newtonian Mechanics (35%) 10 WEEKS Unit 1: Kinematics (7%)
1. Motion in one dimension
2. Motion in two dimensions, projectile motion
Lab:
Projectile Motion Lab
Unit 2: Newton’s laws of motion (9%)
1. Static equilibrium (First law)
2. Dynamics of a single particle (Second law)
3. Systems of two or more bodies (Third law)
Lab:
Unit 3: Work, energy, power (5%)
1. Work and work-energy theorem
2. Conservative forces and potential energy
3. Conservation of energy
4. Power
Lab:
Unit 4: Systems of particles, linear momentum (4%)
1. Center of mass
2. Impulse and momentum
3. Conservation of linear momentum, collisions
Lab:
Unit 5: Circular motion and rotation (4%)
1. Uniform circular motion
2. Torque and rotational statics
Lab:
Unit 6: Oscillations and gravitation (6%)
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. Orbits of planets and satellites
a. Circular
II. Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics (15%) 4 WEEKS
Unit 7: Fluid Mechanics (6%)
1. Hydrostatic pressure
2. Buoyancy
3. Fluid flow continuity
4. Bernoulli’s equation
Lab:
Unit 8: Temperature and heat (2%)
1. Mechanical equivalent of heat
2. Heat Transfer and thermal expansion
Lab:
Unit 9: Kinetic theory and thermodynamics (7%)
1. Ideal gases
a. Kinetic model
b. Ideal gas law
2. Laws of thermodynamics
a. First law (including processes on pV diagrams)
b. Second law (including heat engine
Lab:
Spring Semester
III. Electricity and Magnetism (25%) 8 WEEKS
Unit 10: Electrostatics (5%)
1. Charge, field, and potential
2. Coulomb’s law and field and potential of point charges
3. Fields and potentials of other charge distributions
Lab:
Unit 11: Conductors and capacitors (4%)
1. Electrostatics with conductors
2. Capacitors
a. Parallel plate
Lab:
Unit 12: Electric circuits (7%)
1. Current, resistance, power
2. Steady-state direct current circuits
3. Capacitors in circuits
Lab:
Unit 13: Magnetic Fields (4%)
1. Forces on moving charges in magnetic fields
2. Forces on current-carrying wires in magnetic fields
3. Fields of long current-carrying wires
Lab:
Unit 14: Electromagnetism (5%)
1. Electromagnetic induction (including Faraday's law and Lenz's law)
Lab:
IV. Waves and Optics (15%) 4 WEEKS
Unit 15: Wave motion (including sound) (5%)
1. Properties of traveling waves
2. Properties of standing waves
3. Doppler effect
4. Superposition
Lab:
Unit 16: Physical optics (5%)
1. Interference and diffraction
2. Dispersion of light and the electromagnetic spectrum
Lab:
Unit 17: Geometric optics (5%)
1. Reflection and refraction
2. Mirrors
3. Lenses
Lab:
V. Atomic and Nuclear Physics (10%) 2 WEEKS
Unit 18: Atomic physics and quantum effects (7%)
Photons, the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, x-rays
2. Atomic energy levels
3. Wave-particle duality
Lab:
Unit 19: Nuclear physics (3%)
1. Nuclear reactions
2. Mass-energy equivalence
Lab:
PREPARING FOR THE EXAM 2 WEEKS
Exam Preparation Strategies: Multiple-Choice and Free-Response
AP Physics Reviews: Links to chapter reviews with solved examples
Physics Concepts: Compilation of over 100 physics concepts
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