Physics 2024-2025

Scheduled classes

Teaching strategy notes from Five Easy Lessons

NotebookLM prompts

Flashcard generation (work in progress, cards are too generic)

Please generate a set of flashcards to help me learn the material in section number. Each card front should appear only once. If a card has more than one possible answer, include all answers on the same card instead of making multiple cards for the same question. Please focus on understanding the mathematical relationships covered in the material, and on recognizing what the appropriate uses are for each relation. I would like to have 20 cards in JSON syntax, as an array of objects. Each object is one flashcard, and has a "front" and a "back" property whose value is the card's front or back text, respectively.

Quiz generation

Please create a quiz with six questions that allows my students to practice their understanding of the ideas from chapter chapter number. The questions should require them to compute numerical answers, but the numbers should be small and easy to work with. Please focus on problems involving topics.

Resources

• Create student accounts on the Physics online classroom 2025-01-06

Textbooks

• How Things Work
• Conceptual Physics
• Asimov's Guide to Science
• Thinking Physics
• Physics by Inquiry
• openstax AP physics

Setup (Summer tasks)

• Clean out school room
• Set up 3D printers in school room
• Replace desks with lab table
• Install countertop under south windows

Routine

We will do physics class twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday. At a minimum, every other week we will do an experiment based on the topics of study.

Our main textbook will be How Things Work. We will use the other books for additional explanations and for problems. How Things Work is available on coursera, taught by the author, but it only goes up through bumper cars (kinematics, 8 units).

Themes:

• Measurement and error
• The connection of units with measurements and the things they represent
• Learn vectors and basics of geometric algebra as we go

Schedule

• Monday - Reading, exercises
• Wednesday - Reading, exercises
• Friday - Experiments and quizzes, flashcard review

How Things Work Outline

Laws of Motion 1

• #hw Experiment: Remove a tablecloth from a table (p.1)
• #hw Inertia, coasting, vector quantities, position, velocity, force, acceleration, mass, net force, Newton's 1st and 2nd, inertial frame, units
• #hw Gravity, weight, constant acceleration, projectile motion, vector components
• #hw Support forces, Newton's 3rd, energy, work, conservation of energy, kinetic and potential energy, gravitational potential energy, ramps, mechanical advantage
• #hw Physics: Read through page 36, do exercises and problems, every fifth problem (1,6,11, etc) 2024-09-16
  • gr7 [score:: 10/13]
  • gr10 [score:: 12/13]
• #hw (physics) Create flashcards for these terms: energy, work, conservation of energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, mechanical advantage, Newton's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd laws 2024-09-18
  • gr7 [score:: 5/8]
  • gr10 [score:: 3/4]
• #hw (physics) Read

Laws of Motion 2

• #hw (physics) Read p. 42-50, make flashcards for bold terms, exercises 1-4 2024-09-18
• #hw (physics) Read p. 50-56, flashcards for bold terms, do exercises 5-8 2024-09-20
• #hw (physics) Create flashcards for rotational mass, rotational inertia, lever arm, torque formula and meaning, units for torque and rotational mass, center of mass and center of gravity, angular velocity, angular acceleration, balance, newton's three laws of rotational motion (three cards) 2024-09-27
• #hw (physics) Read p. 57-64, do exercises 9-14 2024-09-25
• #hw (physics) Do the first four brilliant.org vector lessons 2024-09-30
• #hw (physics) - gr7 do while logged in IXL physics 1 2024-09-30
• #hw (physics) IXL physics 2 2024-09-30
• #teacher Experiment: Spinning pie dish (p.40) 2024-09-16
• #teacher Experiment: Build a balance arm scale and study leverage (use maple scrap, drill holes, make hook out of wire, calibrate with known weights). 2024-09-18
• #teacher Learn how to use Tracker more effectively. 2024-09-25
• #teacher (physics) Experiment: Steelie pool ball collisions, demo conservation of momentum with different masses of balls. Use physics video software. 2024-09-23
• #hw (physics) Read p. 65-68, do exercises: 14, 16, 18, 25, 27, 30 2024-10-07
• #hw (physics) flashcards for power, watt, rotational work (formula), friction, thermal energy, traction, static friction, sliding friction, rolling, conservation of energy 2024-10-07
• #teacher create kinematic units mind map as physical property study aid 2024-11-05
• #hw (physics) Read p. 69-75, Do exercises 22, 28, 35, 39 2024-11-04
• Rotational inertia, angular velocity, torque, angular acceleration, rotational mass, net torque, Newton's laws of rotation, center of mass and gravity, levers, balance
• Friction, traction, ordered and thermal energy, wheels, bearings, kinetic energy, power, rotational work
• Momentum, impulse, conservation of momentum, angular momentum, angular impulse, conservation of angular momentum, gradients, potential energy, acceleration, forces
• #hw (physics) Read p. 76 through end of chapter 2. 2024-11-13
• #hw (physics) Physics test 2024-11-13 [score:: 4/6] for both
• #teacher (physics) Get a springs experiment set up 2024-11-18
• #hw (physics) Read section 3.1 (p. 86 - 93) 2024-11-20
• #hw (physics) Do exercises 1-3 (p. 113) and problems 1 and 2 (p. 115) 2024-11-22
• #hw (physics) Read 3.2 do exercises 5-8 and problems 3-4 on p. 115 2024-12-06

Chapter 3: Mechanical Objects 1

1. Spring Scales (p. 88)
   1. Exercises 1-10
   2. Problems 1-4
2. Ball Sports: Bouncing (p 94)
   1. Exercises 11-25
3. Carousels and Roller Coasters (p. 102)
   1. Exercises 26-42
   2. Problems 5-8

• Formulae: Hooke's Law, centripetal force, centripetal acceleration (p. 113, summary)

• Anki Terms: equilibrium, stable equilibrium, restoring force, Hooke's law, elastic potential energy, oscillation, calibration

• Bouncing - collisions, energy transfers, elastic and inelastic collisions, vibration

• Carousels/coasters - Uniform circular motion, feeling of acceleration, apparent weight, centripetal acceleration

Resources

• [[Centripetal_Acceleration_Derivation.pdf]]

Chapter 4: Mechanical Objects 2

1. Bicycles
   • Exercises 1-10
2. Rockets and Space Travel
   • Exercises 11-24
   • Problems 1-14

• Formulae:

  • Gravitational attraction
  • Ultimate speed of a rocket
  • Relativistic momentum
  • Relativistic energy

• Experiment: High flying balls (p. 116)

• Experiment: Hang a bicycle from the ceiling, spin the front wheel, then tilt the bicycle in order to observe precession steering. Put the bicycle on the ground and tilt it to see the effect of the angled forks.

• Bicycles - stable, neutral, and unstable equilibriums, static and dynamic stability, precession, base of support, neutral equilibrium

• Rockets and space travel - Reaction forces, law of universal gravitation, elliptical orbits, escape velocity, Kepler's Laws, speed of light, special and general relativity, equivalence principle

Chapter 5: Fluids

Exercises start p. 168

1. Balloons
   • Exercises 1-18
   • Problems 1-10
2. Water Distribution
   • Exercises 19-28
   • Problems 10-15

• Laws and Equations

  • Archimedes' principle
  • Ideal gas law
  • Pascal's principle
  • Bernoulli's Equation

• Experiment - A Cartesian Diver (p. 143)

• Balloons - pressure, density, temperature, thermal motion, absolute zero, Archimedes Principle, buoyant force, ideal gas law

• Water distribution - Hydrostatics, Pascal's principle, hydraulics, hydrodynamics, steady state flow, streamlines, pressure potential energy

Chapter 6: Fluids and Motion

1. Garden Watering
   • Exercises 1-13
   • Problems 1-3
2. Ball sports: air
   • Exercises 14-31
   • Problems 4-7
3. Airplanes
   • Exercises 32-42
   • Problems 8

• Equations and Laws

  • Poiseuille's Law
  • Bends and pressure imbalances
  • Reynolds number

• Experiment - Make a vortex cannon (p. 171)

• Garden watering - Viscous forces, Poiseuille's law, laminar and turbulent flow, speed and pressure in a fluid, Reynolds number, chaos, Momentum in a fluid

• Ball sports: air - aerodynamics, aerodynamic lift and drag, viscous drag, pressure drag, boundary layers, stalls, Magnus and wake deflection forces

• Airplanes - Airfoils, streamlining, lifting wings, angle of attack, induced drag, stalled wings, thrust

Heat and phase transitions

1. Woodstoves
   • Exercises 1-12
   • Problems: 1-5
2. Water, Steam, and Ice
   • Exercises 13-30
3. Clothing, insulation, and climate
   • Exercises 31-42

• Laws and Equations

  • Heat conduction
  • Stefan-Boltzmann law (radiant heat)

• Experiment: A ruler thermometer (p.208)

• Woodstoves: thermal energy, heat, temperature, thermal equilibrium, chemical bonds and reactions, conduction, thermal conductivity, convection, radiation, heat capacity

• Water, steam, ice: phases of matter, phase transitions, melting, freezing, condensation, evaporation, relative humidity, latent heat of melting/evaporation, sublimation, deposition, boiling, nucleation, superheating

• Clothing, insulation, and climate: Thermal conductivity, electromagnetic spectrum, light, blackbody spectrum, emissivity, Stefan-Boltzmann law, thermal expansion, greenhouse effect

Thermodynamics

1. Air Conditioners
   • Exercises: 1-8
   • Problems: 1-5
2. Automobiles
   • Exercises: 9-23
   • Problems: 6-13

• Laws and Equations

  • Thermal Equilibrium
  • Conservation of Energy
  • Entropy
  • Efficiency of heat pump
  • Efficiency of heat engine

• Experiment: Making fog in a bottle (p. 248)

• Air Conditioners: Laws of thermodynamics, termperature, heat, entropy, heat pumps and thermodynamic efficiency

• Automobiles: heat engines and thermodynamic efficiency

Resonance and Mechanical Waves

• Experiment: A singing wineglass (p. 275)
• Clocks: time and space, natural resonance, harmonic oscillators, simple harmonic motion, frequency, period, amplitude
• Musical instruments: sound, music, vibrations in strings air and surfaces, fundamental and higher-order modes, harmonic and nonharmonic overtones, sympathetic vibration, standing and traveling waves, transverse and longitudinal waves, velocity and wavelemght in mechanical waves, superposition, doppler effect.
• The sea: Tidal forces, surface waves, dispersion, refraction, interference

Electricity

• Experiment: Moving water without touching it (p. 315)
• Static electricity: electric charge, electrostatic forces, Coulomb's law, electrostatic potential energy, voltage, charging by contact, electric polarization, electrical conductors and insulators
• Xerographic copiers: electric fields and voltage gradients, electric fields inside and outside conductors, discharges, charging by induction, capacitors
• Flashlights: electric current, electric circuits, direction of current flow, electrical resistance, voltage drops, voltage rises relationship among current, voltage, and power, Ohm's law, resistors, series and parallel circuits

Magnetism and electrodynamics

• Experiment: A Nail and Wire Electromagnet (p. 359)
• Household magnets: Magnetic pole, magnetostatic forces, Coulomb's law for magnetism, ferromagnetism, magnetic polarization, magnetic domains, magnetic materials, magnetic fields, magnetic flux lines, relationship between currents and magnetic fields.
• Electric Power distribution: Direct and alternating currents, superconductivity, transformers, induction, magnetic field energy, relationship between changing magnetic fields and electric fields, Lenz's law, inductors, induced emf, electrical safety, generators, motors.

Electromagnetic waves

• Experiment: A disc in the microwave oven (p. 392)
• Radio: relationship between changing electric fields and magnetic fields, electric field energy, tank circuits, antennas, electromagnetic waves, speed of light, wave polarization, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, bandwidth
• Microwave ovens: speed frequency and wavelength in electromagnetic waves, polar and nonpolar molecules, Lorentz force, cyclotron motion

Light

• Experiment: Splitting the colors of sunlight (p. 416)
• Sunlight: light, Rayleigh scattering, index of refraction, impedance, refraction reflection dispersion and interference in electromagnetic waves, polarized reflection
• Discharge Lamps: color vision, primary colors of light and pigment, illumination, gas discharges, quantum physics, wave-particle duality, atomic orbitals, Pauli exclusion principle, atomic structure, periodic chart, radiative transitions, Planck's constant, atomic fluorescence, radiation trapping
• LEDs and Lasers: Levels in solids, band structure, Fermi level, metals insulators and semiconductors, photoconductors, p-n junction, diodes, light-emitting diodes, incoherent and coherent light, spontaneous and stimulated emission, population inversion, laser amplification and oscillation, laser safety

Optics and Electronics

• Experiment: Magnifying glass camera (p. 462)
• Cameras: refracting optics, converging lenses, real images, focus, focal lengths, f-numbers, the lens equation, divergin lenses, virtual images, light sensors, vision and vision correction
• Optical recording and communication: Analog vs digital representations, decimal and binary representations, diffraction, diffraction limit, plane and circular polarization, total internal reflection
• Audio players: transistors, MOSFETs, bits and bytes, logic elements, amplifiers, feedback

Modern physics

• Experiment: Radiation damaged paper (p. 502)
• Nuclear weapons: nuclear structure, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, quantum tunneling, radioactivity, half-life, fission, chain reaction, isotopes, alpha decay, fusion, transmutation of elements, radioactive fallout
• Nuclear reactors: controlling nuclear fission, delayed neutrons, thermal fission reactors, moderators, boiling water and pressuriazed water reactors, fast fission reactors, nuclear reactor safety and accidents, inertial confinement and magnetic confinement fusion
• Medical imaging and Radiation: X-rays, X-ray fluorescence, Bremsstrahlung, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, antimatter, gamma rays, beta decay, fundamental forces, particle accelerators, magnetic resonance