Re: Advanced Placement Physics

[SSHS KPHOX <kphox@MAIL.CCSD.K12.CO.US>]

PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu writes:
> But that is not the test of whether they are ready to focus on the
> computational skills of AP physics.  See my above remark on "contexts".
> Before getting into thermodynamics, the student might be introduced to a
> qualitative appreciation of weather dynamics and refrigerators.  Before
> getting into kinematics and dynamics the student might be introduced to a
> qualitative understanding of automobiles, the structure of the solar
> system, the distances to the stars (I thank the powers that be for
> "Buck Rogers" in my childhood), gymnastics, and the functioning of musical
> instruments (or at least some of these).

Right you are. The richness of any course will depend upon what the
student brings to the class in terms of previous experience. This is the
context. Do they come with "I wonder" on their lips?
Requiring one year of HS Physics before AP will not automatically fix that.

Ken Fox
AP/IB Physics Teacher
Smoky Hill High School
Aurora, CO