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Re: attached high-school physics syllabus (this time for sure)



This looks like the standard traditional HS course. The U Mass Amherst PER
group recommends spending 1 semester to 1 1/2 semesters on mechanics
including energy/momentum. The 1 1/2 figure is probably closer to reality
in the average physics class for getting the necessary depth.

Priscilla Laws et al have found that 2 dimensional cases should be delayed
until 1-d cases have been exhausted. Also they found that momentum needs to
come before energy for better understanding. If you really want to get them
to understand simple circuits then they need to do batteries and bulbs labs
ala McDermott, Workshop Physics, Real Time Physics, or Castle. This eats up
a big chunk of time.

This list of topics probably does not allow enough time to be able to get
the necessary depth. My class periods have been cut back to daily 45min, so
if students do activities, the material must be spread out more. They also
cut 2 weeks off of the second semester to get the seniors out early. One
topic is only covered by my small handful of juniors (3 this year).

One way of judging how well the less coverage/more depth works is by pre
and post-testing with the FCI and/or the FMCE (the dreaded F words).

John M. Clement
Houston, TX



Advance apologies for formatting issues; I was unaware that Word documents
would be rejected by the list server and have merely pasted the
document below.

Semester 1--Mechanics


Week(s) Topic(s)


1 mathematical and problem-solving tools (scientific
notation, unit conversion,

SI
measurement, and estimation)

2-5 motion in one dimension (displacement, speed and
velocity, acceleration)
[also: how to analyze and solve word problems;
how to interpret and
create graphs; how to construct
laboratory reports.]

5-9 vectors and two-dimensional motion

9-11 force (weight, tension, and normal force; force
diagrams; simple forces in
combination)

12-14 more force (non-perpendicular forces; friction;
centripetal force and circular motion,
gravitational force)

14-16 work and energy (simple machines; potential and kinetic
energy; conservation of
mechanical
energy; power)

16-18 momentum (momentum and impulse;
elastic and inelastic collisions)


Semester 2--"Other Stuff"


Week(s) Topic(s)


1-3 waves (vibration; transverse and longitudinal waves;
wavelength, frequency and
period, wave speed, amplitude;
reflection, transmission, and interference;
standing waves)

3-5 sound (speed of sound;resonance, forced vibration, and
music; harmony and
interference; Doppler effect)

5-7 light (properties; transmission; color and
color mixing;
polarization)

8-10 optics (reflection and mirror images;
refraction and lens
images; mirror and lens
equations; total internal reflection;
diffraction)

10-12 electrostatics (charge; charge induction; Coulomb's Law;
electric field lines and
calculations)

12-13 electric current (capacitors and
batteries; current
and resistance; power and energy)

14-15 simple circuits (series, parallel, and
combination circuit
calculations)

16-18 relativity (spacetime; time dilation and
"twin paradox"; relativisitic change in
length and mass)

19-20 nuclear physics (nuclear structure; decay and
bombardment; fission, fusion, and
mass-energy
equivalence; half-life)