Please refer to this material as you work through the course – this syllabus provides a general description of the course content, and also includes the schedule, grading scheme, and general guidelines.

PREPARING FOR THE AP® PHYSICS 1 TEST

This course is specifically designed with the AP® Physics 1 test in mind. If you are preparing for that test, this course should help you. However, this course is also a good general introduction to physics. If you’re just interested in a course in basic physics, at the level of an upper-year high school or introductory college course, this course should also serve you well.

ABOUT THE TEAM .

Andrew Duffy is a Master Lecturer in the Department of Physics at Boston University (BU). He has taught Physics at BU since 1996, and has also taught many courses for high school physics teachers. He is particularly interested in applying new technologies to help students learn.

Mark D. Greenman is the physics teacher-in-residence at Boston University, following three decades of experience at Marblehead (MA) Public Schools, where he was a physics teacher and curriculum director in math. He is a Presidential Award winner and a recipient of the American Association of Physics Teachers Paul Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Pre-College Teaching.

Aaron Osowiecki is a national board certified Physics teacher at Boston Latin School (BLS). Mr. Osowiecki is also the lead author of Energizing Physics, a progressive new physics curriculum, which has been piloted at six schools, and is currently being prepared for publication by Bedford, Freeman and Worth.

Brandon Schmidt is a Physics and Marine Biology teacher at Newton South High School in Newton, MA, where he has taught for almost 10 years. He uses a variety of simulations in his classes as simulation-based labs as well as to help visualize abstract ideas.

Adam Wolf is in his sixth year of teaching at Brookline High School, in Brookline, MA. After being the leader for an exchange program to China and teaching there, he is looking for ways to be able to engage students through online and hands-on activities, which can be applied to real life. Tyler Wooley-Brown is currently in his seventh year teaching Physics (both at the Freshmen and AP level) at Brookline High School in Brookline, MA. Since his days as an undergraduate, Mr. Wooley-Brown has worked hard to promote science literacy at all levels and to incorporate the history of science and rigorous theoretical modeling into inquiry based learning activities.

COURSE OUTLINE .

The course consists of 14 modules. The first thirteen will be available at the start of the course. We suggest you work through them in order, but you can do them in a different order if you’d like. The final module, which has a mock AP Physics 1 style test, will be available on April 17, 2018.

Module Description Module 1: Motion in One Dimension

This module covers the basics of how things move in a straight line, including concepts of displacement, velocity, and acceleration. Equations are applied for motion with constant acceleration.

Module 2: Introduction to Forces

In this module, we address why things move. The concept of force is introduced, and we look at three forces (gravity, tension, and the normal force) in particular. This module also introduces Newton’s laws of motion.

Module 3: Motion in Two Dimensions

Module 3 builds on module 1, moving from one-dimensional motion to two dimensions. Projectile motion is the major theme.

Module 4: Forces in Two Dimensions

Module 4 builds on module 2, applying forces in more than one dimension. We look at how to incorporate friction, and get practice applying Newton’s second law.

Module 5: Uniform Circular Motion + Gravitation

Ideas from module 4 are extended to analyze circular motion situations. In this module, we also investigate Newton’s law of universal gravitation.

Module 6: Energy and Work

In module 6, we discuss energy and the law of conservation of energy. We also connect energy to the force ideas introduced earlier, through the concept of work.

Module 7: Momentum and Impulse

In module 7, we discuss momentum and the law of conservation of momentum. Again, we will connect momentum to the force ideas introduced earlier, this time through the concept of impulse.

Module 8: Rotational Kinematics, Torque, and Static Equilibrium

Rotational kinematics involves essentially doing what we did in module 1, but now applying the concepts to circular motion. We also discuss torque, the rotational analog of force, and learn how to apply torque to analyze static equilibrium situations.

Module 9: Rotational Dynamics

Continuing with our analogies, we look at the rotational equivalents of Newton’s second law; of momentum; and of kinetic energy.

Module 10: Simple Harmonic Motion

In module 10, we discuss oscillating systems, including blocks on springs, and the simple pendulum.

Module 11: Waves

In module 11, we apply harmonic motion ideas from module 10 to help understand waves. We look at traveling waves, the interference of waves, as well as standing waves (the physics of musical instruments).

Module 12: Electric Charge

In module 12, we move in a new direction, learning how charged objects interact with one another. This module mainly focuses on static situations.

Module 13: Direct-Current Circuits

In this module, we cover the basic components of a circuit, which involves flowing charges. We learn how to analyze circuits with resistors connected in series, in parallel, and in series-parallel combinations.

Module 14: Mock AP® Physics 1 Test Available on Tues. Apr. 17 at 2 PM (EDT)

For students preparing for the AP® Physics 1 test, the mock test will provide feedback about your state of readiness. For all students, this will be a comprehensive assessment of the course.

End of course Wednesday May 9 at 2 PM (EDT)

All coursework must be completed by the end-of-course date. Course content will still be available after the course closes.

ASSESSMENTS AND GRADING

Within the course, there are short quizzes, labs, and peer-grading activities. At the end of each module, there is an assessment that is meant to test your comprehension of the course material for that module. The final module consists of a mock AP® Physics 1 test. For those of you who are taking the course for a Verified Certificate, you must meet a minimum grade of 60% in the course.

Component Weight

Quizzes (drop the lowest 3) 15%

Labs (drop the lowest 3) 25%

End-of-module homework assignments (drop the lowest 3) 30%

Mock AP® Physics 1 Test 30%

The deadline for all assessment completion is the end of the course (May 9, 2018). We strongly recommend that you complete the assessments as you go, but the assessments can be submitted until the course ends.

DISCUSSION FORUM GUIDELINES .

We hope that you find the discussion forums to be a useful component of this online course. The discussion forums are meant to be an area where the students can interact with each other, ask questions, or talk to the course staff. We greatly encourage you to use these forums to their full extent.

To aid in this goal, we ask that you do not post comments that are derogatory, defamatory, or in any way attack other students. Be courteous and show the same respect you hope to receive. We will have discussion forum moderators who will delete posts that are rude, inappropriate, or off-topic. We also ask that you do not post answers to assessment questions on these forums. You may discuss how to approach a problem or help other students who may have questions, but please to not directly provide answers. Commenters who repeatedly abuse this public forum will be removed from the course.

We do encourage students to answer questions posed by other students. The course staff may well purposely refrain from answering immediately, to encourage student discourse.

Additionally, there is a feature in the discussion forums that allows you to select from two post types, which are Question and Discussion. When posting to the discussion board, please bear in mind that the Question type is meant for specific issues with the platform or with content, while the Discussion type is meant to share ideas and start conversation.

FAQ

Q: Should I email the professor or any persons involved with this course directly?

A: No. If you feel the need to contact the course staff involved in this course, please do so through the Discussion Forum.

Q: Do I need to buy any personal materials to take this course?

A: No. You do not need to purchase textbooks or any materials to aid you in completing the course. The material within the course should be sufficient.

Q: I've never taken an edX course before and this is confusing. What do I do?

A: There will be a pre-course module that beginners can watch. It explains in detail how to use the edX platform. For further information, please visit the demo edX course.

Q: I found a mistake in the course. Where do I report it?

A: Please post information on the Discussion Forum concerning any errors or issues you have found. We will try to fix them as soon as possible.

TIME ZONES .

A note about time references: Time will be reported by course staff as Eastern Daylight Time, North America (EDT) or Eastern Standard Time, North America (EST). Any times listed by edX, such as due dates listed on the course site, will be reported in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The course staff will make every effort to make times and time zones as clear as possible. There are various time zone converters on the web such as http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html .

HONOR CODE .

The edX platform assumes a certain level of decorum and responsibility from those taking this course. Please review the edX Honor Code, which is reproduced below.

• By enrolling in an edX course, I agree that I will: • Complete all course assessments with my own work and only my own work. I

will not submit the work of any other person. • Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use my username and/or

password. • Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve my results, or improve

or hurt the results of others. • Not post answers to problems that are being used to assess student

performance.

Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor of an edX course, learners on edX are encouraged to:

• Collaborate with others on the lecture videos, exercises, homework and labs. • Discuss with others general concepts and materials in each course. • Present ideas and written work to fellow edX learners or others for comment or

criticism.

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . �

The course team would like to extend a special thanks to the various individuals who have put in countless hours of work to help create this course. Romy Ruukel, Diana Marian, Tim Brenner, and Vanessa Ruano, from Boston University’s Digital Learning Initiative, administer the process and help keep the course team on track. Joe Dwyer has filmed and edited the introductory videos that appear in this course in each module.

Secondly, we would like to acknowledge Peter Bohacek and Independent School District 197 for allowing us to use the Direct-Measurement Videos, and to express our thanks for the MOOCsters at MIT for much help and advice, especially Dave Pritchard, Zhongzhou Chen, and Chris Chudzicki.

TERMS OF SERVICE .

For further information, please review the edX Terms of Service (https://www.edx.org/edx-terms-service).