Thursday, August 26, 2010

Welcome back to School!

WELCOME!

My name is Mr. Andrade. I teach AP Physics, and M Physics. I am also the CPEP teacher at Central High School. I have a Bachelor's Degree, with Distinction, in Aerospace Engineering from WPI and I worked for 10 years as an engineer before becoming an educator. I have a Master's Degree in Education, with honors, from Walden University and I have been teaching here at Central High since 2002. I am also a paramedic and EMS-Instructor with over 22 years of experience in EMS. 

I am available in my room, C209, everyday except Wednesdays after school. Students can come and get extra help at that time. Students should feel free to ask for help at any time. Do not wait until you are really lost or confused to ask for help.
The AP Physics class is an advanced college level science course that will cover many topics and areas about the physical world around us, using lectures, demonstrations, labs, projects, humor and FUN. To fully achieve competence in this material, the students must work hard and apply themselves. Students must do all of the assigned work and reading. This course is extremely fast paced and the students must keep up with the reading and work.

M Physics is a college level science course that will cover many topics and areas about the physical world around us, using lectures, demonstrations, labs, projects, humor and FUN. To fully achieve competence in this material, the students must work hard and apply themselves. Students must do all of the assigned work. 


I use a lot of technology resources with my students. Everything is accessible from the main class website, http://www.physicsmedic.org. This site has information about each class, class expectations and rules, reference links, and files for students to download. There are also individual sites for each class, listed below. These sites are updated often with the schedule, assignments, due dates, and more. Students can enter their email address at the site below for their class and they will get emails with updates and information.
Students and parents should feel free to email me at any time at dandrade@bridgeportedu.net. I check my email daily. All of my students can check on their grades and status in my class at any time through PowerTeacher and PowerSchool. More information to follow. Parents can also have access to view their child's grades at any time. Just contact me and we will get it set up. 

While students may not have a specific homework assignment every night, they should be reviewing their notes and assignments every day. This is very important for success in these classes. Students must read the chapters and assignments and review their notes. All material in these classes builds upon the earlier material.

See the syllabus below.

AP PHYSICS B Syllabus
Mr. Andrade        Central High School
Description:

AP Physics is a college level science course that will cover many topics and areas about the physical world around us, using lectures, demonstrations, labs, projects, humor and FUN. To fully achieve competence in this material, the students must work hard and apply themselves. You must do all of the assigned work and reading. This course is extremely fast paced and the students must keep up with the reading and work.

Work will include: Lectures, Labs and lab reports, Class and homework problems, Projects and project reports, Articles and various readings, Films and Videos, Demonstrations, Class Activities. We will also be doing practice AP Exams during the year. Students will work together on problems, projects, and lab investigations to learn team building skills. Many of the problems and labs will be open-ended, inquiry based projects. Students will be learning physics content as well as critical thinking and problem solving skills. Throughout the course, real world applications of the concepts being studied will be explored. Students will be assigned short “how does it work” assignments to research applications of physics concepts in the other sciences, consumer products, and research efforts.

The two websites above will contain files, links, assignments, and much more for you. Make sure you subscribe to the blogspot site using your email address.

Evaluation: Homework 20% (homework is essential to your success in this class)
Quizzes  20%
Labs /Projects 25%
Exams  20%
Effort, Attitude, Behavior 15%

The following areas will be covered:
  1. Introduction to Physics  1 week
  2. Kinematics in One Dimension  1.5 week
  3. Kinematics in Two Dimensions  1 week
  4. Dynamics  Newtons Laws of Motion  2 weeks
  5. Circular Motion  Gravitation  1 week
  6. Work and Energy  1 week
  7. Linear Momentum  1 week
  8. Rotational Motion   1 week
  9. Static Equilibrium  1 week
  10. Fluids  2 weeks
  11. Vibrations and Waves  1 week
  12. Sound  1 week
  13. Temperature and Kinetic Theory  1 week
  14. Heat  1 week
  15. Laws of Thermodynamics  1 week
  1. Electric Charge and Electric Field  1.5 weeks
  1. Electric Potential  1 week
  2. Electric Currents  1.5 weeks
  3. DC Circuits  1.5 weeks
  4. Magnetism  1 week
  5. Electromagnetic Induction and Faradays Law  1 week
  6. Electromagnetic Waves  1 week
  7. Light: Geometric Optics  1.5 weeks
  8. The Wave Nature of Light  1 week
  9. Optical Instruments  0.5 weeks
  10. Special Theory of Relativity  1 week
  11. Quantum Theory, Models of the Atom, Quantum Mechanics, Molecules and Solids  1 week
  12. Nuclear Physics and Radioactivity, Nuclear Energy, Elementary Particles  1 week
  13. Astrophysics and Cosmology  1 week

1 – 2 weeks are then spent reviewing and preparing for AP Exam. Some labs and projects are done after the AP Exam takes place.
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Lab Investigations: (student conducted, virtual, teacher led demonstration)
Labs are typically open-ended and require the students to design their own lab procedure to solve a problem. Many of the labs are set up as a Physics Olympics event, with each team competing against each other to solve the problem. Students work in teams and may use any resources available to them in the room to complete their experiment. The design of the experiment and all data collecting is done during class, while the lab reports must be done at home. Students keep their lab notes in a notebook, and then submit a formal lab report. All lab reports are returned to students for them to keep for future reference.

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Assignments:
Students will be assigned reading from the textbook, as well as problem sets for each section.
There will be a quiz after each unit and at least 4 exams during the year.
Released AP Test Questions will also be assigned as either homework or in class assessments.
There will be two research projects during the year where the students will be required to perform research on a
physics topic and either prepare a scientific report, or a presentation for the class.
Lab investigations will be held throughout the course and students will be expected to write lab reports for each lab.
Students will also complete short research projects throughout the year as well as virtual labs and explorations.
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Resources:

Textbooks:
Handed out to every student to take home, plus a classroom set at school:
Giancoli, D. (2005). Physics: Principles with Applications, 6th rev. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
ISBN 0-13-061143-3

In room for student use (1-10 copies of each):
Glencoe: Physics: Principles and Problems. 2005. Glencoe Publishing.
Giancoli, Physics: Principles with Applications, 5th ed (2002)
Holt: Physics by Serway and Faughn
Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt
Serway, Raymond A., and Jerry S. Faughn. 2003. College Physics. 6th ed. Pacific Grove, Calif.:
Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Cutnell, John D., and Kenneth W. Johnson. 2004. Physics. 6th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons

Web Sites:
www.physicsmedic.org – (my site) This site has links to textbook companion websites, the College Board web site, physics tutorial websites, and physics applets and demonstrations.

Equipment in room:
7 internet connected computers for student use
Extensive library of reference books
Lab equipment for all units
Virtual lab software for all units of physics

Reference Books: (copies available in classroom)
Barron’s AP Physics B Prep Book
AP Advantage, Physics B, by James Mooney
Cliffs Notes, AP Physics B

Required Materials:
Students are required to have a scientific or graphing calculator, notebook, and pencil.

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