Modeling in AP Physics 1: Pacing Guide

A/B/C Block

Marc Reif

The AP1 Exam is Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

For 2020-2021 The students in AP Physics 1 will have had no previous physics course. Most had Pre-AP Biology or Pre-AP Chemistry in the previous your. Many are concurrently enrolled in PreCalculus, some in AP Calculus (usually AB), and a few will be in Algebra II or III.

Instruction begins on Friday, 13 August 2020 Our school is on A/B/C block. Each class meetings two 82-minute sessions (A/B) and one 42-minute session (C) every week. We have about 160 meetings before the AP Exam. There are about 34 A/B meetings and 13 C meetings in the first semester and 31 A/B meetings in the second semester and 12 C meetings before the AP1 Exams. That is 6380 minutes or 106 hours or 4.4 complete days of instruction. So, first semester 47 actual class meetings and second semester 43 actual class meetings. 90 days of instruction before the exam.

Text Eugenia Etkina College Physics 2nd Edition

Note: Observational Experiments derive physics from a series of observations. Testing Experiments test a hypothesis.

Unit 01 – 1d Kinematics Chapters 1 and 2	Constant Velocity Model, Constant Acceleration Model, 1d Vectors, Graphical Analysis, Measurement and uncertainty. Paradigm Labs Observational Experiment: Blinky Buggy (Constant Velocity Model) Observational Experiment: Fan Cart (Constant Acceleration Model)	2 weeks 6 meetings 13 Aug to 28 Aug
Unit 02 – Interactions I Chapter 3	Constant Force Model, Newton’s Laws, Reference Frames, Local gravitational force law, vector addition (primarily forces in one dimension) Paradigm Lab Testing Experiment: Fan Cart (Constant Force Model – intro to semi-quantitative vector components)	2 weeks 6 meetings Aug 31 – Sep 15
Unit 03 – Interactions II Chapter 4	Force vectors in two dimensions, Systems of Interacting Objects, Frictional force law Paradigm Labs Testing Experiment: Balanced Forces Practicum; Testing Experiment: Modified Atwood’s Machine	2 weeks 6 meetings Sep 15 – Sep 30
Unit 04 Impulse and Momentum Transfer Chapter 6	Conservation of mass, Conservation of linear momentum in one (quantitative) and two dimensions ( semi-quantitative), impulse Paradigm Labs Observational Experiment: Modeling Collisions of Carts; Observational Experiment: Modeling Impulse and Change in Momentum	~2 weeks ~6 meetings Oct 1 – Oct 16
Unit 05 Energy Transfer Model Chapter 7	Work as energy transfer, models for energy storage, energy dissipation, energy and collisions Paradigm Labs Testing Experiment: Hooke’s Law and Elastic Energy Testing Experiment: Transfers to Kinetic Energy	2 weeks 6 meetings 19 Oct – 3 Nov
Unit 06 Models for 2d Motion Section 4.5, Chapter 5	Kinematics and dynamics of projectile motion, Uniform Circular Motion, Universal Gravitation and Orbits Paradigm Lab Observational Experiment: Projectile motion video analysis Observational Experiment: Behavior of objects in Circular motion	~3 weeks 11 meetings 4 Nov – 4 Dec
Semester 2
Unit 07 Models for Rotation Chapters 8 and 9	Torque and Semi-quantitative Rotational Statics; Rotational Kinematics, Newton’s Second Law for Rotation, Rotational Momentum, Rotational Kinetic Energy Paradigm Labs Observational Experiment: Balanced Torques Testing Experiment: Acceleration of a wheel	~3 weeks 10 meetings 6 Jan – 29 Jan
Unit 08 Models for Oscillation Chapter 10	Kinematics, dynamics, and energy models for mass-spring oscillator and pendulum Paradigm Lab Testing Experiment: Period of a Mass-Spring Oscillator	2 weeks 6 meetings 1 Feb to 12 Feb
Unit 09 Mechanical Waves and Sound Chapter 11	Wave pulses, traveling waves, standing waves, sound Paradigm LabsObservational Experiment: Wave PulsesTesting Experiment: Speed of Wave Pulses on a String	~3 weeks 11 meetings 16 Feb to 12 Mar
Unit 10 Electric Charge and Force Sections 17.1-17.4	Conservation of charge, Coulomb’s Law Paradigm LabObservational Experiment: Sticky tape	1 week 3 meetings (no test) 15-19 March
Unit 11 DC Circuits Chapter 19	Resistivity and Resistance, Ohm’s Law, Kirchhoff’s rules Paradigm Lab Observational Experiment:Potential difference in circuits	~3 weeks 8 meetings 29 Mar-15 Apr
REVIEW	NOTE: This is maybe not enough review, but don’t see how to go faster. AP 1 Exam on Tuesday, 5 May 2021	~2 weeks 6 meetings 19-30 April

This sequence doesn’t EXACTLY follow the Unit Guides in the College Board’s AP Physics 1 Course and Exam Description. If next year, as they did this year, the College Board cuts off the last unit or more, I will have to flip Units 10 and 11 with Unit 9.

Even as I post this, I’m two weeks behind!! The Governor of Arkansas has pushed the first day of school back to August 24 due to the community spread of the Covid-19 virus in Arkansas.