In this one-semester review course, students will explore complex phenomena in the real world in order to refresh and extend the content knowledge they bring with them from their full-year Physics course. The standards allow students to apply the science and engineering practices; developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics, and engaging in argument from evidence. This course will prepare students to take the Physics MCAS retest in February or the Physics MCAS test in June. Passing a STE MCAS is a graduation requirement. This course is intended for students who did not pass the Physics MCAS after their full-year Physics course, or for students in the second semester of their full-year Physics course who may need additional preparation for the June exam.

Unit

Timeframe

Big Ideas (Statements or Essential Questions)

Major PBL Framework Project and other significant projects

Forces and Motion

Sep - Oct


(Jan-Feb)

  • How can we describe the motion of objects and use information to predict the future motion of objects?

  • How are an object’s position, velocity, or acceleration calculated when given other quantitative information about the object’s motion?

  • What information about an object’s motion is determined from data on its position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs?

  • Why do objects move in the way that they do?

  • How are Newton’s laws of motion used to predict the behavior of objects?

  • How do objects with mass respond when placed in a gravitational field?

  • How can a bridge be designed to better withstand different kinds of forces?

  • How can a rocket be designed to minimize and/or exploit certain forces to fly longer and more predictably?

  • How can the mass of a car be calculated experimentally?


Energy, Momentum and Heat

Oct-Nov


(Feb-March)

  • How can energy and momentum provide an alternative way for us to make predictions about objects’ motion within physical systems?

  • Why is the transformation of different types of energy important to modern society?

  • How are conservation laws used to predict and evaluate motion?

  • How can we determine the efficiency of a system at conserving energy?

  • How is thermal equilibrium reached naturally between objects and systems?

  • What are the differences between heat, thermal energy, and temperature?

  • How do the molecules in solids, liquids, and gasses behave when they experience changes in energy?

Roller Coaster Unit Project


Bowling Ball Demo Day




Electricity and Magnetism

Nov-Dec


(March-April)

  • How do charged particles interact and store energy?

  • What are the similarities and differences of series and parallel circuits and how are they used in current technology?

  • What role do different components play in a circuit?

  • How are electrical quantities related?

  • How do magnets interact with other magnets and with other objects?

  • What is the scientific connection between electricity and magnetism?

  • What are the different nuclear reactions and how do they release energy?

- Wire a Room modeling project and/or Toy Wiring Project

Waves

Dec-Jan


(April-May)

  • How are energy and information transmitted through space and time?

  • What are similarities and differences between sound waves and light waves?

  • How are waves applied to current technologies and useful to society?