Physics La Cañada High School “Dr. E” Mark Ewoldsen, Ph.D.

Physics Course Description This is a laboratory course in Physics that prepares the students for the California STAR exam in physics by covering the appropriate State Science Standards The essential topics are motion and forces, conservation of energy and momentum, heat and thermodynamics, waves, and electrical and magnetic phenomena

One Rule Show Respect

Letter Grade Policy A separate total will be kept for Homework/Quizzes/Lab Reports (30%), Tests (50%), and a cumulative final (20%) Grades will not be rounded up A test will be dropped at the semester if you have a homework grade of 80%

Tests Short Answers: Explain the why the ocean is cyan, the sky is blue and sunsets are red. Multiple Choice: Which of the following is not required when determining velocity? A. direction B. distance traveled C. time D. mass Math Problems: A clown leaves a cannon with a velocity of 100 m/s at an angle of 37 o. Where does the clown hope the center of the net is – if there is no air resistance?

Homework Homework will be turned in on the day of the test No homework will be accepted late except for excused absences and then within the same number of days you were absent

Labs Lab Reports are based on a 20-point scale Labs are due the day after the lab is completed and will not be accepted late If you are absent on the day of a lab, you may be asked to write a report on the concept if the lab has been taken down

Assignments On the board On the Internet at

Power Standards Newton's laws predict the motion of most objects The laws of conservation of energy and momentum provide a way to predict and describe the movement of objects Energy cannot be created or destroyed, although in many processes energy is transferred to the environment as heat

Waves have characteristic properties that do not depend on the type of wave Electric and magnetic phenomena are related and have many practical applications Special Relativity

Projects Projects will be done to illustrate mastery of the concepts in Physics (and to have fun!) Most of these projects will occur after the STAR tests as we will be covering the curriculum before that time

Types of Projects Egg Drop Egg Catch Catapult Mouse Trap Car Spaghetti Bridge Paper Towers and Airplanes Rube Goldberg Invention

Egg Drop

Egg Catch Container

Catapult

Spaghetti Bridges

Paper Towers and Airplanes

Rube Goldberg Invention

Any Questions?