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Syllabus
Physics with Technology
Springville High School
Cary Hylton

Brief Description of Course
Physics with Technology is a first-year high school physics course with an emphasis on the use of technology. The class follows the Utah State Core Curriculum for physics. 
Every college-bound student should have at least one year of high school physics. An understanding of physics is useful for college students in every discipline. Science or engineering majors require substantial expertise in physics. The course also provides a foundation for students who will pursue technology-related vocations. Physics is the foundation on which all other sciences are built and a background in physics aids in the understanding of chemistry, biology, geology and all other sciences. Students will study the laws of motion, forces, energy and work, rotation and gravitation, heat, sound, light, electricity and magnetism and some modern physics such as relativity, atomic theory and quantum physics. Physics is an experimental science and the course emphasizes laboratory work and investigation. 
Prerequisite: Elem. Algebra. Recommended: Intermediate Algebra, could be taken concurrently.  Open to Grades 10, 11, 12

Unit Information
Term 1
Unit 1—Motion (10 block periods or about 4 weeks) 
Topics: Scientific method, measurement, SI units and unit conversions, significant figures, displacement, velocity, acceleration, graphs of motion, constant acceleration, free fall, projectile motion, vectors and vector addition, uniform circular motion, centripetal acceleration.
Labs: Paper Tower (team work and planning), Physics 500 (average velocity), Moving Plot (graphing motion), Ruler Drop (free-fall acceleration).

Unit 2—Forces (10 block periods or about 4 weeks)
Topics: Inertia, Newton’s 1st Law, Newton’s 2nd Law, Newton’s 3rd Law, components of vectors, weight, normal force, friction, equilibrants, pressure, centripetal force, torque, fundamental forces.
Labs: Mechanical Forces and Spring Constants (Hooke’s Law), Paper River (vector addition), Skateboards with Spring Scales (Newton’s 2nd Law), Friction, Weighing an Elephant (torque).

Term 2
Unit 3—Work, Energy, and Momentum (13 block periods or about five weeks)
Topics: Work, kinetic energy, work-kinetic energy theorem, gravitational potential energy, mechanical energy, conservation of mechanical energy, simple machines, mechanical advantage, efficiency, power, momentum, conservation of momentum, collisions, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, universal gravitation, effects of gravitation, relativistic gravity.
Labs: It’s All Uphill (work exploratory lab), All Work and No Play (work), Down the Ramp (conservation of energy), Efficiency of Pulleys (mechanical advantage), Muscle Up! (power), How Hot Are Your Hot Wheels? (mechanical efficiency).

Unit 4—Thermodynamics (9 block periods or about 4 weeks)
Topics: Kinetic-molecular theory, thermal energy, temperature, thermal expansion, heat, conservation of energy, conduction, convection, radiation, Newton’s law of cooling, specific heat, heat exchange calculations, latent heat, state changes, isovolumetric processes, isothermal processes, adiabatic processes, First Law of Thermodynamics, Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy.
Labs: Give and Take (Heat exploration), Hot Stuff (determining a specific heat capacity), You Make Me Boil (energy of state change).

Term 3
Unit 5—Waves and Sound (8 block periods or about 3 ½ weeks)
Topics: Wavelength, amplitude, period, frequency, velocity, oscilloscopes, wave interference, nodes and antinodes, pitch, sound intensity and loudness, Doppler effect, resonance, timbre, beats.
Lab: Mechanical Snake (wave exploration), Oscilloscope Lab, Ripple Tank, Chalk Talk (sound exploration), Speed of Sound in Air.

Unit 6—Light (10 block periods or about 4 weeks)
Topics: Electromagnetic spectrum, luminous intensity and illumination, polarization, reflection, plane and curved mirrors, ray diagrams, refraction, convex and concave lenses, color, total internal reflection, light dispersion, diffraction, interference.
Lab: Pinhole Camera; Images, Images, Images (mirror exploration); Snell’s Law; Concave and Convex Lenses.

Term 4
Unit 7—Electricity (13 block period or about 5 weeks)
Topics: Law of charges, conservation of charge, ways of charging, Millikan’s experiment, Coulomb’s Law, charge polarization, electric fields, electric potential, capacitance, electric current, electric resistance, Ohm’s law, schematic diagrams, electric energy, electric power, electric circuits (series and parallel and combined series/parallel).
Labs: Mapping Electric Fields, Mystery Cans (Ohm’s Law), Sparky the Electrician, (circuit exploration), Ohm, Ohm on the Range, Part 1 (series circuits), Ohm, Ohm on the Range, Part 2 (parallel circuits).

Unit 8—Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction (5 block periods or about 2 weeks)
Topics: Law of poles, magnetic fields, magnetic domains, Earth’s magnetic field, electromagnets and solenoids, magnetic force, right-hand rule, electromagnetic induction, alternating current and AC generators, comparison of electric motors and electric generators, electromotive force, Faraday’s Law, Lenz’s Law, transformers, electromagnetic waves.
Labs: Determining the magnetic field around a current-carrying wire.

Unit 9—Atomic and Subatomic Physics (6 block periods or about 2 weeks)
Topics: Blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect, atomic and nuclear structure, wave-particle duality, de Broglie wavelength, binding energy, nuclear fission and fusion, radioactive decay and nuclear equations.

Textbook
Title: Holt Physics
Authors: Raymond A. Serway and Jerry S. Faughn
Publisher: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Copyright: 2006