Course Syllabus

Andrew McQuiston

Room 3200

Course Description

Honors Physics is a laboratory-oriented course designed to give students a background in physics concepts and experience using the methods of scientific inquiry. The course focuses on the description and causes of motion, energy, electricity and magnetism, and waves. The textbook for the course is Physics: Principles and Problems, by Glencoe.

Course Objectives

· Describe the laws of physics.

· Apply laws to new and/or unfamiliar situations.

· Apply physics laws and principles to understanding real world phenomena.

· Employ experimental design techniques to design and conduct physics experiments.

· Analyze experimental data and interpret results.

· Evaluate the impact of physics on daily life.

Students will be able to:

Expectations for Physics Students

Be in class, on time, every day.	When you miss class, you miss time spent learning and practicing important skills. Work missed due to an unexcused absence will be entered in the gradebook as a zero. You need to make up work missed due to excused absences in a timely manner (equal to twice the number of days you were absent.)

Come to class prepared.	Do your own homework nightly. Read any assigned passages. Review your notes and unit sheets. Write down questions you have for the teacher.

Do your own work	Complete your own homework. Work on labs as a team but write up the results independently. No credit will be given for copied work. Refer to the MCHS Handbook.

Follow the MCHS electronics policy	Cell phones can be confiscated the first time they are seen during class time. They can be kept until the end of the period, the end of the day, or turned over to the administration with a disciplinary referral. Students should bring their Chromebooks to complete labs.

Use class time wisely.	Plan to work on physics activities and study for the entire class period.

Work safely.	A student may never endanger the safety of anyone in the laboratory. Violation of a lab safety rule will result in removal from the laboratory classroom.

Respect the lab and equipment.	Students may not knowingly damage lab equipment or remove chemicals or lab supplies.

Use computers responsibly.	Inappropriate use by a student may result in loss of privilege, loss of credit for a classroom activity, and disciplinary action. Inappropriate use includes visiting any website that is not a part of the classroom activity, downloading games, changing computer settings, and using the computers without permission from the teacher.

Keep a record of the work that you do.	Keep your unit sheets, notes, tests, and data book until after the final exam.

Grades

Homework: Online homework assignments will be assigned at least three times for each unit through Canvas. Each assignment will allow multiple attempts with the highest score going into the gradebook. Homework is due on the day of the unit test. Late homework will not be accepted.

Laboratory and other classroom activities: are assigned a point value based on their length and complexity, and range between 3 and 25 points per activity. Labs are late if they are not turned in at the beginning of class.

Quizzes: will give students an opportunity to check their understanding of course material in each unit. Quizzes will always be announced. Students will be able to use a calculator and an equation sheet.

Unit tests: Each exam will be cumulative and will include a short multiple-choice section and several short answer questions. Students will always be allowed to use a calculator and equation sheet on a test.

Test corrections and retakes: Students may complete test corrections to receive ¼ of their points back. Any students who want to retest must complete test corrections before a retest. Students have a two-week time period or within the same grading period to complete their corrections and retest. After a retest, the new score will be an average of the original score and the retest score.

Final Exam Exemptions: students with a cumulative grade of 79.5% or above, fewer than 10 absences, and fewer than 10 tardies will be exempt from the final exam.

Quarter Grades are weighted as follows:

10% Homework

10% Quizzes

30% Labs and simulations

50% Unit tests

Grading Scale:

A: 90-100

B: 80-89

C: 70 – 79

D: 60 – 69

Late work will be accepted for maximum 80% credit by week 5 of the quarter (for weeks 1-4), and by the end of the quarter for weeks 5-9. This applies only to homework, classwork, or projects.

Final course grades: will be based on three grades, weighted as follows: the 1^st quarter grade (40%), the 2^nd quarter grade (40%), and final exam grade (20%).

Supplies

Binder with loose leaf paper or Spiral bound, 3 section notebook.
Scientific Calculator
Chromebook

Success

Your success in physics depends on you completing your own work, studying effectively for exams, and seeking help when necessary. I am available most days after school to help you, but you must take the initiative.

Course Topics
Unit 1	Experimental Design, mathematical skills, vector addition, graphing, relationships
Unit 2	Distance, Displacement, Speed, Velocity, Acceleration, motion graphs, Free Fall motion
Unit 3	Motion in 2-D, Relative Motion, Projectile Motion
Unit 4	Types of forces, Mass vs. weight, Newton’s Laws of Motion
Unit 5	Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Conservation of Energy, Work and Power
Midterm and Rocket Project
Unit 6	Momentum Collisions and Impulse
Unit 7	Circular Motion, Centripetal Force, Law of Universal Gravitation, Gravitational Fields
Unit 8	Static electricity, Electric fields, Charge Conservation, Coulomb’s Law
Unit 9	Electric Potential, Current, Resistance, Ohm’s Law, Circuit Analysis, Electric Power, Electromagnetism
Unit 10	Wave Characteristics, Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction, Absorption, Wave interference, Standing Waves, Resonance
Final Exam