Week of February 16, 2014

You’ve been working hard…Why not take Monday off? (While your relaxing, you can think about the contributions of the U.S. presidents. 🙂 )

This Week in AP Physics
On Monday we will complete the Behavior of Gases lab and homework 2 from our thermal physics unit. The lab report for the gas behavior lab will be due next week as announced. We will take a quiz over the ideal gas law and the kinetic theory of an ideal gas as announced and will also begin our exploration of the laws of thermodynamics. During the remainder of the week we will do homework 3 and our Analysis of P-V Diagrams lab activity (short form.) Expect a test by the end of next week. After that…electricity!

This Week in Physics
We begin our unit on circular and rotational motion this week. (This is a quick one, so be ready for fast action!) For Monday please take notes on Podcast 1 – Introduction to Circular MotionPodcast 2 – Circular Motion Formulas, and Podcast 3 – Formulas. For Tuesday please take notes on Podcast 4 – Centripetal Force. We will go over these and on Monday, Tuesday, and possibly into Wednesday and will then do our Centripetal Force Lab. (Guess what…GOGGLES!!!!) We will also round out the week with assignment 1 followed by a quiz as announced. Expect the test late next week.

This Week in Astronomy
We will continue to explore the celestial sphere as we complete our examination of how the sky varies with latitude. Expect a quiz as we close out that topic, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday, as announced. Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole, and Podcast 3 – Circumpolar Stars will help you study, and if you’re feeling a bit lost, please check these out. They can be a big help. 🙂 Following the quiz we’ll examine how and why the sky changes throughout the year. This will round out* our full view of the celestial sphere…latitude changes, daily changes, and annual changes. You’ll know how to figure out what the sky should look like on any day at any time at any latitude. You’ll be THAT cool. 🙂 Expect a test early next week.
* celestial sphere pun

Cool Science of the Week
I love candy hearts for Valentine’s Day. Do you? Here’s some fun science behind our delicious treat…