Week of November 4, 2013

Please remember (like you need the reminder! :)) that we have no school on Tuesday for Election Day. Hey, some of you are 18 now and can vote! Go do it! 🙂

This Week in AP Physics
We will test on unit 4 (circular and rotational motion) on Monday. The lab report for our circular motion lab is due on Wednesday when we will also begin unit 5, which covers energy. Your first guided reading from this unit will be due on Thursday.

This Week in Physics
We will continue our exploration of forces by going into depth regarding friction. We will do practice problems, conduct an experiment, and do assignment 2 together in class, followed by a quiz. It will be a rough week (ba dum bum!) Depending on our rate of progress, we may get to elastic force by Friday, in which case you should take notes on Podcast 7 – Elastic Force and Podcast 8 – Elastic Force Sample Problems if announced. NOTE: If you are in 3rd period only, you have a quiz on Monday over our first set of learning goals.

This Week in Astronomy
We will continue to analyze the motion of the moon during a lunar cycle so that we will be able to predict appearance, rise/set/appear/disappear times, and alignment for all moon phases. On Monday we will finish our “puzzle” and go over it. Then we’ll do one final activity to help us seal the deal on this set of learning goals. Your graphic organizer (handed out on Friday) will also be due. We should be ready for a super big quiz over these learning goals on Wednesday or Thursday, when we will also go over lunar geology. We will likely take the test for this unit on Friday. If you are confused, remember that there are two podcasts that cover this material in depth: Podcast 2 – Lunar Phases and their Appearances and Moon Podcast 3 – The Phases and their Timings. The Lunar Phases Interactive website we used in class is also helpful.

Cool Science of the Week
In astronomy we’ve talked about how the far northern latitudes receive little to no direct sunlight during the months between the autumnal equinox (late September) and the vernal equinox (late March.) Check out what this Norwegian town did to capture some sunlight!

Photo of people in town square in Rjukan, Norway, gathered around a sunbeam bounced from a mirror on a mountain