Week of February 3, 2014

Here’s hoping we have a full week of school for the first time since before winter break! Obviously we are a bit behind last week’s objectives, but we’ll get a lot done this week. 🙂

This Week in AP Physics
First we will go over the Unit 8 Practice Problems, which are due on Monday. On Monday we will also conduct our unit 8 lab on Bernoulli’s equation. Depending on how that goes we may flow into Tuesday and test on Wednesday (pun!). However, I am hoping we can do the unit 8 test on Tuesday and begin unit 9 on thermal physics on Wednesday. Our first topic will be temperature and heat, and homework 1 will be due by Friday. Note: Your unit 8 lab report is due at the start of class next Tuesday, February 11, and it must be submitted to TurnItIn.com by 3:00 on that day.

This Week in Physics
We will continue to explore the conservation of momentum by completing our collisions experiment and analyzing data. (Your lab report will be due on Thursday, February 13 at the start of class, and it must be uploaded to TurnItIn.com by Friday, February 14 at 3:00.) Following analysis of the data in terms of the conservation of momentum, we will do new calculations with the data to analyze the role kinetic energy plays in the two types of collisions we ran. This will lead us into our next topic on the characteristics of different types of collisions. Notes on the following podcasts will be due as announced: Podcast 5 – Elastic Collisions part 1Podcast 6 – Elastic Collisions part 2Podcast 7 – Totally Inelastic Collisions part 1Podcast 8 – Totally Inelastic Collisions part 2, and Podcast 9 – Inelastic Collisions. We may or may not get to assignment 3 this week.

This Week in Astronomy
As we complete our constellation mapping project, we will end our focus on star maps. Be sure to review Celestial Sphere Podcast 1 – Star Mapping as you prepare for the star mapping quiz, which will be announced mid-week. Our next topics will allow us to examine how and why the appearance of the night sky changes throughout the night and from one night to the next. If you’d like a preview, you can watch Celestial Sphere Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole, although we’ll be covering the material in class.

Cool Science of the Week
We all know that life as we know it requires water. Therefore scientists search for it on other planets. This is difficult when it comes to exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. However, for the first time, scientists have found water on a rocky planet (or what’s left of the planet.) To some that suggests the conditions for life may have existed on that planet. What do you think about that? (P.S. Do you know where Earth got its water? Look it up! It’s wild!)
Artist’s_impression_of_debris_around_a_white_dwarf_star (1)

Week of January 27, 2014

It’s week two of the second semester, and we’re gaining…MOMENTUM!!!

This Week in AP Physics
We will continue our study of fluid mechanics by exploring buoyancy (homework 2), fluid flow continuity (homework 3) and Bernoulli’s equation (homework 4.) Expect some quizzes to be tossed in, as announced. We will also perform an experiment to prove Bernoulli’s equation. When announced, the Unit 8 Fluid Mechanics Practice Problems will be due.

This Week in Physics
On Monday we will cruise through assignment 2, which covers the Law of Conservation of Momentum, followed by a quiz, as announced. We will then conduct an awesome experiment involving the crashing of toy cars. The data from the lab will lead us to awesome conclusions about the next topic. (Spoilers!)

This Week in Astronomy
We will spend much of the week in the planetarium practicing star mapping. It will be fun! There is a podcast that will support your studies, and we will take a quiz over this skill by the end of the week.

Cool Science of the Week
Time machine science! I rest my case.

Week of January 20, 2014

Welcome to the start of second semester! Old astronomy students, please be sure to click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of your email. (Check out this week’s Cool Science link before leaving us, though!) New astronomy students, please sign up to follow this blog using the subscription field to the right.

This Week in AP Physics
This week we will begin Unit 8, which covers fluid mechanics. On Tuesday your spring force constant lab is due. Please be sure to hand in a hard copy at the start of class and upload to TurnItIn.com by Tuesday at 3:00. Please also turn in your Unit 7 Practice Problems by Friday.

This Week in Physics
We begin Unit 5 on momentum. For Tuesday, please take notes on Momentum Podcast 1 – Introduction to Momentum. We will discuss this podcast and begin assignment 1 in class on Tuesday followed by a quiz, as announced. Please take notes on Podcast 2 – Conservation of Momentum part 1Podcast 3 – Conservation of Momentum part 2, and Podcast 4 – Conservation of Momentum Sample Problem by Wednesday. We will explore this concept, do assignment 2 together, and conduct a fun experiment involving crashing our Pascars.

This Week in Astronomy
Welcome! We will begin our exploration of the cosmos by learning how to map the stars. Please explore the Unit 1 webpage to get a feel for the resources available to you as we learn basic star mapping skills. Yes, we’ll be in the planetarium for much of the week! That means you need to bring in a dim flashlight (not LED) so that you can see your maps in the dark. Come prepared for some fun! 🙂 You do have one assignment this week, which is to read the Astronomy Course Policies and Procedures, print the last page, collect signatures upon it, and turn it in by Friday. This is a graded assignment.

Cool Science of the Week
In astronomy at the end of the first semester we had some cool discussions about the shape of the universe, namely that there is no “outside” and that it is finite, yet without an edge. Brain-numbing stuff! Here are the first two parts of a three-part series of short, fairly understandable videos explaining different theories about the shape of our mysterious home. (Part 3 isn’t released yet.)