Welcome back from a long weekend!

This Week in AP Physics
We will consider the motion of objects undergoing constant acceleration, such as objects that are moving under the influence of gravity, as we complete our notes and sample activities for Unit 1. For Wednesday please do homework 3. During the remainder of the week we will complete Lab 2 – Acceleration due to Gravity, discuss lab report writing, and will take our Unit 1 test. Your lab report will be due sometime next week.

This Week in Physics
If you have not already done so, please download the Physics Course Policies and Procedures document, go over it with your parent(s) or guardian(s), print the last page, sign it, and turn it in. This was due on Friday, August 29. This week we will complete our first lab experiment and discuss how to write a physics lab report. Please take notes on the following podcasts for Wednesday: Podcast 5 – Introduction to Acceleration and Podcast 6 – Acceleration Signs vs. Velocity Signs.

This Week in Astronomy
If you have not already done so, please download the Astronomy Course Policies and Procedures document, go over it with your parent(s) or guardian(s), print the last page, sign it, and turn it in. This was due on Friday, August 29. We will complete our quest to master star mapping and will turn our attention to analyzing the position of stars as viewed from different latitudes on Earth. Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole will support your learning.

Cool Science of the Week
We’ve all heard of extinction, but have you heard of de-extinction? De-extinction is the process by which scientists harvest DNA from the remains of extinct animals and then attempt to recreate the animal in the lab. This was done in 2003 with an extinct Spanish mountain goat, but the goat was born so deformed that she died a painful death soon after she was born. 🙁 Nonetheless, scientists continue to try, and their current efforts are focused on the passenger pigeon. Check out their progress. (P.S. They are also considering woolly mammoths!)

Welcome to the first full week of what will surely be a great school year! Please be sure to subscribe to this blog by entering your email address on the right side of this page and clicking “Subscribe.” (You will then need to activate the subscription by clicking the link sent to you in an email message.)

This Week in AP Physics
Please be sure to bring in the course policy/procedure acknowledgement page by Friday. (You only need to bring in the last page of the packet.) On Monday we will begin Unit 1: Newtonian Mechanics – Motion in One Dimension. You will do homeworks 1 & 2 when assigned. We will also get our hands on some lab equipment this week as we perform graphical analysis of uniform and non-uniform motion in our first experiment. Expect a quiz by the end of the week.

This Week in Physics
Please go to our main class webpage and familiarize yourself with the resources there. In particular, please read the Physics Course Policies and Procedures document and then print and sign the last page. This signed page is due on Friday. If you are in sixth period, you will take the math skills assessment on Monday, so please bring a calculator and a #2 pencil. (Tenth period, you’ve already done the math skills assessment, so you are all set.) By Monday please read my Introduction page. It is important that you read this page so that you understand what you have to do to be successful using our unique flipped classroom approach. After reading the Introduction page, please take notes on Motion in One Dimension Podcast 1 – Distance v. Displacement and Motion in One Dimension Podcast 2 – Displacement & Direction. We will work through that material and do some practice problems followed by a quiz as announced. Next please take notes on Motion in One Dimension Podcast 3 – Speed vs. Velocity and Motion in One Dimension Podcast 4 – Slope of Position vs. Time Equals Velocity when I assign them. After going over these podcasts we’ll get our hands on some lab equipment by performing our first experiment, the Analysis of Uniform Motion Lab.
P.S. My blog entries for this class won’t usually be this long. 🙂

This Week in Astronomy
Please go to our main class webpage and read the course policies and procedures document. Please print and sign the last page and turn it in by Friday. This is a fun week because we’ll spend a lot of time in the planetarium learning how to find stars and constellations. Our focus is Unit 1: The Celestial Sphere. Celestial Sphere Podcast 1 – Star Mapping and Celestial Sphere Podcast 2 – Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole. You don’t have to watch these podcasts before class, but they will help you if you are confused, absent, or wish to review.

Cool Science of the Week
Lizards regrowing their tails is pretty cool stuff, right? It’d be awesome if we knew how they do it so that we can maybe do it too, right? Well, scientists are closer than ever to the answer. Check out this article about how geneticists are cracking the lizard-tail-regrowing-awesomeness code.

Welcome to another great school year! If you are new to my classes, please be sure to subscribe to my blog by entering your email along the right side of this webpage. Then be sure to check your inbox for an activation link. If you were in my classes last year and wish to unsubscribe, there is a link at the bottom of this email that will allow you to do so.

This Week in AP Physics
This week we will take a 90-minute assessment to provide data required by the State of Ohio. We will also take an AP Physics readiness assessment. Let me reassure you that neither of these tests will count for a grade. They are merely skills and prior knowledge assessments. With the time we have left, we will begin to explore Unit 1: Newtonian Mechanics – Kinematics in One Dimension. By Monday be sure to watch Motion in Two Dimensions Podcast 1 – Vectors vs. Scalars to give you basic background information.

This Week in Physics
This week we will take a 45-minute assessment to provide data required by the State of Ohio. We will also take a physics readiness assessment. Let me reassure you that neither of these tests will count for a grade. They are merely skills and prior knowledge assessments.With the time we have left, we may begin Unit 1 – Motion in One Dimension. By Monday please take notes on Motion in One Dimension Podcast 1 – Distance v. Displacement and Motion in One Dimension Podcast 2 – Displacement & Direction. We will work through that material and do some practice problems followed by a quiz later in the week of August 25.

This Week in Astronomy
This week we will take an astronomy readiness assessment. Let me reassure you that this test will not count for a grade. It is merely a skills and prior knowledge assessment. Then we will begin to explore the techniques of sky mapping in order to locate stars and constellations using our Star Map – North and South Declination. This means we will get to spend a significant amount of time in the planetarium! Alright!

A new school year is starting, so I will begin posting weekly again. If you no longer wish to receive my class posts, please be sure to click “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of this email. (I’m unable to remove people myself.) I hope you enjoyed your summer and that the start of fall brings you great things!

Mrs. Burgess