Week of September 1, 2014

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!)
passenger-pigeon-illustration