Here comes another great week!
This Week in AP Physics
We will finish our Acceleration due to Gravity experiment and go over how to create and submit lab reports. We will also begin Unit 2 on two-dimensional motion. This will include vector operations, and we will use projectile motion as our example. Please be sure to use the resources on the Unit 2 page as we move through the material. Please also remember to check out the AP Physics Question of the Day, which is a nice way to practice.
This Week in Physics
On Monday we will complete our first big assignment together in class as we do assignment 1 followed by a quiz on the day after we complete the assignment. We will then continue to explore accelerated motion as covered in podcasts 5 & 6 on our Unit 1 webpage and will complete assignment 2 together in class. A quiz will follow as announced. It is possible that by the end of the week you will be asked to take notes on Podcast 7 – Introduction to Kinematic Equations and Motion in One Dimension Podcast 8 – Kinematic Equations Sample Problem, so please do so if announced. LAB: Your Analysis of Uniform Motion Lab is due at the start of your class period on Friday. It also needs to be uploaded to TurnItIn.com by Friday at 3:00. Additional note: 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 August 29. At this point, the possibility exists of delays in grade submission and class participation, so please turn the page in promptly if you have not already done so.
This Week in Astronomy
On Monday we will take a quiz over star mapping. Podcast 1 – Star Mapping will help you study. Next we will continue to move through our unit on star maps by exploring the key mapping features of the celestial equator and the celestial north pole in more detail. We will also take a look at how the positions of the stars change as we travel north-south from one latitude to another, and we will also learn to spot changes in the sky as the time of year changes. The following podcasts will support your learning: Celestial Equator and Celestial North Pole, Circumpolar Stars, and Seasonal Constellations and Star Magnitude. We will also spend some time this week exploring the sky in a virtual manner using some fantastic free software called Stellarium. We will take a test on this unit sometime next week. Please note: 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 August 29. At this point, the possibility exists of delays in grade submission and class participation, so please turn the page in promptly if you have not already done so.
Cool Science of the Week
Since the astronomy class will be using this software, it is timely for me to tell you about some free software that lets you create a virtual planetarium on your screen. It’s called Stellarium, and it’s very cool and very fun. Try it out! 🙂
(Here’s a glimpse of the night sky at 10:00 on Friday, September 5. Go outside to see if you can find these stars and planets! Another fun thing to do is to program Stellarium for the time and place that a major event, such as an eclipse, will occur.)
