This is a POWER WEEK!

This Week in AP Physics
We will finish the impulse-momentum theorem on Monday so that you can do assignment 1 for Tuesday. On Monday and Tuesday we will cover the law of conservation of momentum so that you can do assignment 2 for Wednesday (unless otherwise stated in class.) On Wednesday and Thursday we will cover energy interactions in collisions so that you can do assignment 3 for Friday. This allows us to test our momentum unit on Monday, November 24 so that you don’t have to worry about the test during Thanksgiving break. We do have three lab activities that go with this unit, but we will weave them around the homework/test schedule.

This Week in Physics
Expect the unit test on the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving break.
6th period: You have no podcasts due this week unless otherwise stated in class. I will give all assignments verbally in class. Also, please do not work on your lab reports at home.
10th period: On Monday we will quiz over inertia and static equilibrium. Also for Monday please take notes on Podcast 11 – Newton’s Second Law, Podcast 12 – Elevator Problem part 1, and Podcast 13 – Elevator Problem part 2. For Tuesday please take notes on Podcast 14 – Terminal Velocity, Podcast 15 – Kinematics Problem with Newton’s Second Law part 1, Podcast 16 – Kinematics Problem with Newton’s Second Law part 2, Podcast 17 – Complex Problem, and Podcast 18 – Tying Concepts Together. On Tuesday we will do assignment 5 together in class followed by a quiz on Wednesday or Thursday. On Thursday we will cover Newton’s third law and do assignment 6. Finally, your friction lab report will be due on Tuesday, November 18 with an upload to TurnItIn.com by 3:00 of that day. Remember to follow the Lab Report Writing Guide and use the Lab Report Rubric to guide your writing, and use Google Drive (shared with me at [email protected]) for all of your work.

This Week in Astronomy
On Monday at the start of class your Unit 2 – Outdoor Lab is due. This is a long-term project that was assigned on October 16, and I’ve reminded you about it weekly. If you haven’t started it yet, you will not be able to finish it by Monday, as it requires you to make observations at the same time of day on at least five sunny days spaced at least two days apart. If you are not on a timeline to finish it for Monday, you can still do it for partial credit by completing it correctly and turning it in late.
On Monday we will start with a quiz over eclipse basics, such as umbras/penumbras, basic Earth-sun-moon alignment, eclipse seasons, and maximum/minimum number of eclipses per year. Then we will continue our eclipse jigsaw on Monday into Tuesday. We will spend the rest of the week learning about and doing activities related to solar and lunar eclipses. The following podcasts will support your studies: Podcast 1 – Introduction to Eclipses (quiz 1,) Podcast 2 – Solar Eclipses, and Podcast 3 – Lunar Eclipses. Ideally we can take the unit test before Thanksgiving break, but I make you no promises. 🙂 Finally, you are now ready for your final outdoor lab, the Unit 3 – Outdoor Lab, which requires you to observe the moon. This lab also is a long-term project that requires multiple observations spaced days apart. It is due on the day before winter break.

Cool Science of the Week
We have landed a robot on a comet! You may have seen the news this week about how the European Space Agency (Yes, there is one…just like NASA!) has landed a robot on a passing comet in order to study the properties of the comet. We couldn’t see the landscape of the comet prior to dropping the lander, and it turns out that the mountain-sized comet is full of crags, ledges, pits, and the like. The lander bounced off of one of these but managed to land again. First problem solved! It’s been taking great pictures and analyzing rock and water samples. Second problem: It’s not where we meant for it to be, so its solar panels aren’t getting optimal sunlight. Its batteries may die before the robot can send information from its rock and ice analyses back to Earth. Keep your fingers crossed! This is all happening RIGHT NOW! 🙂

The robotic probe, named Philae, as photographed by the orbiting rocket that carried Philae to the comet