Conceptual Physics

Units of Study: Fall Semester Units 1-4, Spring Semester Units 5-8

Unit 1 Physics Fundamentals: How can we measure and explain the motion of objects in the world around us? Students will explore the fundamentals of measurement, precision, accuracy, and graphing.  

Unit 2 Forces and Motions: How can we measure, explain, and predict the motion of objects; including cars or planets?  Students will learn about linear motion and Newton’s Laws, focusing on the relationship between force and motion in the context of automobiles and safety. 

Unit 3 Momentum: How is momentum conserved in a collision?  students will learn about momentum (p=mv), collisions (elastic and inelastic), impulse (force applied over a period of time), and the Law of Conservation of Momentum. Students will design & refine a crash barrier that minimizes the force on an object during a collision.  

Unit 4 Energy: Where does energy come from and where does it go? Students will be prepared to demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between work (W = Fd) & energy, that the energy of a system is conserved (Law of Conservation of Energy), and that energy is transformed from 1 kind to another. 

Unit 5 Electricity: How can we explain electricity and use them to develop technology? Students will investigate the properties of electric fields such as electric charge, electric current, and how to light a light bulb; and explore how these phenomena interact with each other in technology such as electric circuits.

Unit 6 Magnetism: What is the electricity and magnetism connection? Students will investigate the relationship between electricity and magnetism, and an understanding that moving charges produce a magnetic field; changing magnetic field produces an electric potential difference & vibrating charges will produce electromagnetic waves.

Unit 7 Waves: How does the nature of waves allow us to communicate and learn about the world? Students use the basic wave equation (v = 𝛌 f) to understand wavelength, frequency, and wave speed in the contexts of sound, light, and earthquakes. Students will demonstrate different properties of waves, such as reflection, and explore how modern technology uses wave behavior to transmit and capture information and energy.

Unit 8 Physics in the Universe: How and why is Earth still changing and how do we know? Students will apply their knowledge of energy and motion from prior units to investigate the early history of Earth, the cycling of matter by thermal convection, and how Earth stays in planetary motion base on Kepler’s law. Students will use a wide variety of data sources, including seismic waves, records of rate change of Earth’s plate movement and Earth’s planetary motion.