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Parent/Guardian
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A parent or guardian for each student is
asked to send Mr. Rogers an e-mail as follows:
- Subject: Honors Physics <your student's name>
- Please indicate your name inside the
e-mail body.
Mr. Rogers will use this for
communicating information during the year. |
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Contact Information: |
You have begun a mental journey to an exciting new
territory -- the world of physics. Like mountain climbing the journey takes
effort and self discipline but the view can be awesome. Physics is not just a
collection of facts. It is the search for the basic principles behind the
facts.
These principles are often expressed as
mathematical equations or models which makes applied physics or engineering
amazingly effective for designing and improving equipment. Computers, for
example, double in power every 18 months due to the fact that they're designed
using applied physics.
Your reward for venturing into the world of
physics will be a sharper mind and deeper understanding.
- The Psychology of Physics Problem Solving
- A teacher can guide students through a complex
physics problem merely by asking questions. By learning to ask questions
of yourself, you can gain the same level of problem solving skill without
having a teacher present. It's called metacognition and is a skill you
will acquire.
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- Powerful physics problem solvers also frequently use
a type of free association. By learning to associate small hints with a
corresponding physics principle, they can often visualize an equation
for a problem even before they have fully read it. Again it's a
skill that can be learned.
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Rules, Policies, Grading Scale |
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- This information is common to all of
Mr. Rogers' classes. Click here for details.
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Resources and Materials for Class |
Textbook : Mr. Rogers will provide the
following books:
Physics
Principles and Problems,
- Publisher: Glenco Science
- Web Page Resources Provided by Mr. Rogers
- All of the following are maintained by Mr. Rogers and
can be reached via links from his teacher homepage.
- Objectives: The daily
objectives used in class along with homework assignments are all
available online
- Practice Tests: Self
scoring online practice tests complete with explanations of the answers
are available for each unit. In addition practice test questions without
answers are also available online. You should have no surprises when you take
tests.
- Study Guides: Study
guides are available online for each unit. These include the equations you must
learn, problem solving tips, important concepts, vocabulary lists, and
example problems to help you succeed on tests.
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Movie Physics: Mr. Rogers maintains a web site
with all kinds of movie physics information to assist you in your
enrichment assignments.
Materials for Class Provided by the Student
- A set of dry erase markers. You will frequently be working problems
in class on a white board.
- A package of 3x5 cards: Starting
immediately, each student will, over the course of the year create a set
of flash cards to use as a study aid.
Grading:
Physics Investigations - Labs: We will be spending a significant amount of our instructional time on various forms of
practical activities. These will include formal lab write ups, mini-labs
(informal write ups), computer simulation labs (Interactive Physics), and a
few after school labs. We will also analyze several Hollywood movie scenes in
class. Some investigations will be conducted with computerized data collection
using a wide range of Vernier Lab equipment, video analysis, and sophisticated
devices like air tracks and radio controlled robots. Other labs will use old
fashioned meter sticks, stop watches, pendulums, spring scales etc. At least
some of the labs will be designed by students.
Deliverables from physics investigations will be submitted in electronic form in the Honors Physics folder on the students virtual drive.
Enrichment Assignment: You cannot master
physics if you only think about it in the classroom. To encourage physics
thinking in everyday life, once per quarter you are to review a Hollywood
movie scene for physics content. The review will contain the following:
- The movie's title and main stars.
- A summary of the scene (about one good paragraph)
- A summary of the scene's physics (about one good
paragraph)
- At least one calculation related to the scene's physics
To analyze movies you will have estimate many of the
parameters used in your calculation, often based on the size of objects in the
movie. Estimating is a real world skill which is often required for major
engineering projects.
The analysis is to be submitted via the
school's computer network as a computer file one week before the end of each
quarter and will count as a lab grade. The file is
to be labeled with the movie name and your name and can be either be an a Microsoft
Word or Excel file.
- Class Work
- You cannot master physics by watching
Mr. Rogers work problems, hence, you will be going to the front of the
classroom and working problems on the white board in groups of 2 on a
regular basis. Guided practice of this type is a powerful learning
opportunity. In this class you will think physics, talk physics, write
physics, and yes at times even help teach physics to your fellow
classmates
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