AP Physics2                                    Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy

Course Syllabus                                            Instructor:  Mr Harvey

Objective:  Based upon the knowledge from AP Physics1, this course extends a student’s use of advanced concepts to measure, analyze, and predict the physical world around us.  Students will improve analytic ability, problem solving skills, group collaboration, and independent study by accomplishing practice problems and in-class activities.  If questions arise, students must be mature enough to seek out an understanding of the material.  Just like college, self-directed study is a necessity.  (Remember, successful completion of this course demonstrates academic performance at the college level.)  With diligent and productive work, students will be prepared for the College Board Physics2 exam. See www.collegeboard.com

Students should expect to spend at least 1hour studying outside of class for every period in class.  Studying means: reading textbook and doing practice problems, alone or with others.

If you can’t commit at least this much outside time to the course, don’t enroll.

Be aware: Many universities do NOT accept the College Board AP Physics exams for college credit.  Check with your prospective college or university.

Prerequisite courses:  AP Physics 1.

Textbook provided:  College Physics by Serway & Vuille.  IBSN-13:978-1-285-71249-4

Materials needed:  Scientific calculator, 3ring binder for notes, pencil and eraser

Course Outline:

           
Evaluations:   [approximate percentage]

Free Response Exams:  [35%]  Approximately 4 per term.  One class period long.  5 or 6 problems.  Student must read and analyze a Physics related problem presented in text and diagrams.  Then, the student must produce a solution accompanied by clear and thorough written mathematical documentation.  Calculators are allowed but can not be shared.  Equations will be provided, but no other books, notes, or resources will be allowed.

Multiple Choice Exams: [25%] Approximately 1 per term.  One entire class period long.  50 questions.  Student will read a Physics related question and select the most correct answer from 5 possible responses.  These questions assess a student’s conceptual level of understanding that develops through problem solving practice, individual study, and group discussion.  No calculators, books, notes, 'equation sheets' or other resources will be used during these tests.

Multiple Choice Quizzes: [10%] Approximately every week.  10 minutes long.  Similar to AP Multiple Choice exam format, but shorter in length.

In-Class Activities: [30%] Approximately every week.  Students will perform activities involving  Experiment design, data collection, and result analysis

Practice Problems: 10 problems.  Approximately every other week, due before exam.  Student is expected to read and analyze the text and diagrams of the problem.  Then, the student must produce a solution accompanied by clear, thorough, legible written documentation.  This self-directed study may be done alone or in a group.  Just like at college, it is a necessity. 

Practice Problem Format

Practice Problems must follow the format below.  This format documents the entire process to arrive at a solution.  By keeping these in a 3-ring binder, a student will have a personalized archive of solutions to use as references in future studies.  (Yes, this might seem like a lot of writing right now, but it’s just a taste of what college will be like.)