springboard physics

This summative assessment covers statics, dynamics, circular motion, and energy. The exam consists of 10 multiple choice questions and seven free response questions. I've also included pictures on the test to assist ESL students.

This activity introduces students to frictional forces, the coefficient of static friction, and the coefficient of kinetic friction by using a free online simulation available through Phet.colorado.edu. The activity walks students through five different scenarios of pushing, then sliding, various objects over a flat surface. The simulation allows different graphs to be displayed by clicking a check box. The graph options are acceleration vs time, velocity vs time, and position vs time. With this

This is a comprehensive review of number sense and operations, algebra skills (including solving for a variable, evaluating expressions, and graphing), and some geometry, while also introducing some of the key equations for AP Physics 1.

These are my class notes for my AP Physics 1 class. This set of notes includes 30 examples on the concepts of torque and rotational motion. Most of the examples are multi-part free response style questions while there are a few MC questions on the last page. I've included a number of images to support EL students as well as to support the context of the question. There are a few fill-in-the-blank style questions and I've also included all of the key equations for this unit at strategic points th

These are notes for an introduction to vectors. There are three pages of student notes which include a few examples covering vector decomposition, tip-to-tail method, and the parallelogram method. Solution key included!

Note: The simple pendulum apparatus is created by assembling a ring stand by attaching either an iron ring (mostly used in chemistry) or attaching the long metal rod of another ring stand via a clamp. This is rather easy to set up and I'd be happy to email a picture of the set up. Please reach out to me via the email feature on this site if interested. I created this lab to meet the requirement for the investigation for unit 6 - SHM. In this lab, students explore two learning objectives. The fi

These are my class notes that I made for my AP Physics 1 class. There are 28 examples, most of which are multi-part with a few MC questions on the last page. Also included is one multi-select MC question. I've included a few fill-in-the blank questions as well to help establish conceptual understanding as well as to build vocabulary. Images are included to support contextual understanding and for visuals. I included equation boxes for AP Physics 1 relevant equations and presented them as neede

There are two parts to this activity. In part 1 (front page), the students analyze 5 different x-t graphs and are asked to explain the nature of the motion of the object that made the graphs. They are then asked to test their prediction by using a motion detector and an electronic data gathering device (I use LabQuest by Vernier). In the 2nd part of the activity, the student is given 5 different statements. They are to interpret the statements into a graph, then test again with the motion detec

These are my notes that I created for teaching AP physics 1 students kinematics concepts. These notes follow the kinematics in 1D notes. Specifically, this set of notes introduces projectile motion (or motion in 2D) whereas the kinematics in 1D notes focus on linear motion only. There are 11 examples (MC and FRQ) covering classic physics scenarios such as sketching the vertical and horizontal components of the velocity vector, determining the maximum height, maximum time in the air, and horizon

A classic physics lab involving a dynamics cart driven by the weight of a hanging mass. The procedure asks the students to perform five 'runs' over five different trials. Successive trials ask the students to add a bit more weight to the hanging mass in order to apply a stronger force to the cart. The mass of the cart is kept constant. The distance the cart travels is recorded along with the time it takes the cart to travel this distance. Students then use the average time and the distance tra

This reaction time activity is a great way to engage students while focusing their attention on the use of a key kinematics equation. There are two parts to this activity. In the first part, the student use a dollar bill (real or fake) to test their reaction time. It is recommended that there is no point value associated with this part of the activity so that the students can explore. In the second part, the students record their reaction distance by catching a falling meterstick after their p

This worksheet can is a comprehensive review of motion graphs and covers the concepts of speed, velocity, distance, displacement, and acceleration. There are 16 questions including fill in the blank, multiple choice, and short answer. All questions are based on either x-t or v-t graphs.

This is the rotational motion review I've used for my classes as a form of a study guide preceding the rotational motion exam. There are five questions, some of which are multi-part. All questions are FRQ style and some have accompanying diagrams to support EL students. The concepts covered on this worksheet include angular velocity, angular acceleration, angular momentum, and rotational inertia.

This comprehensive packet of notes is designed to teach the dynamics concepts of AP physics 1, but can also be applied to an honors physics course. There are 31 numbered examples. Most examples include an image to support EL students. The concepts covered within these notes include Newton's laws, free-body diagrams, Hooke's Law, identifying the main types of forces, coefficient of both static and kinetic friction, and applying newton's laws to solve for unknown quantities.

This is my unit test over linear motion. The test consists of 9 MC questions and 3 short answer/constructed response questions. The concepts covered on this test are speed, displacement, distance, velocity, and acceleration. The constructed response questions are multi-part and are accompanied with images to support EL learners. The style of questions are short story problems, interpreting graphs, and constructing graphs based on a short story.

My notes for momentum, impulse, and center of mass include 33 examples covering all essential concepts for this unit according to college board. I've included constructed response, multiple choice, and multi select questions styles. I've embedded diagrams, formulas, and key terms and phrases as well. On page 6 of the notes, I make reference to a demo ('balancing act') to support the understanding of the concept of the center of mass. For this demonstration, I ask the students to obtain an (inex

This is the alternate unit test for linear motion. There are a total of 30 questions covering the concepts of speed, velocity, distance, displacement, and acceleration. The types of questions that appear in this test are multiple choice, multi-select, written response, and short answer (using a formula to solve for an unknown). The prompts vary and are based on graphs (x-t only), diagrams, and words per question. Note that this test does not include questions for projectile motion (motion in

This is a nice reinforcement worksheet that can be used as notes, HW, or general practice. There are 8 total questions, all free response. The concepts covered are distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration. Most prompts are text-based, but there is one question that includes a table of values (velocity vs. time) in which the students are asked to determine the acceleration. Five kinematics equations appear at the top of the page for reference.

These are my notes for the 'big 4' kinematics equations. Always good to have the students derive the equations prior to using them!

This two-page (front & back) worksheet offers quite a comprehensive assessment of displacement, distance, velocity, and speed. There are nine questions in total. Some of the four questions on the first page require Pythagorean Theorem and the formula for circumference in order to calculate the distance traveled around the given shapes. The first four questions also includes some nice visuals from Geogebra. Additionally, there are five story problems on the back page and the student is asked to