Link to Semester 2

 

Class 40: Thursday, 1/12

Warm Up:  How do you remove the coin from the YOT?

[If you zoom in, there's a physics equation that gives a hint: ]

Today:

Homework:  

Class 39: Thursday, 1/8

Warm Up: 

The ball is moving at a constant speed in a circular path. 

1.  What is the direction of its acceleration?

2.  How do we know this?

Derivation of ac = v2/r (direction and magnitude)

Today:

  • A1/2 -- Run, Hide, Fight review
  • Discuss how to deal with a distorted picture in a slideshow.
  • If you complete the entire review by next Monday, I will enter it as another homework assignment.
  • Review time.  Check answers.  Do some more practice problems?

Homework:  

  • Come to next class with questions about the midterm.  If we run out of questions, we will start the next unit.
  • Prepare for the midterm.  Midterm Practice Exam Solutions
  • Fix anything else that needs attention.  See class 38 for more details.
Class 38: Tuesday, 1/6

Warm Up: 

Consider the X dimension motion of a pendulum that is continually swinging back and forth (left to right and back). 

1.  Draw quick sketches of velocity and acceleration graphs for a time period beginning at the leftmost point in the swing and continuing through one full cycle (over to the right and back).  For the acceleration graph, the only expectation is that the sign  (+,-, or 0) is correct at any given moment.

2.  Identify points in its motion where it demonstrates some of the "9 types of motion."  Which types of motion does it not demonstrate?

 Mathematical (Excel spreadsheet) model of the pendulum

Today:

  • Return papers
  • Discuss project grading and the possibility of getting points back. 
  • Deadline for resubmitting corrected Projectile Project slideshows and getting performance grade points back (during FLEX) is next Monday.  Deadline for retaking Unit 3 test is also next Monday.
  • Midterm Review
  • Upcoming stuff:
    • Course recommendations
    • Mid-year mop-up (centripetal acceleration, law of gravitation, energy, and momentum).  After that, rotational motion and rubber band cars.

Homework:  

Class 37: Tuesday, 12/23

Warm Up: 

Part 1:  The rest of the S.C. analysis...

Part 2:  Ropes and things:  Assuming the stick person and the toilet paper person both weigh 1N, who needs to pull harder in order to rise up?  Is it even possible?  If so, how much forc is necessary?

Today:

  • Knots
  • Finish slideshows and submit them.  Here is the link to the contest results.  You will need some of the data for your slideshow. ***I simplified the contest results slide and aligned it with the rules changes***  You will need to copy a new one from the template or the example.
  • Retakes?
  • Cozy, crackling fireplace
  • Learn to secure a load with a bowline and a Trucker's Hitch (slippery half hitch + slip knot), and explain how this arrangement allows you to tie a load with high tension.

Homework:  

  • None.  If you want to review for the midterm, go through the old tests, practice tests, and handouts.  Midterm questions/problems will be primarily based on questions/problems that you have already seen -- but the specific numbers, directions, etc. will be changed.
Class 36: Friday, 12/19

Warm Up:  None

Today:

  • Contest

Homework:  

  • Make sure you're on track to submit the slideshow before midnight on Tuesday.
Class 35: Wednesday, 12/17

Warm Up:  None

Today:

  • Test
  • Announcement -- the asymmetric shot scoring process has been changed.  It is based on error in longitudinal distance (parallel to range), with optional bonus points for small errors in the lateral dimension (perpendicular to range).

Homework:  

Class 34: Monday, 12/15

Warm Up:  Cheryl wants to use some string and a nail to hang a treasured portrait of great-great-grandfather Ernesto as a young man.  The portrait is rather heavy.  Rank the three configurations on the right according to their risk of exceeding the breaking strength of the string. (Note: the picture on the right is supported by a single strand.)

Today:

Homework:  

  • Test next class
  • Projectile Contest on Friday
  • Project Due next Tuesday
Class 33: Thursday, 12/11

Warm Up:  None

Today:

Homework:  

Class 32: Tuesday, 12/9

Warm Up:  How can we find the coefficient of friction of a ball and plunger sliding through one of the launcher barrels?

Today:

  • Check/review homework.
    • Problem 3
    • Symmetric launch calculations 
  • Optional test retake next class
  • Launcher Project Overview:  Here is a rough draft of the slideshow that you will be required to create.  I will be updating it, but the basic content should not change much.
  • What to work on today:
    1. Finish your asymmetric flight calculations (get material for slides 3-5)
      1. attempt to hit your target.
      2. Collect video/photo data.
      3. Collect measurement data
  • Check your calculations using this spreadsheet.  There are different sets of calculations depending on which data are used as the givens.

End of Year Plan:

  • Today (Tuesday, 12/9) -- Project work.  Finish asymmetric launch.  Get Asymmetric launch data, and videos/photos
  • Thursday, 12/11 -- Test retake and/or quiet project work time.  This is a good time to take a good look at your slideshow and sort out what you still need to do.
  • Monday, 12/15 -- Project work time.
  • Wednesday, 12/17 -- Short test over friction and Forces in 2-D.
  • Friday, 12/19 -- Projectile Contest
  • Tuesday, 12/23 -- Project slideshows due, Knot Tying, Holiday Cheer
  • Break -- no homework
  • After break -- midterm review

Homework:  

Class 31: Friday, 12/5

Warm Up:  A 10 kg box is being dragged rightward across a floor.  The rope pulling the box makes a 35 degree angle with the floor, and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the floor and the box is 0.3. 

What is the box's acceleration?

Today:

  • Check/review homework. 
  • Test retake next Thursday
  • Launcher Project Overview:  Here is a rough draft of the slideshow that you will be required to create.  I will be updating it, but the basic content should not change much.
  • What to work on today:
    1. Finish collecting symmetric launch data.  Perform calculations so that you can try to hit a target with the asymmetric launch.
    2. Complete the rest of the handout from last class  ("Basic Launcher Challenge..." ). If you do not finish your calculations, finish them for homework.
    3. Check your calculations using this spreadsheet.  There are different sets of calculations depending on which data are used as the givens.
    4. Repeat the asymmetric launch to record video, photos, and data for slides 3-5.

Homework:  

  • Problem 3 on p. 6 of the handout --  Unit 3 Handout Answer Key
  • Finish the launcher calculations from your symmetric launch.  Finish the calculations to prepare for the asymmetric launch.
Class 30: Wednesday, 12/3

Warm Up:  A 4 kg mass is hanging from a string in a  fully-enclosed train car.  The angle of the string is 38 degrees, relative to the ceiling, and it is not changing.  What can we deduce about the train car's motion?

Today:

Homework:  

Image result for car skidding to a stopClass 29: Monday, 12/1

Warm Up: 

1.  Do cars use kinetic friction or static friction to stop?  Explain.

2.  If two otherwise identical cars used the different forms of friction (one kinetic, the other static) to stop, how much difference would there be in the stopping distance? 

  Approximate Coefficent of Static Friction Approximate  Coefficient of Kinetic Friction
Tires on Dry Asphalt 0.8 0.7
Tires on Wet Asphalt 0.5 Unclear ("slightly lower")
Snow tires on "Black Ice" 0.2 0.15

Today: Set up the launchers and work on improving precision and accuracy

  • Check/review homework
  • Test retake next Thursday
  • Notes:  P.4 of Unit 3 Handout -- Friction and Forces on Inclines(PDF) Unit 3 Handout Answer Key
  • Set up launchers
    • Bands and String
    • Trigger and String
    • Protractor and Scale (Protractor PDF)
    • Sight materials
    • Backstop/sandbox -- brainstorm ways to not disturb other classrooms and not break windows
  • Develop a precise aiming and launching protocol.  Precision contest -- smallest 5 shot group (in 1 minute or less) for a 45 degree 3 meter-ish symmetric launch.

Homework:  

Class 28: Thursday, 11/20/25

Warm Up:  To hit targets with a rubber band-powered projectile launcher, you will need to be able to solve projectile motion problems, and you will need to be able to launch with skill.

1.  Based on the diagram to the right, provide definitions for precision and accuracy. 

2.  If they're both bad, which do you suspect is harder to fix?

3.  What kinds of things do you think might improve precision and accuracy of a projectile launch?

Today: Set up the launchers and work on improving precision and accuracy (the calculations will come after break).

  • Return tests
  • A quick look at the Monkey and hunter solution?
  • Check/review homework
  • Set up launchers.  Develop a precise launching protocol.  Precision contest -- smallest 5 shot group (in 1 minute or less) for a 50 degree 4m symmetric launch.

Homework:  

Class 27: Tuesday, 11/18/25

Warm Up:  None

Today: Test

Homework:  

Class 26: Friday, 11/14/25

Warm Up:  A green hunter and a blue hunter point their guns directly at a fake orange monkey and then fire simultaneously.  Just as the two hunters' bullets leave their guns, the fake monkey slips and freefalls from the treetop. [You may assume that this takes place in a vacuum on a flat earth.]

1. Where does each hunter's projectile end up, relative to the monkey?  Video of attempt  Spreadsheet solution

2.  How would the result have been different if the monkey had stayed in position at the top of the tree?

3.  Does the answer to either of these questions depend on the bullet velocities?

Today: More projectile motion practice problems

Homework:  

Class 25: Wednesday, 11/12/25

Warm Up:  One way to find the center of mass (a.k.a. balance point) of a stick is to support it with two hands and then slowly move those two hands together until they meet under the stick's center of mass.  You can even do it with your eyes closed.  How does this work?

Today: More projectile motion practice problems

  • Check/review homework
  • Schedule call-backs
  • Switch problems with a neighbor and solve their problem.  Compare answers.
  • Add your problem and solutions to this spreadsheet.  Scan your solutions and put them in a Google Doc (shared with "anyone with a link"  -- and set the margins to zero to maximize the size of the scan).
  • 2025 Unit 2 -- 2-D Motion -- Handout (PDF) 2025 Unit 2 Answer Key
  • Next Unit -- Coefficients of Friction and 2-D Forces

Homework:  

  • Pick at least one problem (that you haven't already tried) from the "Student Authored Projectile Motion Problems" spreadsheet and solve it.  Add a comment if you can verify the answers or if you have other feedback.
  • If you have any questions or needs relating to the test, be prepared to share them on Friday.  I plan on further clarifying what to expect on the test, but if you want more practice, have some specific requests in mind.  Otherwise, we're moving on.
Class 24: Monday, 11/10/25

Warm Up:  Drippy Sauces...

1. I made this contraption to throw an open cup of watery sauce across the classroom.  First the sauce cup revolves in circles, and then it gets released, upside-down.  In theory, no sauce should come out until the cup reaches its destination.  Why shouldn't the sauce drip out when the cup is upside-down?

2. If you need to transport some drippy sauce across a table (and you don't want to take the plate to the serving bowl), what can you do to minimize your chances of dripping sauce on the table?

Today: Practice Projectile Motion Problems -- Test Tuesday

  • Check/review homework
  • Test on Tuesday -- what's it going to look like?
  • Asymmetric Practice Problem -- p. 8 ** Make a change on the problem -- elapsed time = 2s and x displacement is not given.  If you solve it, as-is, and show your non-AI work, by tomorrow, you can have 2% added to your homework average for this quarter.
  • Make a test problem (template).  Try not to give any more information than is necessary to solve it.  You do not have to solve it, but go far enough to convince yourself that it is solvable and remove any unecessary data. We will pick one and solve it together.  Don't forget trig formulas are fair game, even though they're not on the formula list.
  • 2025 Unit 2 Handout (PDF) 2025 Unit 2 Answer Key

Homework:   two problems...
Class 23: Thursday, 11/6/25

Warm Up: 

1. How does NASA simulate a zero g environment?

2. What's wrong in the video?

Today: Practice Projectile Motion Problems

  • Check/review homework
  • ** Make a change on problem 3 on p. 8.  If you solve it, as-is, and show your non-AI work, by tomorrow, you can have 2% added to your homework average for this quarter.
  • 2025 Unit 2 Handout (PDF)  2025 Unit 2 Answer Key
  • Today's notes and practice: handout p. 4-7

Homework:

Class 22: Tuesday, 11/4/25

Warm Up: 

1.  At exactly the same time, one ball is launched horizontally and another is dropped from rest.  How do their fall times compare?  Why?

2.  What happens if you rig a ball to be launched straight up from a cart, and you then launch the ball while the cart is moving at a constant speed?

Today:

  • Intro to the new unit(s):
    • Projectile motion / 2D motion and forces
      • Vector addition and subtraction
      • Trig functions
      • New kinematics equations added to your formula sheet (to reduce the number of steps in solving a problem)
      • Projectile motion
    • And then....  launch projectiles and deal with the realities of friction and forces on inclines
      • Forces in 2 dimensions
      • Coefficients of friction
      • Work and energy -- maybe
  • Get the 2025 Unit 2 Handout (PDF)  2025 Unit 2 Answer Key
  • Today's notes and practice: handout p.1-3 -- Video from last year's class

Homework:

Class 21: Friday, 10/31/25

Warm Up: 

1.  Why don't clouds fall?

2.  What's the terminal velocity of chalk?  Why?

3.  People have recently been celebrating the cease fire and release of prisoners by firing guns into the air.  Is this sort of gunfire safe, as long as you shoot straight up?

Terminal velocities of various spheres

Today:

  • Return assignments -- go over the project grading -- graphs in particular
  • Disassemble rockets
  • Slideshow?
  • If we have time...
    • Begin the new unit -- projectile motion / 2D motion and forces
      • Vector addition and subtraction
      • Trig functions
      • New kinematics equations added to your formula sheet (to reduce the number of steps in solving a problem)
      • Projectile motion
      • Forces in 2 dimensions
      • Coefficients of friction
    • Notes:  vector addition practice -- Video from last year's class

Homework:

  • ??? TBD  Depends on how far we get during class.
  • Here's last year's answer key....  [In this key, look for the solutions to page 1 on page 2 of the key.  And the solutions for page 2 are on page 3 of the key.] 2024 Unit 2 Answer Key
End of Quarter 1

Class 20: Wednesday, 10/29/25

Warm Up:  None

Today: 

  • Optional test retake
  • Drop the first test?
  • Turn in rocket project drawings and graphs in person, some time today.  Turn-in spreadsheets any time today, via Google Classroom.

Homework:

  • None
Class 19: Monday, 10/27/25

Warm Up:  Clarify the project expectations:

1.  What gets turned in on paper, and what gets turned in via Google Classroom?

2.  Snapshots:  What needs to be in the diagram? How is the table graded?

3.  Graphs:  What labels are required?  Other important stuff: slopes, regions(+,-,0), peaks/troughs.

4.  Data spreadsheet page 2:  What calculations will be checked?  How precise do the data need to be?

5.  Y-dimension projectile spreadsheet: What are the requirements?

Today:

Homework:

Class 18: Tuesday, 10/21/25

Warm Up: 

1.  Paying close attention to what is happening to the slope (but not worrying about the correct scale), sketch a height vs time graph for a rocket that...

  • Reaches its apogee at a height of 75m and a time of 3.2 seconds

  • Has a medium-large parachute that fully deploys at a time of 6.2 seconds and height of 55m

  • Lands at a time of 22s.

2.  Label important moments in the flight

  • End of thrust

  • Apogee

  • Beginning of parachute deployment

  • Beginning of terminal velocity

  • crashdown

Today:

  • Return tests
  • Rocket Projects -- you get up to three class days to work, counting today:
    • Make sure everyone has the data they need -- different classes are in different places, so my plan is to back up and go forward until I find where you are.
    • Go over page 2 of the Water Rocket Data spreadsheet -- talk about where to find data and expectations for calculations.  Make a video that can be used as a reference if needed.
  • Next Monday, tell me whether you would like to drop the first test -- or not.  Right now, the two tests are counting equally.  If you drop the first test, the contribution of the second test will be doubled, so that the total contribution of tests to your overall grade will not change.  You can also give me directions, such as "if my retake of the 2nd test is better than the first test, drop the first test."

Homework:

  • Optional -- Prepare for test retake next Wednesday
  • Rocket projects are due on the last day of the quarter -- Class #20 (Next Wednesday, 10/29).
Class 17: Friday, 10/17/25

Warm Up: None

Today:

  • Test

Homework:

  • Rocket projects are due on the last day of the quarter -- Class #20 (10/29).
Class 16: Wednesday, 10/15/25

Warm Up:  Is this for real?  Could we launch a student this high with water rockets? 

Today:

  • Check/review homework -- get set to prepare for test.
  • Test format, formulas, bonus, etc.
  • Return retakes -- is anyone else planning on retaking part of the first test? 
  • Get final rocket data and work on project
  • **Normally there is a chance for corrections on the rocket project, but given the time remaining, you are going to have more time to complete the project, but no chance of corrections.  So double check your work and get it right the first time.**

Homework:

  • Study for test
  • Rocket projects are due on the last day of the quarter -- Class #20 (10/29).
Class 15: Monday, 10/13/25

Warm Up: At the pep rally, we saw some good tug-of-war matches.  Were they fair?  What really determines who wins a tug-of-war contest on a gym floor?

Today:

Homework:

Class 14: Thursday, 10/9/25

Warm Up: None

Today:

Homework:

Class 13: Tuesday, 10/7/25

Warm Up: It is possible to remove a sheet paper from under a dry erase marker without touching or tipping the marker.  How?

Today:

  • Check/review homework
  • Finish the rockets
    • 2nd and final launch next class
    • Decide how much water you are going to use in your rocket -- Clifford Heath's Simulator
    • Class will be short due to the pep rally.

Homework:

Class 12: Friday, 10/3/25

Warm Up: I figured out why we were getting dubious jump heights.  One of our displacements was incorrect, because my assumptions were invalid. 

1.  Which of our displacement calculations do you think was wrong?

Stage 1) The displacement of the jumper while their feet were touching the plate

Stage 2) The displacement of the jumper while they were completely in the air

2.  Do you have a suspicion about what assumption was invalid?

Today:

  • Check/review homework
  • The forecast indicates that Tuesday will be rainy, so the next launch will be on Thursday.
  • Notes:  Finish drag notes (the last notes of the unit :-))  Video from class
  • Work time -- rockets or other

Homework:

Class 11: Tuesday, 9/30/25

Warm Up: We have a force plate that will give us a graph of force vs time. 

1.  How can we use it to determine the height of a jump?  Spreadsheet template Completed Spreadsheet

2.  What does "jump height" actually mean?  Is this method more or less accurate than other traditional methods?

Today:

  • Check/review homework -- newton car problems and problems 6a and 6b.  Video
  • Reminder -- don't leave class early (unless you have a good reason and you run it by me first)
  • Unit 1 Handout (PDF) Answer Key to Entire Handout
  • The test retake is ready.  Find me some time outside of class if you want to retake it.  FLEX and before school work well.  I also have a planning block 7/8 on both days.
  • Work time -- finish your spreadsheet.
  • Final rocket launch next Tuesday. 
    • You will have most of the class time on Friday to work on your rocket. 
    • You will have about 20 minutes to prepare your rocket on Tuesday. 
    • Our bottle supply is dwindling.  If you want more bottles, and you want to make sure that you get some, bring in your own.

Homework:

Class 10: Friday, 9/26/25

Warm Up: Why can't you (or a "Newton Sled") throw a ping-pong ball with as much force as a baseball?  Helpful spreadsheet

Today:

  • Check/review Newton Car questions and problems 6a and 6b.  Video
  • Unit 1 Handout (PDF) Answer Key to Entire Handout
  • The test retake is ready.  Find me some time outside of class if you want to retake it.  FLEX and before school work well.  I also have a planning block 7/8 on both days.
  • Notes -- introduce the drag equation  Video of Notes
  • "Code" a spreadsheet that models the flight of an object in the y dimension, taking drag into account.  Instructions and a video are provided in Step 8 of the Instructable.  I will also hand out these written instructions (PDF).  Copy this template and fill in the formulas.
    • The goal for this spreadsheet -- create a working, useful spreadsheet and get practice "coding" spreadsheets -- I intend to test you on your ability to code your own spreadsheet at some point.
    • Brief demonstration of what this spreadsheet does.  Here's mine.
    • Brief introduction to spreadsheet formulas (and dollar signs, in particular).
    • Advice about the dollar signs

Homework:

Class 9: Wednesday, 9/24/25

Warm Up: 

1.  We're about to watch a feather and a bowling ball falling in the world's largest vacuum.  What will we see?

 2.  Use dimensional analysis to convert 40,000 yards per day to m/s.  What is the mathematical justification for this process?

3.  Somebody took a nice, round quantity and did some reverse-dimensional-analysis to convert it to some unrecognizable equivalent units.  Can you return it to its original form of one digit followed by one unit?  It's a unit that we use a lot.  Here's the quantity...

Today:

  • Check/review homework -- from last class and the class before 
  • Finish the Newton Sled Activity
  • Work on the Newton Sled Problems -- homework

Homework:

  • Finish the Newton Sled questions and problems through 6b (don't do 6c and 6d) (p.17-18, with organizer on p.19).  Solutions will depend on your data, but here are some solutions based on some data that I made up. 
Class 8: Monday, 9/22/25

Warm Up: Is it literally possible to "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps?"  Put another way, can you pick yourself up?  Explain.

Today:

  • Return tests and check for grading mistakes.  I will have the retake ready by Friday.  You can work on it during Flex or before school.  Except on Wednesdays, I'm usually in C209 by about 8:05.
  • Take a quick look at some rocket videos.  Think about rebuilding your rocket
  • 3rd Law notes (p. 13-14)  -- video from class
  • Newton Sled Activity (p.17-18, #1-5) -- for the Earth launch, get time from slow motion video.
  • Unit 1 Handout (PDF) Answer Key to Entire Handout

Homework:

  • Newton's 3rd Law tells us that, in a game of tug-of-war, the pulling forces of the two teams must be exactly the same (because they pull against one another with equal and opposite forces).  In light of this, explain how a game of tug-of-war can be won, from a physics standpoint.  Don't research the answer until you have thought about it for a while.  You are allowed to discuss it with your family.
Class 7: Thursday, 9/18/25

Warm Up: None

Today:

  • Test

Homework:

Class 6: Tuesday, 9/16/25

Warm Up:  I have an updated version of the cart on the right.  It will give us graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time.

1.  I want to use the cart on a tilted track to demontrate the "9 types of motion."  How can I achieve each of the combinations of velocity (+,-, or 0) and acceleration (+,-, or 0)?  Which ones are hardest?

2.  What if I just keep the track flat and give the cart a sudden push right and then left again?

3.  Other ideas for things to try?

Today:

Homework:

Class 6: Friday, 9/12/25

Warm Up:  No warm-up -- finish rockets, record dry mass and water volume

Today:

  • Your tasks to complete:
    1. Finish your rocket.
    2. Measure its "dry mass" (without water) on the balance.  Write that number down or record it on the Water Rocket Data Collection assignment in Google Classroom.
    3. Measure the amount of water you are going to put in into your rocket.  Write that down, too, or record it on your spreadsheet.
  • Mr. Stapleton's tasks to complete
    1. Make 2 note cards for each group (at least one student's name on each card).
    2. Record outside temperature, pressure, and humidity
    3. Find the current air density
  • Rocket launch
  • At some point, complete the Water Rocket Data Collection assignment in Google Classroom.  Enter the air density and your rocket's dry mass and water volume.
  • Have a great weekend!

Homework: Continued from last class...

  • Two Classes Worth of Homework, Due on Tuesday:
  • Test next Thursday over information on pages 1-16, 21, 23, and 25 of the handout.  If you need help on something, get it taken care of by Tuesday.
Class 5: Wednesday, 9/10/25

Warm Up: 

1. What will happen if I poke a knife through a potato, hold both objects in the air with the knife pointing downward, and then hammer the butt of the knife into the potato?  Why?  What if it's an apple, because I didn't have potatoes?

Today:

  • Check/review homework
  • One more forces example problem -- p. 15 -- Video
  • Discussion about success in this class
    • If you are in pre-calc, you can succeed in physics 200
    • The role of homework/practice Course expectations
    • What I need from you
  • Updated plan for the next few classes
    • Friday: Finish rockets, Launch Rockets,
    • Next Tuesday: Test review and more
    • Next Thursday: Test (had been planned for Tuesday)
  • Unit 1 Handout (PDF) Answer Key to Entire Handout
  • Finish the rockets!

Homework:

  • Two Classes Worth of Homework, Due on Tuesday:
  • Test next Thursday over information on pages 1-16, 21, 23, and 25 of the handout.  If you need help on something, get it taken care of by Tuesday.
Class 4: Monday, 9/8/25

Warm Up: 

There is a heavy object suspended from the ceiling by a string.  Another segment of the same string is hanging downward from the object.  I am going to pull on the bottom string until one of the two strings breaks.  Which string is going to break first?  Why?

Today:

  • Check/review homework
  • Unit 1 Handout (PDF) Answer Key to Entire Handout
  • Notes p.12-13: Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws of Motion --This is the last content that will be on next Tuesday's test. The video failed to save properly.  Sorry :-(
  • Rocket Building Time -- Finish the rockets tomorrow! Example Launch Video
  • The plan for the next few classes
    • Wednesday: Go over homework, build rockets, homework: problems on p.16
    • Friday: Finish rockets, Launch Rockets, homework -- continued from Wednesday
    • Next Tuesday: Test review and more
    • Next Thursday: Test

Homework:

  • Practice problems 1-4 on p. 15  Video help with the problems
  • Test next Thursday over information on pages 1-16, 21, 23, and 25 of the handout.  If you need help on something, get it taken care of by Tuesday.
 
Class 3: Thursday, 9/4/25

Warm Up:  Part 1: Weather Vanes

1.  What does a weather vane do?

2.  How is a rocket like a weather vane?  How is it different?

Part 2:  Mr. Chase once said that there are 9 types of motion...

3. For letter a, on the right, describe what an object could be doing in order to have both positive velocity and positive acceleration.

4.  Do the same for the rest of the letters.

 

Today:

  • A1/2 -- Run, hide, fight drill
  • Check/review homework
  • Histogram of Physics 200 student interests 25/26  Link to 23-24 and 24-25 interests
  • Review the course expectations, YouTube Channel, Class Website, Online Textbook, etc.
  • Begin building rockets -- make a simple one this time.  Follow the instructions in Step 1 of the Instructable

Homework:

  • Multiple Parts:
    • Optional (won't show in PowerSchool) -- Sketching Motion Graphs p.11 (make sure that you have modified the curved velocity graphs -- to make them straight, so that acceleration is constant)
    • 2 Parts of the Practice Test (will show in PowerSchool):
Class 2: Tuesday, 9/2/25

Warm Up:  Suppose you're involved in a 2 lap race.  If you want your overall average speed to be twice as fast as your speed for the first lap, how much faster do you have to go during the 2nd lap?  Solution -- don't peek!

Today:

  • Fill out information sheets.
  • Adjust two graphs (p.10 and 11) to keep accelerations constant.
  • Some of you (every 3rd)... sign on to a laptop as a guest, and open Logger Pro -- Username: guest-ehs    Password: guestehs
  • Briefly preview of the rocket project -- in case you want to bring anything extra on Thursday, when we're building rockets.  Basic rocket materials will be provided.
  • Check/review homework. 
    • Do a problem or two and make a video. 
    • Some extra practice? 
  • Motion Matching Activity -- do the activity and answer the questions on page 5 of the packet.  Work in groups of 2-3 students (no more than 4).  Alternate group members attempting the challenges.  The point is to make sure that you can perform the motions and understand the graphs.  Questions are on packet page 5.
  • Today's Notes, p.9:  graphing motion, etc. Video of Notes from class

Links:

Homework:

Class 1: Thursday, 8/28/25

Physics 200: Mr. Stapleton

Warm Up:

Spin one of the "sprotating cylinders" by pressing one end until it squirts out from under your finger.  Try pressing the other end.

When the cylinder is spinning, why do you only see the symbol that you press?

Slow motion

Today:

  • Business to take care of:
    • Cell phones into the caddy.  Caddy slots are assigned based on alphabetical order.  I'll give you the order.
    • Attendance -- learn names/pronunciations
    • Student Information Sheets
    • Around the room:  sign-out sheets, passes, recycling, trash, cabinets (off limits without permission)
  • Don't worry.  This class won't be too hard. :-)
  • Website and YouTube playlist
  • Quick Preview
    • Forces and Motion (water rockets)
    • 2D Motion, Energy, and Momentum (projectiles)
    • Rotational Motion (rubber band cars)
    • Mechanics mop-up / Winter fun?
    • Electricity and Magnetism (magnetic pickups)
    • Sound and Waves (electric "guitars")
    • End of year physics fun?
  • Briefly discuss homework grading.
  • First test -- Tuesday, 9/16 -- not the end of the unit
  • Get the Unit 1 Packet:
  • Today's Notes: Kinematics p.1-3 Video of the notes -- call on people??
  • Work time (hopefully)
  • Don't forget your phones!

Links:

Optional Online Textbook Reading:

Homework: Kinematics Problems Practice #1-6 (and try 7 if you want an extra challenge) on pages. 4-7.  We will go over #7 together, next class.    Answer Key to Entire Handout