Course Syllabus

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Course Description:

This two-semester course explores a variety of physical theories from classical kinematics and Newtonian mechanics. This course is designed to help students develop their skills in experimentation, making and understanding measurements, mathematical modeling, spatial visualization, graphical analysis, inductive and deductive reasoning, technical communication, scientific writing, problem-solving, and project planning. 

While this course will be completed primarily asynchronously, the teacher will be available to answer questions biweekly, during posted office hours. Students will be expected to be accountable for their own learning, and keep to the posted due dates. Late work will not be accepted. 

Weekly modules will open with lectures, practice problems, labs (either virtual or using household objects), and quizzes.  All weekly assignments are expected to be completed prior to the closing of the weekly module set for Friday at 7pm. All times posted are in Pacific Standard Time. Students should anticipate 12 hours of work a week. 

Students will receive 1.0 units of credit for successful completion of this course.

Note: Students must have successfully completed Geometry with a minimum grade of ‘B’ and have departmental approval to enroll in this accelerated course.  It is also important to have well-developed independent study and time management skills.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Predict the future trajectory of an object with uniform acceleration.
  2. Analyze a physical situation with multiple constant forces acting on a point mass using Newtonian mechanics.
  3. Analyze a physical situation using concepts of work and energy.
  4. Analyze a physical situation using concepts of simple harmonic motion.
  5. Design and predict the behavior of circuits. 

Laboratory Course Objectives: At the conclusion of the laboratory component of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Analyze real-world experimental data, including appropriate use of units.
  2. Relate the results of experimental data to the physical concepts discussed in the class.

Course Content:

  • Module 1: Introduction to Physics and Kinematics
  • Module 2: Dynamics and Newton’s Laws of Motion
  • Module 3: Circular Motion and Gravitation
  • Module 4: Work and Energy
  • Module 5: Momentum and Impulse
  • Module 6: Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves
  • Module 7: Electrostatics and Charge
  • Module 8: DC Circuits and Wrap Up

Textbook:

Great news: your textbook for this class is available for free online!
College Physics from OpenStax, ISBN 1-947172-01-8

You have several options to obtain this book:

You can use whichever format you want. The web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Important Notes:

  • All first-week assignments need to be completed and submitted by the due date to avoid possibly being dropped from the class.
  • Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the assignment. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab results, artwork, etc.  Please see the Xavier College Prep student handbook for policies regarding plagiarism, harassment, etc.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due