AP PHYSICS I Course DescriptionAP PHYSICS 1
AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course that explores topics such as Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory, simple circuits. Through inquiry-based learning, students will develop scientific critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Laboratory Requirement
This course requires that 25 percent of the instructional time will be spent in hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to apply the science practices.
Prerequisite
No prior course work in physics is necessary.
Students should have completed geometry and be concurrently taking Algebra II or an equivalent course. Although the Physics 1 course includes basic use of trigonometric functions, this understanding can be gained either in the concurrent math course or in the AP Physics 1 course itself.
AP Physics 1 Course Content
Students explore principles of Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory, simple circuits. The course is based on six Big Ideas, which encompass core scientific principles, theories, and processes that cut across traditional boundaries and provide a broad way of thinking about the physical world. The following are Big Ideas:
• Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge.Systems may have internal structure.
• Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
• The interactions of an object with other objects can bedescribed by forces.
• Interactions between systems can result in changes in thosesystems.
• Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrainedby conservation laws.
• Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one locationto another without the permanent transfer of mass andserve as a mathematical model for the description of otherphenomena.
Science Practices
Students establish lines of evidence and use them to develop and refine testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. Focusing on these disciplinary practices enables teachers to use the principles of scientific inquiry to promote a more engaging and rigorous experience for AP Physics students. Such practices require that students:
• Use representations and models to communicate scientificphenomena and solve scientific problems;
• Use mathematics appropriately;
• Engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guideinvestigations within the context of the AP course;
• Plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to aparticular scientific question;
• Perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence;
• Work with scientific explanations and theories; and
• Connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts,and representations in and across domains.
Inquiry-Based investigations
Twenty-five percent of instructional time is devoted to hands-on laboratory work with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations. Investigations will require students to ask questions, make observations and predictions, design experiments, analyze data, and construct arguments in a collaborative setting, where they direct and monitor their progress.
AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course that explores topics such as Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory, simple circuits. Through inquiry-based learning, students will develop scientific critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Laboratory Requirement
This course requires that 25 percent of the instructional time will be spent in hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to apply the science practices.
Prerequisite
No prior course work in physics is necessary.
Students should have completed geometry and be concurrently taking Algebra II or an equivalent course. Although the Physics 1 course includes basic use of trigonometric functions, this understanding can be gained either in the concurrent math course or in the AP Physics 1 course itself.
AP Physics 1 Course Content
Students explore principles of Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory, simple circuits. The course is based on six Big Ideas, which encompass core scientific principles, theories, and processes that cut across traditional boundaries and provide a broad way of thinking about the physical world. The following are Big Ideas:
• Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge.Systems may have internal structure.
• Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
• The interactions of an object with other objects can bedescribed by forces.
• Interactions between systems can result in changes in thosesystems.
• Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrainedby conservation laws.
• Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one locationto another without the permanent transfer of mass andserve as a mathematical model for the description of otherphenomena.
Science Practices
Students establish lines of evidence and use them to develop and refine testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. Focusing on these disciplinary practices enables teachers to use the principles of scientific inquiry to promote a more engaging and rigorous experience for AP Physics students. Such practices require that students:
• Use representations and models to communicate scientificphenomena and solve scientific problems;
• Use mathematics appropriately;
• Engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guideinvestigations within the context of the AP course;
• Plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to aparticular scientific question;
• Perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence;
• Work with scientific explanations and theories; and
• Connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts,and representations in and across domains.
Inquiry-Based investigations
Twenty-five percent of instructional time is devoted to hands-on laboratory work with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations. Investigations will require students to ask questions, make observations and predictions, design experiments, analyze data, and construct arguments in a collaborative setting, where they direct and monitor their progress.