You are registered for Physics AP 1 next school year. You need to complete the following items during the summer. If you need me you can contact me by my cell (828) 989 - 4259, or my school email wayne.hamlin@bcsemail.org
While I have been spending many of the past summers in Raleigh at NC State University and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, I will frequently be in Asheville when not presenting research or attending a professional development workshop for teaching physics.
1. Purchase the book Schaum's Outlines College Physics 11th edition by Eugene Hecht (ISBN 978-0-07-175487-3). This is the current edition copyright 2012, so do NOT purchase a previous edition, and do NOT purchase the 12th edition which becomes available in November. I purchased my copy from Barnes & Noble through the internet for about ten dollars. This will act as a primary textbook for the class.
2. Each week, you will complete a problem set of around 10 - 20 problems based on their difficulty. These problems are physics related but require no previous knowledge of physics. The purpose of the problem sets is not to teach any physics concepts but to train you in problem solving techniques you will use to learn physics and solve quantitative physics problems. The problems have been taken from two Algebra II/Trigonometry texts from 1962, so they technically will only require knowledge of Algebra II and some basic right triangle trigonometry. Where an understanding of Physics may be necessary or might assist in solving the problem, the explanation will be brief, but found with the problems to help you. In case you wish or need to work ahead with an upcoming vacation scheduled, all problem sets will be online for three weeks prior to their due date. I am attaching the first three weeks problem sets to this document. They are due on specific dates listed in the table below and will be removed from the school web site. You may type or scan your worked out solutions. While I would prefer email correspondance, you must either send your responses via email (wayne.hamlin@bcsemail.org), or snail-mail them to me through the US Postal Service postmarked by the due date for each problem set. Since summer mail to the school is likely to get lost, you may mail solutions to my home address given below:
Wayne Hamlin
33 Winterberry Lane
Candler, NC 28715
The total sum of the problem sets will count as a test grade. Word problems will NOT be graded as simply correct or incorrect, but will be primarily based on the logic you use and show me in your attempt to solve them. Word problems will be graded using the following rubric:
Points:
0 No attempt is shown OR due date is missed
1 Solution is attempted but illogical OR correct answer is given, but no work is shown.
2 Logical solution is attempted but no answer is given.
3 Logical solution is attempted but incomplete. Answer is incorrect.
4 Solution is logical but answer is incorrect
5 Solution is logical; answer is correct
Problem Set
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Dates
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Online Dates
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Due Date
by Midnight
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1
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June 11 - June 17
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May 28 - June 17
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June 17
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2
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June 18 - June 24
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June 4 - June 24
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June 24
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3
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June 25 - July 01
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June 11 - July 01
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July 01
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4
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July 02 - July 08
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June 18 - July 08
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July 08
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5
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July 09 - July 15
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June 25 - July 15
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July 15
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6
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July 16 - July 22
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July 02 - July 22
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July 22
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7
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July 23 - July 29
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July 09 - July 29
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July 29
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8
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July 30 - Aug 05
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July 16 - Aug 05
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Aug 05
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9
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Aug 06 - Aug 12
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July 23 - Aug 12
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Aug 12
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10
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Aug 13 - Aug 19
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July 30 - Aug 19
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Aug 19
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11
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Aug 20 - Aug 26
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Aug 06 - Aug 26
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Aug 26
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(Each problem set should only take 30 min - 1 hour)
3. To make your understanding of physical phenomenon more personal, I suggest you
complete the following items this summer:
a. Ride a bicycle on flat land b. Ride a bicycle up hill and down hill
c. Walk and run up and down stairs d. Ride in a car with cruise control on
e. Ride in a car that is accelerating f. Ride in a car that is decelerating
g. Jump on a trampoline h. Slide down a water slide
i. Push a grocery cart j. Pull a grocery cart
k. Ride a carousel or merry go round l. Ride a rollercoaster
m. Swim on top of the water n. Swim under the water
o. Swim to the bottom of the pool p. Float on a raft or tube
q. Bend a hose while water is flowing through r. Turn a switch on/off
s. Turn up/down the volume on a stereo with t. Play some musical instruments
a knob. v. Look in a mirror at a clothing store
u. Look in a mirror in your home x. Look at something half in/half out of
w. Look at yourself in a spoon (front and back) water
y. Test your home fire alarm z. Watch Dr. Who
aa. Throw a ball and/or frisbee bb. Go waterskiing
cc. Walk around and look in a Radio Shack dd. Watch a lightning storm
ee. Touch a hot car or walk through hot sand ff. Drink ice water
gg. Ride an old coal powered train hh. Swing from a rope tied to a tree
ii. Watch a sunrise, watch a sunset jj. Ride as many rides as you can at an
amusement park.
kk. Count the stars.
ll. Look through someone's glasses mm. Look for rainbows
nn. Fly a kite oo. Play with refrigerator magnets
pp. Put Mentos in Diet Coke qq. Watch fireworks on the 4th of July
....and when you do this, wonder, how are all these events related to PHYSICS?
The first day for students is Monday, August 28, 2017