PhysicsCourseDescription

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Physics

First semester: The first semester is split into two units, thermodynamics and gas laws. During thermodynamics the course covers the zeroth, first, and second law of thermodynamics, and how they manifest in the flow of energy in matter. During the first unit there will be weekly labs covering Newton's law of cooling, the relationship between albedo and surface temperature, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. A final assessment of these skills will take place during the first project, which is to design, test, and build a refrigerator which does not use electricity. During the unit on gas laws the course will cover how temperature, pressure, volume, and energy are interrelated within a system of gases. During this second unit there will be weekly labs covering Avagadro's law, gas kinematics, Charles' law, the Gay-Lussac law, and the ideal gas law. A final assessment of these skill will take place during the second project, which is to design, test, and build a hot air balloon.

Second semester: The second semester is also split into two units, quantum mechanics and optics. During quantum mechanics the course covers blackbody radiation, the Stefan-Boltzman equation, the Planck radiation formula, and Wien's displacement law.. During the third unit there will be a single major project composed of three weekly components covering the relationship between surface temperature and colors radiated by heated objects. This project will culminate in the calculation and measurement of the surface temperature of the Sun taken from color data collected at the surface of the Earth. During the unit on optics the course will covering how light behaves in its interaction with matter. During optics the course will cover refraction, diffraction, optical absorption, and the inverse square law in a series of weekly labs. The final assessment for this course will involve students calculation and measurement of the depth of Earth's atmosphere.