5/25 Physics update

Hi folks,

Well this was it!  The last day of physics.  I have to be honest…I'm really going to miss this class.  It was very well behaved, inquisitive and cooperative but, at the same time, had a great sense of humor and fun.  I had a great year this year and I hope everyone else did too.

My plan is to grade the finals as soon as possible and email the test results and grades by next Friday if not sooner.  I also plan on getting everyone a full detailed syllabus that includes everything we covered this year (which was quite a lot).   I'll "snail" mail the finals to anyone who would like it back.  Please, just send me your address so that I can get that out in the mail once they are all set.

I also hope to get a schedule of high school and middle school classes ready by next week as well, for anyone who might be interested.

Thanks again for a great year.  There are many choices out there for classes and I truly appreciate the fact that you chose me for your physics class.  Thank you very much.

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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Physics update 5/18

Hi folks,

Today we wrapped up our physics lectures/labs with electricity.  We took a look at voltage, resistance and amperage.  I challenged everyone to create 3 different circuits.   One with just one light bulb and then two different ones that lit 2 bulbs.  To light the two bulbs they needed to create a series and a parallel circuit.   We took a look at the differences between the series circuit and the parallel circuit as far as resistance, amperage and voltage goes.  We also talked a bit about Ohm's law, voltage = amperage/resistance.  

No homework this week since next week is the final exam.  Depending on the student, the final may or may not take 2 hours, so rides may want to be on call or the students may want to bring something to do if they finish early.

All content that has been covered, including last week, will be fair game for the final.  Today's content, electricity, will not be on the final.  I will provide all formulas and constants.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any help this week.  We can set up virtual "office" meetings with my online classroom if you need any help.

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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5/11 Physics update and Homework due 5/18

Hi folks,

Today, I showed everyone the light!  Well, specifically, we talked about light and how it works.  We covered reflection, refraction and a little bit of color.  The students had the opportunity to play with lasers and many different lenses and prisms.  We also explored the difference between the angle of refraction between oil and water.

Homework for this week is:

Read pp. 442 - 457

Do Think and Explain questions pg. 461 #'s 1 - 10

Review your old quizzes!!!  Bring in any questions you may have next week so we can go over them in class.

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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5/5 Physics Update and Homework due 5/12

Hi folks,

Today we covered static electricity.  We looked at what charges are, which charges attract and which repel, and how to move charges from one object to another.  We also saw how some objects are easy to charge while others are more difficult.

Homework due 5/12 is

Read Conceptual Physics pp. 500 - 514

Do review questions #'s 1- 25

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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Physics update 4/27 and Homework due 5/5

Hi folks,

Today we finished off our energy block and our sound block in one shot!  And had a lot of fun to boot!  We discussed wave interference, doppler effect, and sonic booms as well as sound waves and musical instruments.  Oh, and the speed of sound compared to the speed of light.  Not only that, but in order to take a look at the concept of sound waves and musical instruments we created the most annoying musical instrument ever!

You may want to start thinking about the final at this point.  The best way to prepare is to go over all those old quizzes and, I'd recommend, retake them.  Make sure you feel comfortable with most of the material in the quizzes since that's the material that will be on the test.  Let me know if there's material you're struggling with.  We can always spend time on it.

Homework for this week is 

Think and Explain questions pg 389 #'s 6 - 10

Think and Explain questions pg 402 #'s 1 - 11

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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4/20 physics update and Homework due 4/27

Hi folks,

Today we took a look at the concept of resonance.  Resonance is basically the way waves carry energy from one object to another object.  We took a look a several videos for examples of resonance and also had fun resonating a balloon using a virtual piano.  Very cool.  Lastly, we made a 6 pendulum pendulum where the swings of some pendulums caused others to swing as well.

Homework for next week is to:

Read Chapter 26 in Conceptual Physics.  Pages 390 - 400

Do Review questions #'s 1- 20 (Seems like a lot but they should all be quick.)

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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Physics Update 4/13 and Homework due 4/20

Hi folks,

Last week we spent time looking at the definitions of waves and wave behavior.  Today, we made some waves.  We went outside and, using rope, looked at the relationship between frequency, wavelength and speed of waves.  (And we really befuddled a poor grumpy mail man!)

Homework for this week is to...

Do Think and Explain problems pg 388 #'s 1 - 5

Do Think and Solve problems pg 389 #'s 1 - 3

By the way, everyone did excellent on today's quiz!  Congratulations!!!

 

Never Stop Wondering

"Science Jim"  Mueller

(919) 929-9791

A Fun Approach to Serious Physics!

Sciencejim

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