Concepts in Physics: High School Physics - Part 1 With Weekly Labs/Projects

Save $28 when you use code DANLEYSAVINGS28 until April 30, 2025.

A grade is available if requested.  Requirements for a grade are to complete all three tests and 6 of the experiments/projects of the learner’s choosing.

REFUND POLICY: Full refund until 12 hours after the first class meeting (6 hours in the summer).  

This is a 16 week full-semester class that covers concepts in High School Physics. Although technically Part 1 and Part 2 can be taken in any order, I will be integrating previous concepts into later classes so that learners are able to see how concepts relate to each other and learn to solve problems by synthesizing together information from different concepts.  To succeed in the course, learners should have solid Algebra 1 skills.

Images, activities, and short experiments will help solidify the concepts in class.  During class I will teach by the Socratic method as much as possible while going over concepts and solving problems.  Toward the end of each class we will do a worksheet with problems and short answer questions together to help students master the topics for that class.  Also provided are optional homework problems with answers, reading assignments, and project-based assignments that learners can do at home as well as three optional tests with answers so learners can check their understanding.   We will not, however, be doing full physics lab experiments with lab reports.  

Week 1 - Linear Motion
Speed, Velocity, Acceleration, Free Falling Objects, Objects Thrown Upward, Air Resistance

Lab/project:  DETERMINING CONSTANT ACCELERATION WITH GRAVITY


Week 2 - Projectile Motion 
Vectors and Scalars, Working with Vectors, Upwardly Launched Projectiles

Lab/Project: PROJECTILE MOTION (SHOOTING A MARBLE FROM A RAMP)


Week 3 - Newton's Laws of Motion
Newton's Three Laws of Motion, Weight, Friction

Lab/Project: HOW HIGH CAN YOUR ROCKET GO?


Week 4 - Momentum
Changes in Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic and Inelastic Collisions, Momentum Vectors

Lab/Project: EGG DROP CHALLENGE 


Week 5 - Energy
Work, Power, Potential and Kinetic Energy, Conservation of Energy, Machines

Lab/Project: TESTING A CLASS 1 LEVER


Week 6 - Circular Motion and Center of Gravity
Rotational Speed, Centripetal and Centrifugal forces, Center of gravity

Lab/Project: LOCATING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY


Week 7 - Rotational Mechanics
Torque, Rotational Inertia, Angular Momentum

Lab/Project: INVESTIGATING THE MOTION OF A PENDULUM


Week 8 - Universal Gravitation and Gravitational Interactions
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, Gravitational Fields, Weight and Weightlessness, Ocean Tides, Black Holes

Lab/Project: CALCULATING THE RADIUS OF THE EARTH


Week 9 - Special Relativity: Space and Time
Space-Time, The First and Second Postulates of Special Relativity, Time Dilation, Space and Time Travel

Lab/Project: WRITE A SHORT STORY WITH CORRECT CALCULATIONS ON THE TWIN PARADOX


Week 10 - Special Relativity: Length, Momentum, and Energy
Length Contraction, Momentum and Inertia in Relativity, Equivalence of Mass and Energy, Kinetic Energy in Relativity, The Correspondence Principle

Lab/Project: LIGHT FROM DISTANT STARS (INTENSITY VERSUS DISTANCE)


Week 11 - Solids and Liquids
Density, Elasticity, Compression and Tension, Liquid Pressure, Buoyancy, Floatation, Pascal's Principle

Lab/Project: BUILDING A MODEL SUBMARINE


Week 12 - Gases
Atmospheric Pressure, Barometers, Boyle's Law, the Bernoulli Principle

Lab/Project: TAKE FLIGHT - DESIGN A FLYING OBJECT


Week 13 - Heat and Heat Transfer
Temperature, Heat, Specific Heat Capacity, Thermal Expansion, Conduction, Convection, Radiation

Lab/Project: COFFEE CUP CALORIMETRY


Week 14 - Thermodynamics
The First Law of Thermodynamics, Engines, Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Lab Project: THE HEAT DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE (A RESEARCH PROJECT)


Week 15 - Vibrations and Waves
Anatomy of a Wave, Transverse and Longitudinal Waves, Interference, Standing Waves, The Doppler Effect

Lab/Project: MEASURING THE SPEED OF LIGHT


Week 16 - Sound
Sound in Air, Loudness, Resonance, Interference, Beats

Lab/Project: ABSORPTION OF SOUND