A grade for the class is available if requested.

Save $26 on enrollment when you use coupon code DANLEYSAVE26 by November 21, 2024.

REFUND POLICY: Full refund until 12 hours after the first class meeting (6 hours in the summer).  If you do not notify me within 12 hours of the first class that you wish to be refunded, you will need to contact Outschool support to request a refund which they may or may not grant. 

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. 

Week 1 - Light
The Speed of Light, Electromagnetic Waves, Transparent and Opaque Materials, Polarization, The Color Spectrum

Week 2 - Color
Color by Reflection and Transmission, Colors of Light, Colors of Pigments, Spectroscopy

Week 3 - Reflection and Refraction
Reflection of Light and Mirrors, Diffuse Reflection, Refraction of Light, Reflection and Refraction of Sounds

Week 4 - Lenses
Converging Versus Diverging Lenses, Image Formation with a Lens, Ray Diagrams, The Human Eye

Week 5 - Diffraction and Interference
Huygen's Principle, Diffraction, Young's Interference Experiment, Iridescence, Lasers, Holograms

Week 6 - Electrostatics
Electrical Forces and Charges, Coulomb's Law, Conductors and Insulators, Polarization, Charging Through Friction or Induction

Week 7 - Electric Fields and Electrical Potential
Electric Fields, Shielding, Electric Potential, The Van de Graaff Generator

Week 8 - Electric Current
Flow of Charge, Current and Voltage, Resistance and Ohm's Law, Alternating and Direct Current, Electric Power

Week 9 - Electric Circuits
Series Circuits, Parallel Circuits, Resistors, Capacitors

Week 10 - Magnetism
Magnetic Poles, Magnetic Fields, Magnetic Domains, Electric Currents and Magnetic Fields, Motors

Week 11 - Electromagnetic Induction
Faraday's Law, Generators, Transformers, Power Transmission, Induction of Electric and Magnetic Fields

Week 12 - Molecules and Solids
Bonding, Potential Energy Diagrams for Molecules, Van der Waals Bonds, Band Theory of Solids, Semiconductors and Doping

Week 13 - Nuclear Physics and Radioactivity
Binding Energy, Radioactivity, Alpha Decay, Beta Decay, Gamma Decay, Half-life, Radiocarbon Dating

Week 14 - Effects and Uses of Radiation
Transmutation of Elements, Nuclear Reactions, Radiation Therapy, Uses of Radiation in Medicine

Week 15 - Elementary Particles
Particle Accelerators, Elementary Particle Physics, Antiparticles, Classification of Particles, Quarks, The Standard Model, Grand Unified Theories

Week 16 - Astrophysics and Cosmology
Stars and Galaxies, The Birth and Death of Stars, Gravity and the Curvature of Space, The Expanding Universe, The Big Bang