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AP® Physics 1 Physical Lab

AP® Physics 1 Physical Lab

This Advanced Placement Physics 1 course is equivalent to a first semester, algebra-based, introductory Physics college-level course. The rigor of this course is consistent with colleges and universities and will prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. Upon successful completion of the exam, students may receive college credit and will be well-prepared for advanced physics coursework. Additional details on this course from College Board can be found here: AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based.

Students will investigate topics such as Newtonian mechanics, including kinematics, dynamics, circular motion, orbits and gravity, work and energy, impulse and momentum, simple harmonic motion, and rotational motion. Emphasis is placed on Conservation Laws, including energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum.

This course incorporates a variety of textbook and multimedia resources and has a comprehensive lab program that meets College Board requirements. Students will perform hands-on lab work using materials from their lab kit, conduct virtual experiments, share experimental data to analyze larger data sets and participate in lab-based discussions with their peers. Students will also engage in collaborative activities, including discussions, that develop scientific literacy and connect physics principles to real-world applications and current events, in order to develop a deeper understanding of physics.

Students will be expected to enroll in My AP Classroom through their VHS Learning AP course and will be guided to complete review work in My AP Classroom throughout the year. My AP Classroom resources include AP Daily Videos and unit-based Personal Progress Checks, which include AP-style multiple choice and free response questions.

Students enrolled in VHS Learning Advanced Placement courses with a passing grade are expected to take the AP Exam. Students register for AP exams through their local school or testing site as “Exam Only” students. AP exam scores will be reported to VHS Learning through My AP Classroom; exam results will not affect the student's VHS Learning grade or future enrollment in VHS Learning courses.

This AP course has a required summer assignment. The summer assignment is a review of prerequisite content and critical concepts students must be comfortable with before beginning the course. Students are expected to complete their summer assignment before the course begins and submit their work by the end of Week 1. Students who register on or after September 1 will receive an extension to complete the summer assignment by the end of Week 3.

This course requires purchasing a physical lab kit.

Acknowledgements

  • One full year of high school Algebra 2.
  • In addition to the enrollment fee, this course has an Additional Course Fee of $80 and a required lab kit fee of $143. Lab kits shipped internationally may incur additional fees.
  • International schools must have the ability to receive lab materials through customs.
  • The required summer assignment for AP® Physics 1 can be found in our AP® Summer Work Directory.
  • Prior experience in a comprehensive hands-on lab course is required.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

  • How do we distinguish an object from a system and how does the internal structure of a system determine its properties?
  • How do fields that exist in space explain interactions between objects and systems?
  • How do forces describe the interactions between objects?
  • How do interactions between systems result in changes within those systems?
  • How do conservation laws constrain the changes that occur as a result of interactions between systems?
  • How are the forces acting on objects within a fluid and the behavior of the fluid influenced by its physical properties?

Course Objectives:

  • Use representations and models to communicate physics phenomena and solve physics problems.
  • Use mathematics appropriately to calculate unknown physics values and support physics principles.
  • Engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP Physics 1 curriculum.
  • Plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to a particular scientific question.
  • Perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
  • Articulate scientific principles, laws or concepts and justify claims with evidence.
  • Connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and representations in and across domains of physics.

Additional Requirements

  • Students will need to access a number of YouTube videos throughout the course.
  • Accessibility Note: Although every effort has been made to make this course accessible to all students, some resources or activities in this course, such as audio files, images of visual art pieces, or hands-on activities, may present accessibility challenges.
  • Students will need to document lab work by taking digital images and videos of their lab setup and experiment in progress.
  • Students will use the web app version of Vernier Video Analysis and will be required to have access to a Chrome browser to use the application.
  • The following additional materials are required: “Standard” (#1) metal paperclip Metric ruler A ball A rotating chair or stool A smooth surface An empty plastic bottle (milk or soda)