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AP® Physics C: Mechanics Self-Paced

Syllabus

Essential Questions:

How do changes in the properties of a system predict future states of the system?
How do we describe object and system interactions?
How do the parts of a physical system impact the whole system?
How do conservation laws influence interactions between objects within a system?

Course Learning Objectives:

Create representations that depict physical phenomena
Conduct analyses to derive, calculate, estimate or predict physical phenomena
Describe experimental procedures and methods, interpret results and scientifically support claims.

Unit 1: Kinematics (Topics 1-4)

Topic 1: Introduction to Concepts of Motion

Topic Learning Objectives:

Understand the rules and policies of the course, and expectations of you as a contributing member of our learning community.
Begin to build community by sharing important information with your teacher and classmates about yourself and your school.
Develop your skills for navigating the course environment and using the various course tools
Find the Pearson Mastering eBook platform, and take the steps to register and create an account.
Complete some logistical assignments to prepare for success in this course.

Topic 2: Kinematics in One Dimension

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe a change in an object’s position.
Describe the average velocity and acceleration of an object.
Describe the instantaneous displacement, velocity, and acceleration of an object as a function of time.

Topic 3: Vectors and Coordinate Systems

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe a vector or scalar quantity using magnitude and direction, as appropriate.
Describe how vectors can be resolved into their components and written in unit-vector notation.

Topic 4: Kinematics in Two Dimensions

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the reference frame of a given observer.
Describe the motion of objects as seen by observers in different inertial reference frames.
Describe the motion of an object moving in two or three dimensions.

Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics (Topics 5-7)

Topic 5: Forces and Dynamics in a line

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe a force as an interaction between two objects and identify both objects for any force.
Describe the forces exerted on an object using a free-body diagram.
Describe or identify the conditions under which a system's velocity remains constant.
Describe or identify the conditions under which a system's velocity changes.
Describe the kinetic friction between two surfaces.
Describe the static friction between two surfaces.
Describe the motion of an object subject to a resistive force.

Topic 6: Forces and Dynamics along a plane

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the interaction of two objects using Newton's third law and the representation of paired forces exerting on each object.
Describe the motion of an object traveling in a circular path.
Describe the conditions under which the magnitude of a system's apparent weight is different from the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on that system.

Topic 7: Newton and Kepler’s Laws, and Gravity

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the gravitational interaction between two objects with mass.
Describe situations in which the gravitational force can be considered constant.
Describe the gravitational force exerted on an object from a uniform, spherical distribution of mass.
Describe the difference between inertial and gravitational mass.
Describe circular orbits using Kepler's third law.

Unit 3: Work, Energy and Power (Topics 8 and 9)

Topic 8: Work and Kinetic Energy

Topic Objectives:

Describe the translational kinetic energy of an object in terms of the object's mass and velocity.
Describe the work done on an object or system by a given force or collection of forces.

Topic 9: Interactions and Potential Energy

Topic Objectives:

Describe the potential energy of a system.
Describe the energies present in a system.
Describe the behavior of a system using conservation of mechanical energy principles.
Describe how the selection of a system indicates whether the energy of that system changes.
Describe the transfer of energy into, out of, or within a system in terms of power.

Unit 4: Linear Momentum (Topics 10 and 11)

Topic 10: Momentum and Impulse

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the linear momentum of an object.
Describe the impulse delivered to a system.
Describe the relationship between the impulse given to a system and the change in momentum of a system.

Topic 11: Conservation and Collisions

Topic Learning Objectives

Describe the behavior of a system using the conservation of linear momentum.
Describe how the selection of a system indicates whether the momentum of that system changes.
Describe whether an interaction between systems is elastic or inelastic.

Unit 5: Torque and Rotational Dynamics (Topics 12-13)

Topic 12: Rotational Motion

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the rotation of a system with respect to time using angular displacement, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.
Describe the linear motion of a point on rotating rigid system that corresponds to the rotational motion of that point, and vice versa.

Topic 13: Rotational Dynamics

Topic Learning Objectives:

Describe the torques exerted on a rigid system.
Describe the rotational inertia of a rigid system relative to a given axis of rotation.
Describe or identify the conditions under which a system's angular velocity remains constant using a dynamics analysis.

Unit 6: Energy and Momentum of Rotating Systems (Topic 14)

Topic 14: Rotational Energy and Momentum

Topic Learning Objectives::

Describe the rotational kinetic energy of an object or rigid system in terms of the object's or rigid system's rotational inertia and angular velocity.
Describe the work done on an object or system by a net torque.
Describe the angular momentum of an object or rigid system.
Describe the angular impulse delivered to an object or rigid system by a torque.
Relate an object's or rigid system's change in angular momentum to the angular impulse given to the object or rigid system.
Describe the behavior of a system using the conservation of angular momentum.
Describe the kinetic energy of a system that has translational and rotational motion.
Describe the motion of a system that is rolling without slipping and a system that is rolling while slipping.

Unit 7: Oscillations (Topic 15)

Topic 15: Oscillations

Topic Learning Objectives:

Identify motion as simple harmonic motion.
Describe the frequency and period of an object exhibiting simple harmonic motion.
Describe the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of an object exhibiting simple harmonic motion using representations of that motion.
Describe the mechanical energy of a system exhibiting simple harmonic motion.
Describe the properties of a physical pendulum.