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FizziksGuy

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  1. FizziksGuy
    Although by no means an exhaustive list, these 10 quick tips may help you secure that extra point or two on your upcoming Regents Physics exam.


    Mass and inertia are the same thing.
    To find the resultant, line your vectors up tip-to-tail, and draw a line from the starting point of the first vector to the ending point of the last vector.
    Any object moving in a circular path is accelerating toward the center of the circle.
    Acceleration of an object is equal to the net force on the object divided by the object’s mass.
    The normal force always points at an angle of 90° from the surface.
    Opposite charges and magnetic poles attract, likes repel.
    Gravitational forces and electrostatic forces both follow an inverse square law relationship, where the strength of the force is related to one divided by the square of the distance between the charges/masses.
    The force of gravity on an object, commonly referred to as weight, is equal to mg, where g is the gravitational field strength (also referred to as the acceleration due to gravity).
    The mass-energy equivalence can be calculated using E=mc^2. If a mass is given in universal mass units, however, you can do a straight unit conversion using 1u = 931 MeV.
    Protons and neutrons fall into the category of baryons, which are hadrons. Smaller particles, such as electrons, fall into the category of leptons. Mesons are rare, weird particles you probably haven’t heard of.

    Most importantly, use your reference table. When in doubt, write down the information you're asked to find, what you're given, and use your reference table to help you narrow down what you should be doing. In the free response part of the test, make sure to show your work in detail with a formula, substitution with units, and an answer with units.

    Find these and many more tips for success at APlusPhysics.com.
  2. FizziksGuy
    The Huffington Post recently published an article on the 13 best-paying college majors. Note that 12 of the 13 require a strong physics and science background, and all 13 require strong math skills. Thanks to Louis Carusone of Eastridge High School for sharing this article and link. You can find the entire article online at the Huffington Post. I have summarized their data below:


    [TABLE="align: left"]

    [TR] [TD]Major[/TD]
    [TD]Median Starting Pay[/TD]
    [TD]Mid-Career Median Pay[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Petroleum Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$97,900[/TD]
    [TD]$155,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Chemical Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$64,500[/TD]
    [TD]$109,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Electrical Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$61,300[/TD]
    [TD]$103,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Materials Science / Eng[/TD]
    [TD]$60,400[/TD]
    [TD]$103,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Aerospace Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$60,700[/TD]
    [TD]$102,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Computer Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$61,800[/TD]
    [TD]$101,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Physics[/TD]
    [TD]$49,800[/TD]
    [TD]$101,000[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Applied Mathematics[/TD]
    [TD]$52,600[/TD]
    [TD]$98,600[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Computer Science[/TD]
    [TD]$56,600[/TD]
    [TD]$97,900[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Nuclear Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$65,100[/TD]
    [TD]$97,800[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Biomedical Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$53,800[/TD]
    [TD]$97,800[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Economics[/TD]
    [TD]$47,300[/TD]
    [TD]$94,700[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Mechanical Engineering[/TD]
    [TD]$58,400[/TD]
    [TD]$94,500[/TD]
    [/TR]

    [/TABLE]
  3. FizziksGuy

    Acoustic Levitation

    By FizziksGuy,

    Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a way to use sound waves to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals. While the connection between levitation and drug development may not be immediately apparent, a special relationship emerges at the molecular level. Read more: http://www.anl.gov/articles/no-magic-show-real-world-levitation-inspire-better-pharmaceuticals


  4. FizziksGuy
    <p><iframe width="660" height="371" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GyTFznnrtTs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
    <p>Questions here: <a href="https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_1.pdf" target="_blank">https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_1.pdf</a></p>
    <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/f1UsO3MAXNk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>


    <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~3/f1UsO3MAXNk/" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>
  5. FizziksGuy
    After many, many long hours and tons of great feedback from physics teachers across the globe, I'm thrilled to announce the AP Physics 1 Essentials, a guidebook / review book for the upcoming AP Physics 1 course, is due for release in late August. I began work on this project in the summer of 2010 when conversations at the AP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., led to a number of different teachers talking about the need for a detailed course breakdown to support the change, followed by discussion of what the true cost of the change would be in terms of instructor hours, curriculum rewrites, resource revisions, etc. It was obvious there was going to be a need for a guidebook for the course, and my goal was to provide a short "everything you need to know" book that was easy-to-read, fun, engaging, and inexpensive so that students could pick this up as a guidebook/review book without having to purchase entirely new textbooks to support the changing course.

    I quickly picked up a following of fans eager to see the project succeed and more than willing to contribute what they could, from early draft versions of the Division of Content plans (which only vaguely resemble the final curriculum guides), to proposed and/or recommended formula sheets, to technical reviews, editing, "wish lists," etc. I've been amazed at the positive response and helpfulness of so many, that has allowed this project to progress through multiple obstacles, from revised content and organizational issues through technical hurdles such as a corrupt book file caught nearly 80% into the rough draft. I guess this qualifies as checking the "nothing worthwhile is easy" box on the project.

    I'm grateful to my family for allowing me the many hours early in the morning, late in the evening, and during the summer to work on this effort. As I write this, for example, I'm on vacation with my family. It's almost 6 am, I'm watching the Allegheny River flow past, and just saw a bald eagle fly up the river, not 30 feet from where I sit typing. I also must thank the many physics instructors across the globe who have contributed in so many ways, from editing to hints to encouragement... but I need to say a special thank you to the APlusPhysics community. The website began as a tool to use in my own classroom, and quickly grew so popular that I felt compelled to continue to expand it at the request of its users. With more than 30,000 students using it EACH MONTH, I've been absolutely floored by the number of thank-you messages, letters of encouragement, and success stories contributed voluntarily by community members. You guys set me on this path, made the site and the books successful, and it's your encouragement and support that have kept me at this project through the wee hours of the night and long hours of frustration.

    Moving on to the final product… I'm proud to say the book is finished. Sure, it has a few more edits to make, a few more tweaks here and there, but everything is on track for a late August 2013 release. My long-term goal was to have the book released one year before teachers began teaching the revised AP course, and it appears we'll hit that deadline on the nose (with special thanks to the AP for delaying the change a year from the date I was originally told back in the summer of 2010). I'm hoping you find it valuable to your courses and studies. This book was written as the guidebook I would want my students to have for the course. Not a full standard physics textbook, because my students don't learn and fully read their physics textbook (except in snippets), but rather a book designed to be used as written, read AND understood, with tons of example problems and solutions.

    Thank you so much for your tremendous support. I hope you enjoy AP Physics 1 Essentials as much as I enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and so many other amazing people on this project.

    Make it a great day!
  6. FizziksGuy
    <p>After many, many long hours and tons of great feedback from physics teachers across the globe, I’m thrilled to announce the AP Physics 1 Essentials, a guidebook / review book for the upcoming AP Physics 1 course, is due for release in late August. I began work on this project in the summer of 2010 when conversations at the AP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., led to a number of different teachers talking about the need for a detailed course breakdown to support the change, followed by discussion of what the true cost of the change would be in terms of instructor hours, curriculum rewrites, resource revisions, etc. It was obvious there was going to be a need for a guidebook for the course, and my goal was to provide a short “everything you need to know” book that was easy-to-read, fun, engaging, and inexpensive so that students could pick this up as a guidebook/review book without having to purchase entirely new textbooks to support the changing course.</p>
    <p>I quickly picked up a following of fans eager to see the project succeed and more than willing to contribute what they could, from early draft versions of the Division of Content plans (which only vaguely resemble the final curriculum guides), to proposed and/or recommended formula sheets, to technical reviews, editing, “wish lists,” etc. I’ve been amazed at the positive response and helpfulness of so many, that has allowed this project to progress through multiple obstacles, from revised content and organizational issues through technical hurdles such as a corrupt book file caught nearly 80% into the rough draft. I guess this qualifies as checking the ”nothing worthwhile is easy” box on the project.</p>
    <p><img title="AP1Cover.jpg" src="http://aplusphysics.com/flux/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AP1Cover.jpg" alt="AP1Cover" width="550" height="452" border="0" /></p>
    <p>I’m grateful to my family for allowing me the many hours early in the morning, late in the evening, and during the summer to work on this effort. As I write this, for example, I’m on vacation with my family. It’s almost 6 am, I’m watching the Allegheny River flow past, and just saw a bald eagle fly up the river, not 30 feet from where I sit typing. I also must thank the many physics instructors across the globe who have contributed in so many ways, from editing to hints to encouragement… but I need to say a special thank you to the APlusPhysics community. The website began as a tool to use in my own classroom, and quickly grew so popular that I felt compelled to continue to expand it at the request of its users. With more than 30,000 students using it EACH MONTH, I’ve been absolutely floored by the number of thank-you messages, letters of encouragement, and success stories contributed voluntarily by community members. You guys set me on this path, made the site and the books successful, and it’s your encouragement and support that have kept me at this project through the wee hours of the night and long hours of frustration.</p>
    <p>Moving on to the final product… I’m proud to say the book is finished. Sure, it has a few more edits to make, a few more tweaks here and there, but everything is on track for a late August 2013 release. My long-term goal was to have the book released one year before teachers began teaching the revised AP course, and it appears we’ll hit that deadline on the nose (with special thanks to the AP for delaying the change a year from the date I was originally told back in the summer of 2010). I’m hoping you find it valuable to your courses and studies. This book was written as the guidebook I would want my students to have for the course. Not a full standard physics textbook, because my students don’t learn and fully read their physics textbook (except in snippets), but rather a book designed to be used as written, read AND understood, with tons of example problems and solutions.</p>
    <p>Thank you so much for your tremendous support. I hope you enjoy AP Physics 1 Essentials as much as I enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and so many other amazing people on this project.</p>
    <p>Make it a great day!</p>
    <!-- Start Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><!-- End Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/DnWJQ6JEW_o" height="1" width="1"/>

    Source
  7. FizziksGuy
    A few years ago I put together a review/guide book for the AP Physics 1 course the College Board recently released.  The project was started around 2009, but took several years to complete as the scope and direction of the College Board’s AP Physics 1 course continued to evolve, as more and more information about the course was released, modified, re-released, etc.  It has done fairly well, and after the release of the first exam, a second edition was released, which included minor edits, modifications, and rephrasings in the main text, but also incorporated a significant number of more challenging questions in the appendix, though many of them remain numerically focused.
    The Goal
    The goal of this book was never to be a “sole source to success in AP Physics 1.”  The AP Physics 1 course is a VERY challenging introductory physics course, which requires a strong foundation in fundamental physics principles, logical problem solving, and transfer of basic concepts to new and unique situations.  In my humble opinion, building skills of this sort requires more than a review book.  It requires more than videos.  It requires extensive hands-on work with applications utilizing the concepts, individual and group problem solving, debate, discussion, and research.  It’s a very high level of expectation for what has been largely touted as an introductory physics course.  For many, AP Physics 1 will be the only physics course they take.  I am concerned that the course offers only a subset of what I would like to see in a general survey course of physics.  Though it covers basic circuits, it is light on electrostatics.  Though it covers mechanical waves, it doesn’t touch electromagnetic waves, optics, or modern physics.  If these were the only topics my students were introduced to in their only physics course, I feel I would be doing them a disservice, and not providing them an opportunity to see more of the breadth and beauty of the field I so love and enjoy.
    The AP1 Essentials book, as written, was designed as the book I’d want to use with my students.  The book which I’d ask them to read outside of class (coupled with video mini-lessons) so that when they arrived in class, they’d have some level of exposure to the basic material allowing us to use our class time more efficiently for those deeper explorations into the topics under study.
    Public Response
    Public response to the book has been strongly bimodal.  Overall reviews are very positive (4.5/5 stars on Amazon.com), with the primary criticisms and 1-star reviews focusing on the book utilizing too much numerical problem solving, and focusing on basic problems that are “too easy” compared to the actual AP 1 test questions.  These are VERY valid criticisms, and I agree with them.  However, in the context in which the book is intended to be used, these criticisms are inconsistent with the book’s purpose.
    AP Physics 1 Concerns
    A grader of this year’s AP Physics 1 exam recently stated that he was surprised to learn that “not including the date, birth date and school code, a student could have made a perfect score on the whole exam without writing down a single number.”  I find this extremely troubling.  I am in favor of questions that test understanding, but I also believe that many physics students who go on to successful careers in STEM fields learn by first mastering the calculations, mathematics, and numeracy of problems, and over time build deeper conceptual understandings as they recognize patterns in their answers.  There is a place for these conceptual and symbolic problem solving exercises in AP Physics 1 and on the AP Physics 1 exam, but there is also a significant place for what I’ll call physics numeracy for lack of a better term — traditional problem solving that involves recognizing appropriate relationships, manipulation equations, finding a numerical answer, and verifying that numerical answer makes some sort of physical sense.
    Further, I strongly believe that the College Board’s vision for the AP program should focus on providing opportunities for high school students to earn college credit consistent with the courses offered by most colleges.  More simply, the AP courses should strive to mimic what colleges are offering and testing in their corresponding courses.  In the case of AP Physics 1, the College Board is attempting to lead the way in physics education reform.  Regardless of personal opinions on the direction of the AP Physics 1 curriculum and exam, which may very well be valid, a change of this sort shouldn’t be led by the AP program, but rather mirrored by the AP program as it becomes the norm at colleges and universities.
    The Third Edition
    Back in December, I started work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 Essentials book, with the goal of migrating the book closer to style of the AP Physics 1 exam.  It’s now late June, and the third edition is well over half done.  I have no doubt if I continued on this course, I could have the third edition completed in time for the book to hit the shelves in late August.
    The third edition, as currently being drafted, however, won’t see the light of day.  Since I started this revision effort, I haven’t felt good about the work I’ve been doing.  Though I do believe I am making a book that is more closely aligned to the AP Physics 1 exam, I’m moving further and further away from the book I’d want to use with my AP Physics 1 students.  Regardless of what the College Board is asking for on the AP Physics 1 exam, I want my students to be best prepared for their future endeavors, which may include AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, and their ongoing academic courses in the sciences.  That will, most assuredly, require strong physics numeracy skills. And it will require students to learn how to learn independently.
    Resolution
    There is a place for physics modeling, for building understanding and for MANY of the ideals inherent in the AP Physics 1 curriculum.  But there’s also a place for the traditional course and problem solving skills.  This debate doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition.  There’s definitely room for a happy medium including aspects of both viewpoints.  Personally, however, I can’t continue work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 book when in my heart I strongly feel I’m doing my students a disservice in their overall physics education and creating a lower-quality product, even if it means more one-star reviews and critiques that the book doesn’t match the AP 1 exam.  Maybe someday I’ll change my mind, but Friday afternoon I took all the changes to the third edition, zipped them up, copied them somewhere safe, and removed them from my computer.
    I strongly believe there will be a 3rd edition of the AP Physics 1 book.  I see TONS of opportunities for improvement.  But the work I’ve been doing for the past six months to make the book more consistent with the AP 1 exam isn’t really an improvement, it’s an attempt to improve student scores on a test I believe has significant flaws, at the expense of other important skills.  If I’m honest with myself and focus on doing what is truly best for my kids, I want to see them continue to use the book as an introduction to the essential concepts of AP Physics 1, including significant algebraic manipulation and problem solving, and leaving more time in the classroom for application and hands-on activities.  I still feel the book is a great tool for students preparing for the AP 1 exam, and I’m going to keep significant numeric problem solving with basic concept application, and leave the deeper-dive and conceptual understanding questions for class time when the instructor is available to direct, guide, and differentiate as needed.
    Addendum
    This is not meant as an attack on the AP Physics 1 Curriculum, the design committee, the test writers, or any others.  I am honored to work in a profession where so many are so passionate about trying to do what’s best for their students and the field itself.  Sometimes we disagree on the path forward, and that’s OK.  And I could be wrong.  I often am.  I admire the effort and the vision so many have put into this work, and the feedback and support I’ve received and continue to receive for this book, both in praise and in criticism.
    The post AP Physics 1 Essentials — The Mystery Third Edition appeared first on Physics In Flux.


  8. FizziksGuy
    A few years ago I put together a review/guide book for the AP Physics 1 course the College Board recently released.  http://aplusphysics.com/flux/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/3d-book2nd.pngThe project was started around 2009, but took several years to complete as the scope and direction of the College Board’s AP Physics 1 course continued to evolve, as more and more information about the course was released, modified, re-released, etc.  It has done fairly well, and after the release of the first exam, a second edition was released, which included minor edits, modifications, and rephrasings in the main text, but also incorporated a significant number of more challenging questions in the appendix, though many of them remain numerically focused.
    The Goal
    The goal of this book was never to be a “sole source to success in AP Physics 1.”  The AP Physics 1 course is a VERY challenging introductory physics course, which requires a strong foundation in fundamental physics principles, logical problem solving, and transfer of basic concepts to new and unique situations.  In my humble opinion, building skills of this sort requires more than a review book.  It requires more than videos.  It requires extensive hands-on work with applications utilizing the concepts, individual and group problem solving, debate, discussion, and research.  It’s a very high level of expectation for what has been largely touted as an introductory physics course.  For many, AP Physics 1 will be the only physics course they take.  I am concerned that the course offers only a subset of what I would like to see in a general survey course of physics.  Though it covers basic circuits, it is light on electrostatics.  Though it covers mechanical waves, it doesn’t touch electromagnetic waves, optics, or modern physics.  If these were the only topics my students were introduced to in their only physics course, I feel I would be doing them a disservice, and not providing them an opportunity to see more of the breadth and beauty of the field I so love and enjoy.
    The AP1 Essentials book, as written, was designed as the book I’d want to use with my students.  The book which I’d ask them to read outside of class (coupled with video mini-lessons) so that when they arrived in class, they’d have some level of exposure to the basic material allowing us to use our class time more efficiently for those deeper explorations into the topics under study.
    Public Response
    Public response to the book has been strongly bimodal.  Overall reviews are very positive (4.5/5 stars on Amazon.com), with the primary criticisms and 1-star reviews focusing on the book utilizing too much numerical problem solving, and focusing on basic problems that are “too easy” compared to the actual AP 1 test questions.  These are VERY valid criticisms, and I agree with them.  However, in the context in which the book is intended to be used, these criticisms are inconsistent with the book’s purpose.
    AP Physics 1 Concerns
    A grader of this year’s AP Physics 1 exam recently stated that he was surprised to learn that “not including the date, birth date and school code, a student could have made a perfect score on the whole exam without writing down a single number.”  http://aplusphysics.com/flux/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/geek_levetating_on_calculator_lg_clr.gifI find this extremely troubling.  I am in favor of questions that test understanding, but I also believe that many physics students who go on to successful careers in STEM fields learn by first mastering the calculations, mathematics, and numeracy of problems, and over time build deeper conceptual understandings as they recognize patterns in their answers.  There is a place for these conceptual and symbolic problem solving exercises in AP Physics 1 and on the AP Physics 1 exam, but there is also a significant place for what I’ll call physics numeracy for lack of a better term — traditional problem solving that involves recognizing appropriate relationships, manipulation equations, finding a numerical answer, and verifying that numerical answer makes some sort of physical sense.
    Further, I strongly believe that the College Board’s vision for the AP program should focus on providing opportunities for high school students to earn college credit consistent with the courses offered by most colleges.  More simply, the AP courses should strive to mimic what colleges are offering and testing in their corresponding courses.  In the case of AP Physics 1, the College Board is attempting to lead the way in physics education reform.  Regardless of personal opinions on the direction of the AP Physics 1 curriculum and exam, which may very well be valid, a change of this sort shouldn’t be led by the AP program, but rather mirrored by the AP program as it becomes the norm at colleges and universities.
    The Third Edition
    Back in December, I started work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 Essentials book, with the goal of migrating the book closer to style of the AP Physics 1 exam.  It’s now late June, and the third edition is well over half done.  I have no doubt if I continued on this course, I could have the third edition completed in time for the book to hit the shelves in late August.
    The third edition, as currently being drafted, however, won’t see the light of day.  http://aplusphysics.com/flux/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/dumping_garbage_dumpster_hg_clr_st.gifSince I started this revision effort, I haven’t felt good about the work I’ve been doing.  Though I do believe I am making a book that is more closely aligned to the AP Physics 1 exam, I’m moving further and further away from the book I’d want to use with my AP Physics 1 students.  Regardless of what the College Board is asking for on the AP Physics 1 exam, I want my students to be best prepared for their future endeavors, which may include AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, and their ongoing academic courses in the sciences.  That will, most assuredly, require strong physics numeracy skills. And it will require students to learn how to learn independently.
    Resolution
    There is a place for physics modeling, for building understanding and for MANY of the ideals inherent in the AP Physics 1 curriculum.  But there’s also a place for the traditional course and problem solving skills.  This debate doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition.  There’s definitely room for a happy medium including aspects of both viewpoints.  Personally, however, I can’t continue work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 book when in my heart I strongly feel I’m doing my students a disservice in their overall physics education and creating a lower-quality product, even if it means more one-star reviews and critiques that the book doesn’t match the AP 1 exam.  Maybe someday I’ll change my mind, but Friday afternoon I took all the changes to the third edition, zipped them up, copied them somewhere safe, and removed them from my computer.
    I strongly believe there will be a 3rd edition of the AP Physics 1 book.  I see TONS of opportunities for improvement.  But the work I’ve been doing for the past six months to make the book more consistent with the AP 1 exam isn’t really an improvement, it’s an attempt to improve student scores on a test I believe has significant flaws, at the expense of other important skills.  If I’m honest with myself and focus on doing what is truly best for my kids, I want to see them continue to use the book as an introduction to the essential concepts of AP Physics 1, including significant algebraic manipulation and problem solving, and leaving more time in the classroom for application and hands-on activities.  I still feel the book is a great tool for students preparing for the AP 1 exam, and I’m going to keep significant numeric problem solving with basic concept application, and leave the deeper-dive and conceptual understanding questions for class time when the instructor is available to direct, guide, and differentiate as needed.
    Addendum
    This is not meant as an attack on the AP Physics 1 Curriculum, the design committee, the test writers, or any others.  I am honored to work in a profession where so many are so passionate about trying to do what’s best for their students and the field itself.  Sometimes we disagree on the path forward, and that’s OK.  And I could be wrong.  I often am.  I admire the effort and the vision so many have put into this work, and the feedback and support I’ve received and continue to receive for this book, both in praise and in criticism.
    The post AP Physics 1 Essentials — The Mystery Third Edition appeared first on Physics In Flux.
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/C__ZGVRATUs
  9. FizziksGuy
    <p>Yesterday I received a review on Amazon for the AP1 book that was, at best, scathing. Please allow me a moment to first state that the reviewer is correct in his statement that the book doesn’t contain many of the high level, conceptual, reading-intensive questions that are found on the AP1 practice exams. I agree, as that is not the book’s intent. We have college level texts all over the place that do a MUCH better job as a primary source and going into detail. They are much bigger, are much more expensive, and are backed by much larger companies. I think the reviewer, however, missed the point of the book.</p>
    <p>The AP1 Physics Essentials book is designed to be a guide book that students will actually read, starting from basic principles and building fundamental concepts with simple examples (many from past NY Regents Physics Exams) and then building upon those examples to intermediate level problems, which are demonstrated in detail. The goal is to allow students to build these “essentials” so that they can get a better foundation in concepts and basic applications independently (as, of course, reading is primarily an independent activity).</p>
    <p>The AP-1 style exam problems, however, are considerably different. They focus on considerably more complex problems, are challenging to read and interpret what is being asked, tie multiple concepts together in unique and novel applications… a style of learning that is extremely difficult to accomplish independently and passively. Research has shown again and again that this type of understanding requires active learning activities, inquiry-based labs, guided analysis, discussion, and group problem solving. All of which are impossible to accomplish within a book, which is why the AP1 book doesn’t even try. It is meant as a supplement to assist with building the foundational skills so students are better prepared for the active learning experiences which will build those skills so necessary for success in the course.</p>
    <p>In truth, the AP-1 book is the book I would want to use with my students. It is the book that I could send them home with to read a few pages, coupled with the video mini-lessons, so that we can use our valuable class time more productively in those active-learning experiences. It is not meant to be a textbook replacement, or a 320-page miracle for those taking the AP-1 exam without external preparation.</p>
    <p>I also believe that having an AP-1 style problem set would be valuable to teachers and students, as very few AP-1 style problems have been released for use in classrooms (likely because the sample exam was JUST released to instructors). Over the summer I’ll be working with other physics instructors to build up a set of public domain AP-1 style problems which we will make available to instructors and students. I can also foresee incorporating these into a future edition of the AP-1 book (perhaps as end-of-chapter problems) to provide further resources to students and instructors as we learn more about the actual AP-1 course.</p>
    <p>To summarize, though, I hate to see customers disappointed in APlusPhysics products, especially when the customer misses the intent of the product. I’m hoping this post clarifies the intent of the book, and I have also updated the book descriptions on Amazon and the iBooks store to call this out even more clearly and (hopefully) alleviate such potential disappointment in customers in the future.</p>
    <!-- Start Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><!-- End Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/AnYv4TEnN2w" height="1" width="1"/>

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  10. FizziksGuy
    <p>Finally, after several years of research, organizing, outlining, re-outlining, writing, re-writing, writing again, and so on, I’m thrilled to announce that <a href="http://aplusphysics.com/ap1">AP Physics 1 Essentials: An APlusPhysics Guide</a> has been released!</p>
    <p><img style="float: right;" title="3d-book.png" src="http://aplusphysics.com/flux/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/3d-book.png" alt="3d book" width="430" height="314" border="0" /></p>
    <p>AP1 Essentials is jam-packed with the knowledge and content required for success on the AP Physics 1 Exam. More than 500 problems and deeper understanding questions, examples, and explanations. Tons of illustrations and diagrams to make the book clearer and enjoyable to read. And, of course, it’s interconnected with the <a href="http://aplusphysics.com">APlusPhysics</a> website, with video mini-lessons, online tutorials, student blogs, discussion forums, homework help, a video repository, downloads, you name it. I believe this will be an extremely valuable resource for students undertaking their AP Physics 1 courses beginning in fall 2014 when the course officially begins.</p>
    <p>Having said all that, though, I want to make a few items clear up front, as critics love to hammer certain points. Number one, this book is a resource (as are the videos, web tutorials, etc). Just that, and nothing more. It’s not intended to replace strong classroom instruction, student exploration, hands-on activities and labs, deeper problem solving practice, critical thinking, and writing as thinking. It’s another tool in the toolbox. The giant change in the AP Physics course is a focus on building true student understanding rather than plug-and-chug problem solving, something that is VERY difficult to do in a short easy-to-read book. Those skills need interactive discussions, refinement, challenges, and that’s where our job as teachers come in. This book was never intended as a textbook for the course, nor as a teacher replacement for a “do-it-yourself-at-home” situation. It’s designed to complement the course, driving home <strong>essential</strong> concepts and knowledge. True mastery will require much more, however. Applications both tangible and on-paper. Further deep dives into what these concepts really mean and how they intertwine. In short, strong professional instruction.</p>
    <p>Second, this is a review/guide book. For reasons of clarity, the organization of topics and chapters may not be what a student would typically see in a classroom setting. Physics topics interconnect, and it’s very difficult (and perhaps downright incorrect) to teach any given topic in isolation. What is kinematics without dynamics? How do you have a chapter on work and energy when the entire course is about energy? And for reasons of clarity, the order of chapters and material in chapters is not always what I would recommend as the order a teacher take in the classroom. Interconnectedness and a re-entrant strategy through a course is highly prized and effective, but deadly confusing in a review book. So the book is organized in such a fashion that a linear progression through the books hits the major topics in an order that requires a minimum of backtracking, yet may not be the most effective path to take in the classroom or the first-time through the material. Again, this is designed as a review / guide book, another weapon in the arsenal to build understanding, not a stand-alone solution.</p>
    <p>Third, students and teachers all have differing styles. Many teachers are moving to the “modeling” curriculum, which is strongly supported by the new AP-1 course. Many teachers are moving to “flipped classroom” strategies. Others teach with inquiry and project-based learning. None of these is the “silver bullet” that fixes all problems, and all of these have benefits and drawbacks. I think it’s important for each instructor to develop their own style that works for them, while also recognizing that each student is different, and what works for one student may not work for another. I try hard not to promote or criticize any single style of instruction. There’s a time and place for all of them. Instead, I recommend finding what works for you, and then each and every day, consider how you can stretch beyond what is comfortable to try something else and see if it works for you. Teaching is a process, not just a profession. To that end, I incorporate facets of modeling in the book and my classroom, I utilize some flipped class strategies in my classroom, though I wouldn’t call my classroom a “flipped class.” I utilize inquiry, project-based learning, and tons of other strategies, as I see fit to best meet the needs of my students and my goals for that day/lesson/unit. I even use direct instruction (oh my, he said it, didn’t he!!!) at times, though it is by no means the backbone of my courses. And this book is designed as a complement to any/all of them, not an answer to any single one.</p>
    <p>I wrote this book as a book I would want my students to have access to. Of course, it would be supplemented with a number of other resources. First off, I still promote the use of a legitimate full-length textbook. You may not use it everyday, but I think it’s important students learn how to read and utilize a complex text. In every class I teach, regardless of level, we work toward the day where we take one entire unit and work through it as an independent unit, where students are required to make use of the text productively, investigate a number of lab activities independently, and test their own understanding. Secondly, the problems in this book are designed to provide essential concept understanding. I highly recommend the use of additional problems sets, especially freely-available questions from past AP exams, as well as more open-ended and design-type questions where students aren’t just solving for a numerical answer, but are writing explanations as they think through problems and apply those basic concepts to new situations. That is a major focus of the AP paradigm shift, and I believe is beyond the scope of any single text to promote in isolation, as building these skills is a highly interactive process.</p>
    <p>So, a long-winded explanation of what to expect, and my recommendations on how I would use it. Just the $.02 of a physics teacher who loves his job. I want to again thank the many contributors to this work, and all the folks who have supported and encouraged this work. It’s been by far the hardest writing project I’ve undertaken, and I think it delivers on all of the goals we initially set out with. I hope you enjoy it!</p>
    <!-- Start Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><!-- End Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/g9b9sVJI4bg" height="1" width="1"/>

    Source
  11. FizziksGuy
    <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> I’ve received quite a few requests over the past couple months, and especially the past couple days, asking if I knew of an “outline version” of the AP Physics 1 learning objectives, essential knowledge, etc., organized by topic. I already had this created from working on the <a href="http://aplusphysics.com/ap1">AP Physics 1 Essentials</a> book as a chapter outline/roadmap correlated to the new <a href="http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2262.html">AP 1 course</a>, but had never bothered to put it in a user-friendly format to share. Well, until yesterday.</p>
    <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> Here it is: <a href="http://aplusphysics.com/educators/AP1Outline.html/">http://aplusphysics.com/educators/AP1Outline.html/</a></p>
    <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> I understand this may not be the order in which you’d teach the topics, but for me at least, this organization is much easier to wade through and make sense of than the current <a href="http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-course-exam-descriptions/ap-physics-1-and-ap-physics-2-course-and-exam-description.pdf">AP Physics 1 and 2 Framework</a> document (in which I get easily lost in the 200+ pages). Perhaps it will be of use to you as well. Please note that you can drill down by clicking on the triangles to the left of the topics, i<span style="color: #000000;">t’s quite a big document if you expand it all out.</span></p>
    <p style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> I’m planning on doing this for AP-2 as well, though I probably won’t have a chance to start on it until late July.</p>
    <!-- Start Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><!-- End Shareaholic Recommendations Automatic --><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/kHYnj6tUV94" height="1" width="1"/>

    <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~3/kHYnj6tUV94/" class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>
  12. FizziksGuy
    <p><iframe width="474" height="267" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NBrDW-vNHog?feature=oembed"frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
    <p>&nbsp;</p>
    <p><iframe width="474" height="267" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ejp8aurJ294?feature=oembed"frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
    <p>&nbsp;</p>
    <p>Mechanics Exam Questions: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_c-m.pdf</p>
    <p>E&amp;M Exam Questions: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_c-e-m.pdf</p>
    <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/iUAb2okjHqQ"height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

    <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~3/iUAb2okjHqQ/"class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>
  13. FizziksGuy
    It's been a crazy couple months, but last night I finished up the flipped class videos covering the entire AP Physics C: Mechanics curriculum. My goal was to try and target all the major points of the course requirements in roughly 6 hours worth of videos, realizing, of course, that students would need some background in physics in order to handle the material at this speed. I have a bit of tweaking to do (there's a minor math typo in the SHM video, for example, that I'll redo at my earliest convenience), but I'm pretty excited that the entire set of videos clocks in right around 6:18:00.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]544[/ATTACH]When people first hear this, the typical reaction I receive is "you must not have done a good job to cover all that material in such a short period of time." I look at it from the alternate perspective -- I'm boiling down the course into the key concepts and examples that illustrate them. These videos are not meant to be a substitute for an in-the-classroom standard course -- far from it, for that purpose, they would be an abysmal failure (as, I imagine, any video-based system would fail). Instead, these are meant as an additional resource, a tool, for students to review the take-away highlights from each subject, reinforcing major principles and applications.

    Physics is something you do, not something you know, therefore the meat of any course is taking resources such as these and applying them in a variety of situations. Practice, exploration, discovery -- that's how you learn. But having a concise review available on demand certainly can't hurt.

    So, for those interested in such a resource, I hope you find these videos useful and enjoyable. At the beginning of the year I'd never planned to undertake this project, but student requests in early September got me started, and ongoing feedback on the value of these has been tremendous. Our most recent unit, in which I completely flipped the classroom (absolutely no lecture in class, students watched videos at night and each day was hands-on exploration, lab, group problem solving, and reflection) led to the highest end-of-unit exam grades I've seen from a class to date. This reinforces how effective this method of instruction can be with motivated students who engage fully in the process.

    In short, I hope others are also able to take some value from these videos. For the 6 hours of completed videos, I would estimate I've put in close to 120 hours of work (organizing, researching, presenting, taping, re-taping, re-re-taping, editing, producing, etc.) beyond what I would have done just to teach my standard lectures, but I believe I've created a resource I can use again and again, year after year, tweaking and updating the videos as I find improved methods and alternate explanations. Not sure I want to take on the E&M half of the course this year… I have a ton of other projects on my docket (some of which are quite extensive with looming deadlines), but would love your feedback if you find these of value, if you don't, or if you'd like to see E&M completed as well.
    Make it a great day!

    Link to AP Physics C: Mechanics videos

    Link to AP Physics C: Mechanics guide sheets (accompany videos)

    (PS -- did you know APlusPhysics has a facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/pages/APlusPhysics-Regents-Physics-Essentials-and-Honors-Physics-Essentials/217361071607226?ref=hl
  14. FizziksGuy
    APlusPhysics Blogs and Forums have now been integrated with Facebook! Not only can you link your accounts, but you can simultaneously post any forum messages, blog entries, and comments to your Facebook wall by checking the "Publish to Facebook" checkbox at the bottom of your entry. Further, you also have the ability to "Like" blogs and forum posts... I'm interested to see if this encourages discourse and engagement by integrating a student favorite social networking site with classroom content.
  15. FizziksGuy
    We have some exciting news! The free APlusPhysics website has been selected as a finalist in a contest to receive a free professional site redesign, but we need your help! Voting for the contest finalists is open now through Dec. 20, and we need all the help we can get. As a member of the APlusPhysics community, any help you can provide by voting and/or spreading the word would be greatly appreciated.

    You can vote by visiting the following link: https://www.facebook.com/LogoSnap/app_127709503932081

    Thank you so much for your time and support. We're thrilled to continue bringing quality physics education materials to the public, and wish you and your families all the best this holiday season. Make it a great day!



    Sincerely,

    Dan Fullerton
    APlusPhysics.com



  16. FizziksGuy
    Didn't get nearly the progress made this weekend that I had hoped, as I'm definitely bogging down in the Regents Kinematics Content section of the website... taking some time to organize how best to deliver the material over an online medium. What seems so straightforward to teach in person, where you can fairly easily "hop around" to various topics to pull it all together, can get quite dicey when putting it in writing. :banghead) I also want to make sure I include plenty of sample problems, as I believe what will set APlusPhysics apart is its worked out problems. And of course, as you move into acceleration and then into d-t, v-t, and a-t graphs, graphics and animations can make all the difference. Guess I'm gonna have to brush up on these in the next couple weeks.

    In the meantime, though, as I have had a few 20 and 30-minute free spells over the weekend, I've cleaned up some of the Forum settings, fixed up the Physics In Action Podcast content page, added the Projects --> Speaker competition page, and converted my old Momentum WebQuest into the APlusPhysics template and added that under Educators --> Activities.

    Next Steps:


    Continue Regents content development
    Create a formal lab report guidelines page (not sure where best to place this yet...)
    Get the "About" pages started
    Add rating system to the APlusPhysics Forums
    Test out the Blogging System for use as a simple course management system
  17. FizziksGuy
    Whew! It’s been a long and challenging project, but I am thrilled to announce that the APlusPhysics.com Regents Physics course tutorial has been completed (well, at least the first revision). I’ve been done with the tutorial less than 20 minutes, and already I’m making notes on additions, modifications, and enhancements, but I think it’s worth taking a moment to step back and look at everything that’s been accomplished.
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]96[/ATTACH]
    A year ago I had never created a web page, and didn’t know the difference between HTML and ELMO. But, with a vision to create a resource specific to the needs of the students I see every day, and with the support of friends and family, I started picking up books, reading web articles, and making many, many designs on paper to script out what I wanted to build.

    As of this morning, with the upload of a question bank of more than 500 Regents Physics questions from past years, I’m amazed at how much has been created. The APlusPhysics Regents Tutorials include objectives, explanations, sample problems, FLASH animations, integrated quizzes, videos… just about everything you could ask for in an online resource tailored to a specific course. Further, as the projected progressed, I began to see potential for this resource being used outside my classroom and even outside the scope of NY’s Regents curriculum, and have begun building in further topics of interest to many introductory physics students. Even better, I learned the Regents Physics material better than I could have ever imagined (there’s nothing like digging through 10 years of old exams to help you really learn a course inside and out).

    I wanted this website to be an original work, so not only did I learn webpage design, I also had to learn vector and bitmap graphics, flash animation, basic flash programming, and even a little bit of PHP to make everything work in the background. For an artistically-challenged science guy, I’m pretty amazed with the quality of illustrations I was able to create after reading a few books on the modern tools available!

    In support of the static web tutorials, the site also features a discussion forum based on the latest version of vBulletin, integrated student and educator blogs, course notes, calendars, project activities, and even hosting for old episodes of the Physics in Action Podcast. So what’s next?

    I’ve said from the beginning I want to follow up the Regents Physics tutorials with the AP-1 and AP-2 curricula, but with delays from the College Board, we’re all still waiting to find out exactly what those courses will entail (and to what depth). I have been considering creating a tutorial for AP-C physics, but I’m not certain I see as great a need for such a site, as the AP-C course mirrors many introductory university physics courses, and that material is already widely available throughout the web. With these challenges in mind, I think I’m on hold for creating static tutorial pages for the time being.

    This feels like a blessing in disguise, however, as I’ve been quite excited to dive into several other projects. First, I want to expand the build out the Semiconductor Technology Enrichment Program (STEP), a program designed to take the weeks in class after the AP Physics exams and introduce students to basic semiconductor physics and micro/nano technology. Second, I need to spend time planning on the details of the Skills Based Grading (SBG) program I’m planning on implementing in my Regents Physics courses next year. Third, I’d like to continue my work to pre-record video lessons of all the major topics in the Regents Physics course, with the ultimate goal of spending in-class time working on hands-on lab activities, as well as supporting students individually and in small groups, and minimizing the less-effective entire-class-instruction time. Finally, several students have inquired as to whether I might take the course content material on APlusPhysics and expand it into a written mini-book / synopsis for the Regents Physics course. Though initially hesitant, the more I think about it, the more I find value in creation of the written “APlusPhysics’s Guide to Regents Physics.” And oh, by the way, did I mention the list of website enhancements I’ve already started on?

    The question, then, is where to start. I oftentimes prioritize items both by “bang for the buck” as well as cost to implement. SBG work will largely occur in late spring and early summer due to some outside interests and external timing constraints. The STEP program may find some external funding in a month or so, and if I can get paid to work on something, why not wait until there’s a bit of income for my time? That really leaves the printed physics guidebook, video mini-lessons, and website revisions. As much as I try to deny it, I know I’ll be working on website revisions by tonight, in tandem with my next project. So which to tackle next, the video mini-lessons, or the printed guidebook? Or both? Would love to hear your feedback and thoughts!

    And, as with any endeavor of such scale, allow me to again thank all my supporters, colleagues, family members and contributors. This is a huge milestone for APlusPhysics and the culmination of hundreds of hours of frustration and effort, which has already paid for itself in learning and confidence. I’ve come out all the better for it, and I hope this resource helps others say the same.
  18. FizziksGuy
    Hi Everyone,
    As you may have noticed, progress on the AP-1 / AP-2 videos has stalled over the past few weeks… let’s just sum it up by saying that if it could have gone wrong, it did. First we had a database “miscue” with our previous web server host, in which we lost the better part of 9 months of posts from this blog. grrrrr. Then a stomach bug went through our house. And as I had all sorts of time to grumble over the increasingly poor response times of our site and the loss of the data (despite regular backups), I finally made the decision to switch hosts and get us our own virtual private server.
    What does all that mean, you may ask? First off, instead of sharing a bunch of computing resource power with hundreds of other websites, we’ve purchased a set amount of storage space, RAM, and CPU cores on a server that only services a couple web sites. Lots more resources devoted to our site means much more stable performance, and considerably improved loading speeds. It also adds a bit of complexity on my side, as well as a considerable increase in annual costs. I’m thinking about potential ways to offset that in the future, but in the meantime, I’m thrilled to have the site up and running the way it should be.
    Along with the server upgrade, we had quite a bit of “migrating” of programs, settings, and data to do. MOST of it went smoothly. One program, however, did NOT like the change at all, our Forums/Blogs software. I was already somewhat frustrated with the support and performance of our old system, so after a few days of beating my head against the wall (and getting mighty fired up at the technical support line), I bit the bullet and upgraded our system to the “Cadillac” of forum and blogging software. This, also, took a bit of time to setup, and because we’d already invested so much in all the student posts and work, I was able to hire an expert to assist in migrating all the data we could (what hadn’t been nutzed up by the previous software) into the new system. And he was gracious enough to give us a great price with amazing service due to the nature of our site (Thank you so much!!!).
    To help differentiate the old software from the new, and highlight some of the features of the new software, I’ve renamed the “Discussion” area on APlusPhysics “Community,” because really that’s what we’re trying to build. Not only do we now have forums (with some cool new features), and blogs (which even more cool new features), we also have a file repository where we can share electronic documents and programs with each other, we have an online chat system, we have tremendously improved calendars, the ability to better integrate “blocks” of content across the entire site, the ability to create custom pages (such as featured posts, highlighted material, etc. — I’ll turn this part on soon), the ability to incorporate e-books with direct downloads right from the site (instantaneous help!), even the ability to let members promote their good works to others across the entire site. Quite a few of these options I’ll be working on over the coming months, but as of today we have at least as much functionality as the old site, a much prettier graphic interface, and a fast, responsive, reliable site with a support team I have much more confidence in.
    So what’s next? Well, my first priority is finishing the “skin” of the system. It’s almost there. By the way, did you know you can adjust the color scheme of the site? See that little rainbow grid in the upper right of the community? Click on it and choose your color — whatever mood you’re in, the system can handle!
    Next, I have some behind-the-scenes work to do to tweak what shows up on the various pages… upcoming calendar events, latest files, users online, etc. They work currently, but I’d like to make their integration just a little more smooth. Nothing major, just have a bit of reading to do.
    Third, I’ve had quite a few requests to take my Powerpoint slides from the video series and make them available for teachers to use. This may be a bit more involved, as there are some licensing restrictions I’m working with the appropriate parties on, but I’m hopeful we can get something worked out in the not-too-distant future.
    Fourth, I’d like to get the featured content / topic pages built out. This will be an ongoing “as time allows” effort. This new system has tremendous potential to pull and organize information from a wide variety of sources, the question is “am I smart enough to make it work?” I’m hoping the answer is yes.
    Fifth, I’d really like to work to promote the downloads section as an area where we as physics instructors can share the best of what we put together for our students. There are both public and educator-only folders, and I think this has tremendous potential to be a great resource for us all, but I’m betting there will be quite a bit of legwork to “sell” this concept to other physics teachers across the world, so that it becomes not just a place for folks to download my work, but a place where we can all collaborate and share with each other. In this, I definitely need your help. If you would, take a minute or two and find one original lesson, worksheet, lab, hands-on activity, whatever… upload it to the “Downloads” section and share it with the rest of us. Can you imagine what a wonderful resource we’d have if each physics teacher shared just one or two amazing activities? Imagine if we then started building off of those… then again and again… we’d have the greatest teaching resource of any discipline (and we’re already well on our way!)
    Sixth, work hasn’t stopped on the physics videos. I have to admit I’m a touch burnt out after finish the AP Physics C series this year (both Mechanics and E&M), and completing an entire AP-1 / AP-2 sequence for Educator.com (which is currently branded as AP-B but was set up with the new courses in mind). I’m continuing to plug away on the optics section of AP-B, and have a few more pieces to fill in. Once I get through this week my hope is to complete at least one more video per week for the foreseeable future.
    Last, but not least — I’ve spent the past year doing pre-work for an AP-1 / AP-2 guide book for students (in the vein of Honors Physics Essentials, but specifically directed toward AP-1 / AP-2). As we get to the end of the school year, I want to focus on the BIC (butt in chair) strategy to get a first draft underway. I have tons of notes, outlines, and materials, and from past experience once you get rolling it’s not so bad, but I need to take those first few steps. I just want to make sure I have all my other “gotta get done’s” out of the way before I dive headfirst into this one for the summer.
    Thanks for all your support, and I look forward to seeing you on the new APlusPhysics Community (by the way, if you haven’t tried it out yet, we’d love to see you! Shoot me an e-mail if you’re a professional physics instructor and I’ll get your access upgraded so you can see into the “teacher-only” parts of the site as well)!


    Source
  20. FizziksGuy
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]125[/ATTACH]The first APlusPhysics course guide book, APlusPhysics: Your Guide to Regents Physics Essentials, by Dan Fullerton (aka FizziksGuy) is now available for direct order, and will be available in early May from major book retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. From the book's description:

    APlusPhysics: Your Guide to Regents Physics Essentials by Dan Fullerton is a clear and concise roadmap to the entire New York State Regents Physics curriculum, preparing students for success in their high school physics class as well as review for high marks on the Regents Physics Exam.

    Topics covered include pre-requisite math and trigonometry; kinematics; forces; Newton's Laws of Motion, circular motion and gravity; impulse and momentum; work, energy, and power; electrostatics; electric circuits; magnetism; waves; optics; and modern physics.

    Featuring more than four hundred questions with worked out solutions and detailed illustrations, this book is integrated with the APlusPhysics.com website, which includes online question and answer forums, videos, animations, and supplemental problems to help you master Regents Physics essentials.

    Advance Praise for APlusPhysics Regents Physics Essentials: "Very well written... simple, clear engaging and accessible. You hit a grand slam with this review book." -- Anthony, NY Regents Physics Teacher.


    "Does a great job giving students what they need to know. The value provided is amazing." -- Tom, NY Regents Physics Teacher.


    "This was tremendous preparation for my physics test. I love the detailed problem solutions." -- Jenny, NY Regents Physics Student.


    "Regents Physics Essentials has all the information you could ever need and is much easier to understand than many other textbooks... it is an excellent review tool and is truly written for students." -- Cat, NY Regents Physics Student
  21. FizziksGuy

    APlusPhysics.Com

    By FizziksGuy,

    One of the goals of APlusPhysics.com is to provide students with the resources they need to be successful. As I'm sure you can all imagine, as educators we struggle with finding ways to set our kids up for success. And today's students face a wide variety of challenges that hamper their ability to learn through traditional means. Students who aren't in attendance, for reasons that may range from illness to family issues to special needs, are immediately at a disadvantage in technical classes in which content continues to build throughout the year on an ever-expanding foundation. Throw in the challenges of large class sizes (I'm outnumbered by students by more than 100:1), and regardless of how much time I'd like to devote to each of my kids, there's no way to meet everyone's needs all the time.

    Toward this end, APlusPhysics is designed to provide a "home base," of sorts, for all students to begin to learn to teach themselves. The forums provide an opportunity for discourse and an online student-supported "help desk," of sorts. Plus, any time you can get a student writing about what they know, they're solidifying their understanding and building critical thinking skills. If you can get them to teach others while they're at it, you've really built something special.
    The blog portion of the website is a great way to get students to develop their metacognition, writing about what they do and don't understand, creating an ongoing journal of their learning. It's also a great way to get them to really think about the essential questions in physics, organizing their thoughts to develop "big picture" conceptual understanding of what they're learning, and why.
    The main website, still under construction, will house key material central to each of the supported physics courses. I'm starting my work with the NY Regents Physics Curriculum, first, because I currently teach four sections of that course and the material I develop is directly useful to the majority of my students, and secondly, it's the simplest of the physics courses I teach, which provides a terrific sandbox for me to grow my web development skills, hopefully limiting my struggles to the technical side of web building, so that by the time I build the AP-C section out, I can balance content / pedagogical challenges with the (hopefully) less daunting technical challenges.

    I also see APlusPhysics as a great resource for the upcoming introduction of the AP-1 and AP-2 courses, being expanded out of the current AP-B curriculum. Currently it appears many of us AP physics teachers are holding in a quasi-limbo state waiting to understand exactly what will be included in each course, to what level, and how we can best integrate it into our school's offerings to provide the best possible learning experiences that will most benefit our students. But the College Board has been slow to disseminate information, updates promised in the fall have not been received, and the teachers continue to wait, as patiently as we can. My goal is to build up the AP-1 and AP-2 sections of the website so that when final announcements are made, we all have a resource we can turn to and utilize as we re-tool our physics programs.

    Finally, I want APlusPhysics to be a repository of materials for educators to share the best of our ideas, activities, challenges and successes. The Forum already has an Educators Only section, but I also want to populate the website with activities we can use to bring physics to life for our students, encompassing everything from projects and challenges to mini-programs such as the Semiconductor Technology Enrichment Program (STEP), providing students an introduction into the world of semiconductors, a discipline quite regularly neglected in educational communities despite its profound influence on our daily lives.

    So with that, allow me to welcome you to APlusPhysics. I'm hoping to continue utilizing this blog to document my progress in building this resource, both so you as customers / consumers / contributors can see what progress is being made and perhaps even help guide my work to make this a better resource for us all, to allow you to learn from my mistakes, and to organize my own thoughts around what I want to accomplish, and how I can make the vision I have for APlusPhysics a reality.

    Make it a great day everyone!

    --df
  22. FizziksGuy
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]142[/ATTACH]Prof. Allain has taken his Dot.Physics introductory blog posts and formed them into a fun and entertaining e-book covering the basic principles of mechanics. From his initial advice not to use the e-book as a table leg prop to his discussion of differential equations in chapter 15, Just Enough Physics provides students a light, simple, and concise explanation of algebra-based physics.

    Further, Just Enough Physics actually includes directions on basic VPython programming for simple physics simulations… if you’re like me and have been reticent to dive into simulation and programming, this text provides several code snippets with clear explanations that entice you to see what you can do by way of numerical simulation and computer modeling.


    As a high physics teacher and engineering professor, I highly recommend this book for beginning physics students of any age.
  23. FizziksGuy
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]149[/ATTACH]Steve Warner’s 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies is more than a book of secrets to help students maximize their SAT math scores… it’s also a guide to problem solving and learning strategies that extend considerably beyond the bounds of the SAT exam itself. As a physics teacher, I can strongly assert that the most effective review book for any test is the book the student will use, and that requires a friendly, concise text that is clear, easy-to-read, and well paced. Warner’s book does this and more, coaching students to maximize their results while minimizing effort.

    Outside the context of SAT exam preparation, the strategies detailed in The 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies provide a pathway to grow the reader’s general problem solving skills. Readers are encouraged to solve problems, learn independently, and attempt higher level challenges, enhancing their mathematical and logical maturity levels as they attempt to not only solve, but understand, the given problems.

    I highly recommend this book for anyone preparing for the SAT exam, as well as those looking to refresh their basic mathematical skills and enhance their ability to think logically. And make sure to check out his website, which has free problem sets, tips, and videos!
  25. FizziksGuy
    I'm pretty sure this isn't the exact video clip I remember seeing explained, but it does recount the basic gist of the story in which a bullet fired randomly into the air comes back down with a high velocity to strike an innocent some distance away, consistent with our physics discussions about the symmetry of free fall (neglecting air resistance). Note that the video is graphic and disturbing, and not for the faint of heart.

    Find more details on annotated Mythbusters.

    [TABLE]

    [TR="bgcolor: #e5e5e5"] [TD]SPIKE[/TD]
    [TD="align: right"][/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD="colspan: 2"]Nite Capped[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR="bgcolor: #353535"]
    [TD="colspan: 2, align: right"]www.spike.com[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD="colspan: 2"][/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD="colspan: 2"][TABLE]

    [TR] [TD]Spike Full Episodes[/TD]
    [TD]Spike Video Clips[/TD]
    [TD]Spike on Facebook[/TD]
    [/TR]

    [/TABLE] [/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]

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