FizziksGuy

That's pretty deep there... ;-)

I'm excited you made this connection too!!!

Great advice!

Thanks Joe, I learned something new today!

Some excellent ideas! Gonna try frozen bubbles with my girls here shortly!

<p><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Still having folks attempting to use the AP Physics 1 Essentials book as a primary text instead of the “read this at home as an intro so you’re prepared to go deeper in class” tool it was intended as. I wish I could put a disclaimer on the</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> <a style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" href="http://amazon.com/"rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> “Buy” button so folks would read the description before purchasing.</p> <p>I hate seeing disappointed readers and reading negative reviews, especially when I realize that these are students and teachers counting on support in their studies. And of course I realize you can’t please everyone. But I also don’t want to create the “standard”-type review book.</p> <p>These are the books I’d want to use (and do use) with my students, where the book is designed to provide the “essential” background knowledge so that students can walk into class having read and understood enough to begin exploring the concepts in a much deeper fashion through activities, discourse, debate, and deeper thinking questions. AP Physics 1 Essentials is supposed to be the “flipped classroom” version of a review book, and in the same style as the flipped class videos available on the APlusPhysics site. It’s not supposed to compete with Greg Jacobs’ amazing work with his 5 Steps to a 5 series (which I HIGHLY recommend), where he does a great job with a book that is part “here’s what you need to know” and part “here’s how to ace the test.” And it’s certainly not designed to take on the Barron’s Review Series. They already do a great job with a deep overview of the entire course — it would be ludicrous to try to outdo such excellent work.</p> <p>Instead, AP Physics 1 Essentials is supposed to be an alternate path, a different kind of resource. The kind of book you give a student who is struggling to help them ferret out the simple basic relationships, and begin to take them further. But it’s not meant to be used in isolation, and it certainly isn’t meant to be a “do it yourself at home” guide to the entire AP Physics 1 exam.</p> <p>As the AP-2 book nears completion, I’m worried I’ve taken some of the negative reviews to heart and made portions of it too complex. I need to keep in mind what this book is designed for, and what it isn’t. It isn’t meant to be all things to all people, and despite the occasional negative review, I think it’s important to stay true to its aim. I want it to cover the essential concepts of the course in as straightforward a manner as I can manage, keep it light and fun, and provide some very basic sample problems (with solutions RIGHT THERE in the text) so students can test their understanding as they go. The goal again is to provide a resource that will allow the instructor more in-class time to develop the deeper understanding and problem solving skills necessary for success in AP-2, NOT try to accomplish this all in a little review book. I’ll again look into including an appendix of more AP-2 style problems, but I don’t want that to become the focus (one of the reasons why all the appendix problems are placed in the public domain and freely available outside the context of the book).</p> <p>I guess I just needed to vent a little in a friendly place and give myself some “writing” therapy. I can’t say enough about the tremendous support I receive from so much of the physics teaching community, and I need to continue to focus on the positives. It was students who got me started on flipping the classroom and creating the videos, teachers in the community who convinced me to put it together into a book, and the great feedback and requests from teachers and students alike that keep me plugging away on these projects such as the AP-2 book (and then a long list of video lessons to get back to).</p> <p>The bottom line is I switched careers and became a teacher because I enjoyed it, it was fun. I started work on the videos, books, and website because it helped students, and I enjoyed it. I’ve continued working on these resources due to the amazing feedback and support, and because it’s fun. Now I need to kick myself in the rear end and remind myself that there’s not a thing I can do about the folks who are expecting the book to be something it’s not. These books and videos aren’t going to make themselves, and it’s supposed to be fun, so it’s time for me to quit whining and get back to work.</p> <p>Make it a great day!</span></p> <img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~4/va5-m_1_TeU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhysicsInFlux/~3/va5-m_1_TeU/"class='bbc_url' rel='nofollow external'>Source</a>

After more than two years in development, the AP Physics 2 Essentials review book is moving into its final stages. Rough drafts are almost complete, chapters are under review by our grammatical editor, and preliminary layout / design is underway. So what's left? The team and I have a chapter to finish, two chapters to tweak, indexing, and the appendix to finish. Volunteers are being sought to examine chapters of the book and look for technical errors / opportunities for improvement before the book goes into the final proofing stages. If you're a certified physics instructor and willing to read a chapter, verify the problems / solutions, etc., we'd love your help! Those providing feedback will be given a free PDF license for the completed book (e-reader version, unfortunately not printable due to licensing restrictions), and of course, inclusion in the credits. If interested, please send an e-mail to info@aplusphysics.com and I'll be in touch! Thanks so much for the ongoing support, and make it a great 2015! -- Dan Fullerton

Name: How to make physics snowflakes Category: Other Date Added: 18 December 2014 - 11:11 AM Submitter: FizziksGuy Short Description: None Provided Celebrate the season--and science!--with paper snowflake designs featuring Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Erwin Schrodinger. In this video, Fermilab physicists demonstrate snowflake-making methods worthy of a Nobel Prize. For instructions and templates for the rest of us, see http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/december-2014/deck-the-halls-with-nobel-physicists View Video

Great application of impulse to basketball. Well done!

Name: Relaxing with Impulse Category: Momentum and Collisions Date Added: 11 December 2014 - 11:40 AM Submitter: FizziksGuy Short Description: None Provided ESPN Sports Figures View Video

Name: Running with Momentum Category: Momentum and Collisions Date Added: 11 December 2014 - 11:40 AM Submitter: FizziksGuy Short Description: None Provided ESPN Sports Figures View Video

How does standing minimize inertia?

Good start, but feel free to expound a bit. blog posts should be a solid paragraph or two at a minimum.

Name: Kepler's Laws All Three Category: Circular Motion & Gravity Date Added: 02 December 2014 - 01:14 PM Submitter: FizziksGuy Short Description: None Provided This was an extra credit project for my Exploration of Space course Spring 2009. One of my more creative endeavors:-D Keplers Laws All Three A natral orbits controlled by gravity Celestial Bodies all follow, follow one. Spaceships with their engines off, orbit in one too Keplers Laws explain them and theres only 3 to know Orbits arent circles The planets move in ellipses you see Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Pariapsis is close to gravity Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Apopapsis is farthest from gravity Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) For earth close is perigee Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) The farthest from the Earth is apogee The first law talks about the orbits shape If its bound its elliptical, elliptical. Theres 2 foci with the occupied The major axis is the largest diameter of it Unbound orbits Are called hyperbolic in shape Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Round means low eccentricity Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Our planets make orbits like these Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Stretched is high eccentricity Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Astroids and comets are like these [ And the second law is At the pariapsis and slowest at apoapsis The third law talks about the period The time to make an orbit The bigger the major axis the longer the period The bigger the major axis the greater total energy Periapsis has the greatest energy of motion Apoapsis has the greatest energy of position Total Energys the same at any point in orbit Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Total Energys the sum Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Of energy of motion and position Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) The sum is constant Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Because of conservation of energy Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Bound orbits have negative total energy Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) Unbound have positive total energy Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) These are Keplers Laws all three Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) They explain the solar system cant you see. Lyrics by Melanie Shank View Video

I'm jealous -- I'd love to have time with Brother Guy to talk about evidence and overlap in science and religion. Absolutely fascinating!!!

I absolutely loved reading this -- not only for the awesomeness that is our universe, but that awesomeness that is your enthusiasm. Great post!

Thanks for showing the Green Screen setup at the end of the video -- I'm currently working on a basement office at home and am hoping to "step up my game" a bit in terms of designing it for the next wave of videos, and seeing your setup gave me an improvement idea or two!

A well-informed physics student makes a safer driver!

You're making my brain hurt.

Sure would be cool to get a slow-motion video of a tennis racquet striking a ball and see if you can observe the wave phenomena!

Hi Mike. We will get into a bit of quantum mechanics toward the end of the year in our "Modern Physics" unit. We'll only barely touch the tip of the iceberg (there's a LOT to learn), but hopefully can provide at least a reasonable idea of what is involved.

Objects on ramps actually showing up in real life!

Right with you up until the part about grass having more friction than the pavement... perhaps you meant that in reverse?

Name: Brian Cox visits the world's biggest vacuum chamber - Human Universe: Episode 4 Preview - BBC Two Category: Dynamics Date Added: 13 November 2014 - 01:42 PM Submitter: FizziksGuy Short Description: None Provided Programme website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0276q28Brian Cox visits NASA’s Space Power Facility in Ohio to see what happens when a bowling ball and a feather are dropped together under the conditions of outer space. View Video

Interesting application of vectors to crowd control!