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[Marker] WELCOME
Mr. Messier's
HONORS, ACADEMIC and AP PHYSICS, BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY CLASSES 2008-2009
Steven Messier
Canton High School
Collinsville, Ct. 06019
contact me: smessier@cantonschools.org
Course Homework and Course Descriptions
HOMEWORK
ACADEMIC and HONORS PHYSICS
ZOOLOGY
Buy a set of colored pencils (more than 12 colors is best).
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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
ACADEMIC PHYSICS
 
Text: Conceptual Physics 7th Edition by Paul Hewitt
Academic physics is mainly conceptual with mathematics used as an aid to
understanding the principles discussed. A facility with basic algebra will be
required for the course.
Academic physics lectures will be two or three times per week. They will usually
cover about 3 to 5 pages in the text. Lectures attempt to explain concepts with
demonstrations and written board notes. Homework usually follows a lecture and
consists of reading the associated text pages and answering several exercise
questions at the end of the chapter. Typically homework is due the next day.
Late homework will be marked down one third after one day, and worth only one third
after that. Homework will not be accepted after the test on that material. Daily
homework is worth one third of the final grade.
Academic physics offers laboratory at least two periods per week. Laboratory is
designed to strengthen the concepts discussed in lecture with a mathematical
analysis of data collected. Labs will often require plotting one or more graphs and
answering questions. There will usually be a few related problems to solve at the
end of the lab. Because of the large number of labs performed in this course a
formal laboratory report will not be required. However, students usually have only
one or two days to complete the assignment. It is to the student’s benefit to begin
the analysis of data immediately upon completion of the data collection. Labs are
graded on a 10 point scale. One point is deducted each day the assignment is
late. Laboratory will count one third of the final grade.
Academic physics exams usually cover two chapters of material, and are about 4 to
5 weeks apart. Exams consist of conceptually based, multiple choice questions
with a small problem section. If a student misses an exam s/he should be
prepared to make up the test within the number of days absent, unless special
permission is granted. Exams will be worth the final third of the course grade.
Extra Credit will be accepted twice per term. It may be used to improve test scores
only. Laboratory and daily homework grades have no opportunity for e/c
improvement. Extra credit will consist of a one to two page typed paper on some
contemporary aspect of physics. The source(s) must be submitted with the
paper. Up to 20 extra points on a test grade may be earned by extra credit and no
test grade can exceed 100 points by the addition of extra credit. Extra credit points
will be added to the last exam graded before submission of the paper.
Quarter grades will be first calculated based on the above specifications. Two
additional factors will be considered after the initial numerical grade is calculated:
participation in class and lab, and homework punctuality. Students demonstrating
these qualities may earn up to 3 points extra towards the quarter grade.
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HONORS PHYSICS
Text: Conceptual Physics 7th Edition by Paul Hewitt
Honors physics is mainly conceptual with a strong emphasis on mathematics. A
facility with algebra and a minimal amount of trigonometry will be required for
the course.
Honors physics lectures will be two or three times per week. They will usually
cover about 3 to 5 pages in the text. Lectures attempt to explain concepts with
demonstrations and written board notes. Homework usually follows a lecture and
consists of reading the associated text pages and answering several exercise
questions at the end of the chapter. Typically homework is due the next day. Late
homework will be marked down 50 percent after one day, and worth only 25% up to
one week. Papers more than a week late will not be accepted. Daily homework is
worth one third of the final grade.
Honors physics offers laboratory at least two periods per week. Laboratory is
designed to strengthen the concepts discussed in class with a mathematical
analysis of data collected. Labs will often require plotting one or more graphs and
answering several questions about the type of relationship(s)
demonstrated. There will usually be a few related problems to solve at the end of
the lab. Because of the large number of labs performed in this course a formal
laboratory report will not be required. However, students usually have only one or
two days to complete the assignment. It is to the student’s benefit to begin the
analysis of data immediately upon completion of the data collection. Labs are
graded on a 10 point scale. One point is deducted each day the assignment is
late. Laboratory will count one third of the final grade.
Honors physics exams usually cover two chapters of material, and are about 4 to 5
weeks apart. Exams are a mix of conceptual questions and problems. If a
student misses an exam he or she should be prepared to makeup the test within
the number of days absent, unless special permission is granted. Exams will be
worth the final third of the course grade.
Extra Credit will be granted on a once per term basis. It may be used to improve a
test average only. Laboratory and daily homework grades have no opportunity for
e/c improvement. Extra credit will consist of a two page typed paper on some
contemporary aspect of physics. Two sources will be required, and both must be
submitted with the paper. Up to 20 extra points on one test grade may be earned
by extra credit, and no test grade can exceed 100 points by the addition of extra
credit. Extra credit points will be added to the last exam graded before
submission of the paper.
Quarter grades will be first calculated based on the above specifications.
Participation and homework punctuality will be considered after the initial numerical grade is calculated.
Students may earn up to 3 points extra towards the quarter grade.
______________________________________________________________________________
A P PHYSICS B
Text: PHYSICS by Giancoli "PHYSICS" Sixth Edition 2005
This advanced placement course is designed to provide the motivated student
with an opportunity for accelerated learning and a more rigorous mathematical
study of physics than afforded by the honors level course. The student will be
expected to have a strong algebra background and be able to use basic
trigonometry. Knowledge of calculus will not be needed . The course will meet for
seven periods a week, four of which will be lectures. One period is designed for
students to address any problems they are having and to go over homework
problems from the past week. The other two periods are for laboratory study.
The course outline is taken directly from the AP physics guidebook. In order to
cover all the topics listed, the class moves at a steady pace and students are
expected to do homework daily. Homework usually consists of several problems
from the back of the chapter in the text. Several of the answers to assigned
problems will be found at the back of the text to provide immediate feedback to the
students. Daily work is worth 30% of the final grade, and assesments will be made
frequently to assure student comprehension of the material. To help students plan their
work week, assignments will be given several days in advance of completion date.
In order to better prepare the student for the AP test in the spring, a “problem of
the week” will be assigned each week. All problems are
taken from past AP exams. These problems are worth 10% of the final grade and
credit is reduced by a third each day it is late.
The advanced placement curriculum provides for one double period lab each
week. Students are expected to purchase a notebook with graph paper to prepare
the weekly laboratory reports. Reports are expected to be neat and to follow the
format presented at the beginning of the course. Lab notebooks will collected and
graded on a weekly basis. Ten percent of the lab score is deducted for each day
the report is late. Labs account for 25% of the final grade.
Exams will be given approximately every four weeks, usually after two or three
chapters in the text have been covered. The exams are problem based and will be
administered during a double period. Exams count 35% of the final grade.
At the end of the course, a seminar on topics in "new" physics will require each student
to present a lecture to the class. This seminar will replace the laboratory work
during the period of time after the AP exam is administered.
Students taking the AP physics course have the option to take the AP
examination in May, but face no penalty if they decline. All students are required to
take a final exam except seniors with an A- average.
AP PHYSICS Course Syllabus
1.) Introduction, Measurement, and Kinetics – including vectors, coordinate systems, linear motion in 1 and 2 dimensions.
Text Chapters 1, 2, and 3. 2.5 weeks.
2.) Dynamics: Newton’s Law of Motion and Gravitation– including forces, static equilibrium (first law), dynamics of a single particle (second law),
F=ma, weight, systems of two or more bodies (third law). Applications will include inclined planes, friction,
spring force, tension; Newton’s law of gravitatiuon, weightlessness
Text Chapters 4 and 5. 2.5 weeks TEST 1
3.) Circular Motion - Centripetal acceleration, uniform and nonuniform circular motion, banked turns
Text Chaper 5 .5 week
4.) Work, Energy, and Power - including kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, spring energy, power,
conservative forces and potential energy, conservation of energy.
Text chapter 6 . 1.5 weeks.
5.) Momentum – including linear momentum, impulses, conservation of linear momentum, collisions.
Text Chapter 7. 1 week.
6.) Rotational Motion –centripetal force, uniform and non-uniform circular motion, torque, angular momentum, rotational statics,
center of gravity, stability, equilibrium.
Text chapters 8, 9. 1.5 weeks TEST 2
7.) Fluid Mechanics – pressure, density, buoyancy, Pascal’s’ principle, Bernoulli’s equation.
Text Chapter 10. 1 week.
8.) Vibration, Waves and Sound – fundamentals of SHM, springs, pendulums, period, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, energy,
interference, superposition, bounded movement, standing waves, decibel scale, beats, doppler effect.
Text chapters 11, 12. 2.5 weeks. TEST 3
9.) Temperature, Heat, and Thermodynamics – kinetic theory,temperature, expansion pressure, Ideal gas law,
specific heat, calorimetry, heat transfer, adiabatic, isothermal, isobaric transitions, engines, Carnot cycles, entropy.
Text chapters 13, 14, 15 3.5 weeks. TEST 4
10.) Electrostatics –electric charge, discussion of strengths and characteristics, Coulomb’s Law, electric field,
electric potential, capacitance. Text chapters 16, 17
2 weeks
11.) Electric Circuits – current, resistance, Ohm’s Law, EMF, power, series and parallel circuits, RC circuits.
Text chapters 18 and 19.
2 weeks. TEST 5
12.) Magnetism – magnetic fields, domain theory, right hand rules, field from a current carrying wire, force on a loop, particle accelerators.
Text chapter 20. 1.5 week.
13.) Electromagnetic Induction – motors, generators, Faraday’s Law, Lenz’s Law, EMF, transformers.
Text Chapter 21.
1.5 week. TEST 6
14.) Light and Optics – Light, the E&M spectrum, dispersion, the index of refraction, vision, diffraction, reflection, refraction,
total internal reflection, prisms, mirrors, lenses, real and virtual images, thin films, telescopes & microscopes.
Text chapters 22, 23, 24, 25.
4 weeks. TEST 7
15.) Modern and Nuclear Physics – special relativity, time dilation, Lorentz transformation, photoelectric effect, quantum mechanics,
atomic energy levels, Bohr theory, ionization energy, visible light series, de Broglie, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, nuclear physics,
decay, mass/energy equivalence, fission, and fusion. Chapters 26, 27, 28, 30, 31
4 weeks. TEST 8
16.) AP Review – Past Exams and re-review of lectures.
17.) AP Test – May __
18) New Physics-- seminar series 4 weeks
AP PHYSICSLABS
All labs are student conducted and recorded in student notebooks. Collected weekly.
Lab on Planck’s Constant May
Lab on Polarization Apr
Lab on Diffraction Apr
Lab on Concave Lens Mar
Lab on Index of Refraction Mar
Lab on Motor efficiency Mar
Lab on Tangent Galvanometer Feb
Lab on Capacitors Feb
Lab on Wheatstone Bridge Feb
Lab on Electrical Equiv of Heat Feb
Lab on Resistance Jan
Lab on Field Mapping Jan
Lab on Cooling Jan
Lab on Heat Conductivity Dec
Lab on Specific Heat Dec
Lab on Speed of Sound Dec
Lab on Absolute Zero Dec
Lab on Springs Nov
Lab on Density Nov
Lab on Torques Nov
Lab on Conservation of Energy Oct
Lab on Friction Oct
Lab on Atwood’s Machine Oct
Lab on 2-Dimensional Motion Sep
Lab on Acceleration Sep
Lab on Vectors Sep
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Zoology 2008/2009
The zoology class meets five times per week for one semester. The course will focus on the major invertebrate life forms covering eight phyla. We will follow the evolution of animal life from the simplest sponges to the complex body form of the arthropods.
The course's main goals are as follows:
To appreciate the diversity of life that exists on earth.
To understand the developmental relationships between each of the animal groups.
To understand the natural history and roles of invertebrates in the earth's ecosystems.
To appreciate the importance of the invertebrate groups to mankind.
To become familiar with the laboratory equipment used to study three dimensional specimens.
To adequately explore the diversity of invertebrate animal forms, laboratory work will be assigned on a daily basis. Each class will begin with a discussion of animal anatomy and physiology, ecology, or behavior. After 20 or 30 minutes the students will resume their work from the previous day in the lab on preserved or live specimens. Activities will involve examining interior and exterior anatomy, as well as the behavior of select invertebrates. Laboratory work will count as a significant (30 to 40 percent) portion of the student's grade. Points will be awarded based on completeness of answers, quality of lab drawings, and participation in the examination of specimens.
Homework will consist of a variety of assignments. Each student will be expected to purchase a set of colored pencils to complete worksheets from a zoology coloring text book. These exercises are designed to better acquaint each student with the anatomical structures we must become familiar with to adequately examine each phylum’s evolutionary advances. In addition to colorings, weekly readings will explore the behavior or ecology of some animal of the phylum under examination. Worksheets will accompany these readings. Late work will lose 1/3 credit after the first day and 10 percent per day after that.
Since we will examine eight phyla, there will be four major tests, each covering two of the phyla. Thus, each test will cover about four weeks of work. Each test will consist of three parts: short answers, objective (fill ins, multiple choice, matching, labeling), and a practical. The practical portion of the exam will require the student to identify and label actual specimens on display on lab benches. A final exam will cover the entire semester.
Opportunities for extra credit will be afforded throughout the semester in the form of reports. One paper worth up to 20 points can be written for each test given, and it will be added to the exam grade (up to 100 points). The paper should be about some animal in the phyla we investigate, and not any longer than three typed pages. Two sources are required of each paper and must be attached to the back of the report. For credit on a particular test grade, the extra credit paper must be submitted prior to the next exam.
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