[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 For a look at the Large hadron collider experiment see the U-Tube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM         Course Homework and Course Descriptions                                                                 HOMEWORK ACADEMIC and HONORS PHYSICS Inertia Lab Tue Oct 14 p 76/15-17,19,p1//Hon 16,17,19,21,p4  Wed Oct 8 Newton's Laws Worksheets Tue Oct 7 Friction Lab Mon Oct 6 p 76/4,9,10,12,13/ Hon:3,7,8,10,13 Mon Sep 29 Cart Lab #1 Fri Sep 26 Vector Lab Wed Sep 24 TEST 1   Sep 22 p 52/1,2,6,7,prob1 Sep19 Out to Launch Th Sep 18 p 52 Ex 11,16,18,19,p4//13,17-19   Wed sep 17 Projectile Motion Lab Tues Sept 16 p 52. ex 5,8,9,10,p 4 Hon/ ex 3,4,5,8,9 (Acad) Sept 15 W/s on Acc. of Gravity Thur Sep 11 Lab on Rolling Ball due Weds. Sep 10 Prob w/s (Acad) Tues Sep 9 prob 1 w/s Fri Sep 6 Lab on Car Speeds Thur Sept 5 ZOOLOGY Parasites reading Oct 14 Fluke Lab Oct 8 Tapeworm nLab Tue Oct 7 Fluke reading Mon Oct 6 Tracking Tapeworms Fri Oct 3 Tapeworm color Thur Oct 2 Planaria color Wed sep 24 Test Sponges and Coelenterates  Sep 23 Coral Reef reading Sep 19 Jellyfish labs Sep 18 Killer reading Sep 17 Jellyfish Color Mon Sep 15 Hydra Color wed Sept 10 Cod Killer reading Thurs. Sep 11 Lab on Sponges Tues sep 9 Sponge color Wed Sept 3 Buy a set of colored pencils (more than 12 colors is best). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                   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.             ____________________________________________________________________         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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.