COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Mr. Blackler, Room 303,                                               

Physics, Snowden International High School at Copley

 

Dear 9^th grade students, parents, and other student supporters of the class of 2024:

 

To my Physics Students:

 

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Snowden. My name is Mr. Blackler. I teach the ninth grade science class: Physics 1. It means a lot to me to teach at the high school that I graduated from. I am looking forward to an exciting, challenging, and rewarding school year for all of us.

1. Class Expectations

Since we all want you to succeed in my class, PLEASE:

• BE PRESENT: Please come to school and class every day, on time.

 

• BE PREPARED: Please Put your Cell phone in your bag on silent,

Please bring your notebook, pencil/pen, assignments, and an open -mind.

 

• BE PRODUCTIVE: Please do all of your class work, homework, and actively participate in all class activities.
•  
• BE RESPECTFUL: Please respect your own feelings, learning and time, and also those of your team mates, other students, and your teachers and other Snowden staff.

 

• BE REFLECTIVE: Please think deeply about what you are doing;

so you can learn from your own successes and mistakes (we all make them) and from those of others.

1. Philosophy of our physics class:

• Physics is a type of science. Scientists try to understand the natural
• By asking questions, collecting evidence, conducting experiments, analyzing and explaining their results to find better questions to ask.

 

• Our physics class is designed for students to learn physics by doing science.
• Much of our work will be problem-based learning, when students work in teams (of 3-4) to investigate questions which they choose, for each physics topic area.
• Snowden grade 9 students must take and pass the Physics MCAS (June 2^nd & 3rd)

Some of our work will use MCAS questions to test our learning and practice for the MCAS-some of these will count as quizzes or tests.

1. Grading and assignments:

Your physics term grade (=100 percentage points total) is based upon:

 

• The Notebook: (30 percentage points) contains class work and homework including

Do Nows, class notes, class work, Experimental work, and physics practice problems.

We do notebook checks every 1-2 weeks.

 

• Class Participation: (20 percentage points): Several times a terms, students will use a rubric to grade themselves on their preparedness, productivity, behavior, and participation in circles and other class discussions, or on their Team Work.

 

• Assessments: (30 percentage points): Summative assessments such as Project reports (scientific investigations) and Unit tests to practice for MCAS.
•  
• Quizzes:(20 Percentage points): More Frequent assessments to check for knowledge and skills for each unit.

 

1. Students, Parents, Guardians, and other student supporters:

 

You can count on me to do whatever I can to support student learning in our classes.

I will treat our students with the respect that everyone deserves, and insist that other students do the same. Since respect is a two-way street, we expect to be treated with the same level of respect. Learning should be fun but it is also hard work.

Most Days (Monday to Thursday) , I am available after school from 2:15- 3:30pm

 

In order to help your child be successful in this and his/her other classes:

 

• Please keep track of how your student is doing ON LINE at mybps.org/aspen

 

• Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

(I usually check email at least once per day),

 

or you can leave a message for me at the school:

• 1 (617) 635-9899 And I will return your call ASAP.

 

Thank you for Reading this, Mr. R. G. Blackler.

  

 

COURSE SYLLABUS: Physics MCAS Learning Standards and Assessments

Course Title: Physics 1             Teacher: Mr. R. Blackler

Room # 303   Year: Grade 9

Course Objectives:

Students will study Physics which describes and explains the rules for how objects in the world move, as well as electricity, heat & temperature, waves and other topics related to energy. So they are able to achieve each of the outcomes specified by the Introductory Physics Standards listed below:

1. Motion and Forces (September to October)-Term 1

1.2     Distinguish between displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and acceleration. Solve problems involving displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and constant acceleration.

1.3     Create and interpret graphs of 1-dimensional motion, such as position vs. time, distance vs. time, speed vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time where acceleration is constant.

Unit Assessments: Motion quizzes and Projects 1 and 2

1.4     Interpret and apply Newton’s three laws of motion.

1.5     Use a free-body force diagram to show forces acting on a system consisting of a pair of interacting objects. For a diagram with only co-linear forces, determine the net force acting on a system and between the objects.

Unit Assessments: Forces Project and test

2. Conservation of Energy and Momentum (November to December Christmas Break)-Term 2

2.1     Interpret and provide examples that illustrate the law of conservation of energy.

2.2     Interpret and provide examples of how energy can be converted from gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy and vice versa.

2.3     Describe both qualitatively and quantitatively how work can be expressed as a change in mechanical energy.

Unit Assessments: Energy project test

2.5     Provide and interpret examples showing that linear momentum is the product of mass and velocity, and is always conserved (law of conservation of momentum). Calculate the momentum of an object

Unit Assessments: Conservation of Momentum Quiz

3. Heat and Heat Transfer (January to Feb Break)-Term 2

3.1     Explain how heat energy is transferred by convection, conduction, and radiation.[1]

3.2     Explain how heat energy will move from a higher temperature to a lower temperature until equilibrium is reached.

3.3     Describe the relationship between average molecular kinetic energy and temperature. Recognize that energy is absorbed when a substance changes from a solid to a liquid to a gas, and that energy is released when a substance changes from a gas to a liquid to a solid. Explain the relationships among evaporation, condensation, cooling, and warming.

3.4     Explain the relationships among temperature changes in a substance, the amount of heat transferred, the amount (mass) of the substance, and the specific heat of the substance.

Unit Assessments:Heat quiz and mini project

5. Electromagnetism (February to March)- Term 3

5.2     Develop qualitative and quantitative understandings of current, voltage, resistance, and the connections among them (Ohm’s law).

5.3     Analyze simple arrangements of electrical components in both series and parallel circuits. Recognize symbols and understand the functions of common circuit elements (battery, connecting wire, switch, fuse, resistance) in a schematic diagram.

5.4     Describe conceptually the attractive or repulsive forces between objects relative to their charges and the distance between them (Coulomb’s law).

5.6     Recognize that moving electric charges produce magnetic forces and moving magnets produce electric forces. Recognize that the interplay of electric and magnetic forces is the basis for electric motors, generators, and other technologies.

Unit Assessments: Electricity quiz and project

 

4. Waves (March to April Break)-Term 3

4.1     Describe the measurable properties of waves (velocity, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period) and explain the relationships among them. Recognize examples of simple harmonic motion.

4.2     Distinguish between mechanical and electromagnetic waves.

4.3     Distinguish between the two types of mechanical waves, transverse and longitudinal.

4.4     Describe qualitatively the basic principles of reflection and refraction of waves.

4.5     Recognize that mechanical waves generally move faster through a solid than through a liquid and faster through a liquid than through a gas.

6. Electromagnetic Radiation (Term 3)

6.1     Recognize that electromagnetic waves are transverse waves and travel at the speed of light through a vacuum.

6.2     Describe the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of frequency and wavelength, and identify the locations of radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet), ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and gamma rays on the spectrum.

Unit Assessments: Waves test

Term 4 will be devoted to reviewing for the physics MCAS (June 4-5) and The Final Projects (due Monday June 15^th); Lots of MCAS practice multiple choice and open response questions

 

 

TEACHING CERTIFICATION:

FIELDS (LEVEL): Physics (9-12)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE: BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS (since 9/96)

•  Physics 1, Snowden International (9/05 to present)
• Theory of Knowledge, Snowden International (09-16)
• Active Physics, Jeremiah E. Burke High School (03-05) grade 9