Category: ap physics 1 (Page 2 of 4)

The Experimental Design FRQ: Rethinking Labs

July 8, 2019 / dina

I previously discussed my tips of the AP Physics 1 and 2 FRQS, but I realize I didn’t really touch on the experimental design FRQ. I will write out some tips for that beast, but I want to discuss how I prepare my students for this throughout the school year.

The experimental design FRQ is probably the most daunting to students and teachers. The first time I had my students do one in class, it was truly abysmal. How can teachers prepare students for the experimental design FRQ?

I think the number one answer to this question is by flipping the way we do labs. So many of us are used to traditional labs with instructions that tell the students exactly what to do.

Sample student response from the 2017 experimental design FRQ — Check out the amount of writing required on these FRQs! Here is the full sample from 2017.

Labs are the ultimate exercise in inquiry for science classes. Many teachers struggle with having the time for inquiry, but inquiry labs don’t have to take any longer than traditional “cookbook” labs. Let’s look at the four levels on inquiry, with an example lab in AP Physics 1. If my explanations aren’t enough, here is some more detail on the four levels of inquiry from Inquiry in Education.

Level 1: Limited

Limited tends to require the least amount of critical thinking. Students prove something using a prescribed procedure. For instance, students prove the acceleration of gravity by dropped a picket fence through a photogate for 10 trials, average them, and find a percent error. Bad? No. Does this prepare students for the experimental design FRQ? Also no.

Sample lab setup using a Vernier photogate and picket fence — Image courtesy of Vernier. How could you kick a lab like this up to the next level?

Level 2: Structured

Most of the labs I did in high school and college were structured. This is where our more traditional labs lie. The teacher provides the question and the procedure, and the students work through it. Higher order thinking may come in during the analysis portion of a structured inquiry lab, but the actual lab is fairly straight forward.

An example of this would be investigating the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Students are instructed to vary the force pushing a cart and a the mass of the cart, and derive Newton’s 2nd Law.

Level 3: Guided

Guided inquiry is really the sweet spot for preparing students for the experimental design FRQ. In guided inquiry, the teacher provides the problem and the students must come up with the procedure, data, and analysis to answer the problem.

Oriental Trading popper toys used for an energy lab — I bought these poppers from Oriental Trading for a guided inquiry lab on energy!

This format most closely matches the types of questions students see on the experimental design FRQ. Through doing guided inquiry labs, students become used to figuring out their own procedure. Of course, every lab can’t be guided inquiry. However, this is a great tool to use during each unit. I will share some of my own examples below.

Level 4: Open

Open inquiry takes the student generated process a bit further. Students come up with the question, in addition to the procedure. I think that open inquiry is a great end-of-year review tool, but I don’t really use open inquiry for labs during the school year.

5 guided inquiry labs you can do next school year to prepare for the experimental design FRQ

So, now that you know a little bit about the types of labs, let’s look at how you can use structured inquiry labs to prepare students for the experimental design FRQ.

Projectile motion
- Where will the marble land? A marble is shot out of a marble launcher, and students must place a cup so that the marble lands in it on the first try. Students can use whatever tools needed to figure this out, but they can not launch the marble during the procedure phase. I combat “cheating” by launching the marble early by not giving them the angle the final trial will take place at until the end.
Coefficient of friction
- Does the coefficient of friction depend on the mass of an object? Students are given force sensors, various masses, rulers, and are able to gather additional materials if necessary.
Energy conversions
- What is the spring constant of a popper toy? Students can use any lab materials available to them to determine the spring constant. The stipulation is that they must do it using energy, not Hooke’s Law. Most students choose to use video analysis using their phone, which I why I like not giving them set materials.
Rotational kinetic energy
- An object rolls down a ramp. Does its percentage of translational versus rotational kinetic energy depend on its shape? Students are given a ramp, meter stick, and various objects (hoop, sphere, cylinder). They determine how much of each object’s initial gravitational potential energy is rotational kinetic energy at the end of the ramp.
Pendulum
- What factor determine the period of a pendulum? Students must test at least four factors and derive an equation for the period of a pendulum.

Final thoughts

Of course, the goal of all labs is not just to prepare students for one FRQ on the National Exam. However, giving students genuine experiences in experimental design will prepare them and push their critical thinking skills. A good lab course uses a mix of different types and styles of labs, with guided inquiry being one part.

Also, don’t think you have to reinvent the wheel to push your students. How can you kick labs you already do up a level?

Choosing your AP Physics 1 textbook

June 24, 2019 / dina

One of the first questions new teachers ask is, “Which AP Physics 1 textbook should I use?” Sometimes, as a teacher, you have a choice to purchase a certain book, and sometimes you are locked into using a book adopted by your school district. I was fortunate enough to be a part of my school district’s textbook adoption process. This means I have spent a lot of time analyzing some of the book available.

Please note that the opinions I am sharing are from my personal use and my students’ use of the textbooks. These opinions do not represent my school district, school, or College Board. I am sharing what I have learned as an AP Physics 1 teacher.

The three AP Physics 1 textbooks I have in my personal collection are:

College Physics: Explore and Apply – Ekina, 2nd edition
College Physics: A Strategic Approach – Knight, 3rd edition
College Physics – Serway & Vuille, 10th edition

My personal copies of the top 3 AP Physics 1 textbooks — My copies of the three AP Physics 1 textbooks we are analyzing. These are a small selection of my Physics library!

The first thing you may notice is a big gap in the age of these titles. For example, Ekina and Knight are relatively new books, written specifically for and since the AP Physics 1 course was designed. Serway and Vuille have been around for much longer, with this textbook being the most popular for the old AP Physics B course.

However, when I started teaching AP Physics 1, my school only had Serway and Vuille. While this book may have been an excellent choice for AP Physics B, here are a few reasons I am not the biggest fan of it for AP Physics 1 and 2.

Why I moved away from Serway and Vuille as my AP Physics 1 textbook

AP Physics 1 and 2 are courses that demand in-depth analysis, writing, and concept development. While there are definitely some classic Physics problem-solving skills needed, the focus of these courses is deep evaluation and synthesis. Here are the AP science practices to demonstrate the types of skills students need.

Serway and Vuille does not always foster those skills. The content of the book is great for a more classical Physics course. However, the AP Physics 1 textbook should focus on the skills needed for the AP Physics 1 exam. S&V frequently has long blocks of texts, a focus on equations, and pure calculation problems. While there are conceptual problems at the end of the chapters, they are not of the rigor and higher level thinking required by the AP Physics 1 exam.

Taking a look at Knight

I was fortunate that my school let me purchase new books that first year. I immediately purchased a class set of Knight (College Physics: A Strategic Approach). My class did not have enough books for students to take them home. This was a disadvantage, but I don’t require my students to use the textbook at home a ton anyway. Here is why I immediately gravitated towards Knight:

Every example includes pictorial and graphical analysis
The same thorough problem-solving strategy is used the entire book
The number of pictures, graphics, vector diagrams, energy bar charts, etc. on each and every page to deepen understanding
Clear and concise end-of-chapter summaries with strategies, concepts, and applications
The alignment of the problems with the AP Physics 1 exam

I highly recommend this AP Physics 1 textbook. All of these features, plus the general user friendliness, make this an excellent choice for students.

After three years of my courses using this textbook, however, my school district changed to Ekina (College Physics: Explore and Apply). I have only used this book for one year, but let’s take a look at how this book compares to Knight.

Thoughts after one year of Ekina

Ekina is generally a comparable book to Knight. Their intentional approach and redesign to align with the AP Physics 1 course definitely makes these books stand out against their competitors. Flipping through the pages of Ekina shows the focus on multiple representations, rather than blocks of text.

Additionally, I like the problem sets at the end of the chapters. There is a good mix of multiple-choice, conceptual questions, and problems.

I prefer Ekina’s order of instruction to Knights. For instance, this textbook influenced my decision to move 1D forces before projectile motion and momentum before energy. These changes seemed to aid students’ understanding of 2D motion and energy. (I outlined some of my pacing changes here!)

However, Ekina falls short on the end of chapter summaries, as well as the solved examples sometimes. Maybe this is just my preference for Knight showing, but I really like Knight’s problem-solving strategies better.

All in all, Ekina is another great choice for your AP Physics 1 textbook. I will revisit my thoughts on this book after another year of using it in my courses. I am excited to have enough books this school year for students to have a home copy. This means I will be using and analyzing it more in the coming months.

Final thoughts on my AP Physics 1 textbook

Ultimately, the best book depends on how you use it. You can make whatever resources you have available work for your class – a textbook does not make or break it. However, a good textbook can be a valuable resource for students and teachers.

I need a textbook with excellent problem solving strategies to aid students, great visuals to help with multiple representations, and problem sets that model the AP Physics 1 exam. All of those requirements are met by Knight, and are mostly met by Ekina. Your program will have a valuable tool if you are able to get one of those books.

I hope this reflection helps you decide on the best AP Physics 1 textbook for your needs!

AP Physics 1 Pacing: Reflection and Revision

December 23, 2018 / dina

I shared my pacing in AP Physics 1 last May, based off of my 2015-2016 school year plans. I made this guide after two years of teaching AP Physics 1, and needless to say, it’s changed quite a bit.

Though it hasn’t changed drastically, I took a good look back at it this summer and tried to find areas in need of improvement. Here is my basic order of instruction:

Physics Skills
Kinematics in 1D
Forces in 1D
Forces and Motion in 2D
Momentum
Energy
Rotation
Waves
Electricity

I am going to focus on semester one, and reflect on semester two in a couple of weeks as I plan for the coming months. Here is my revised AP Physics 1 pacing for the first semester!

Unit 1: Physics Skills – 6 days

I still begin my year with Physics Skills, which includes some introductory mathematics, graphing skills, and laboratory skills. However, I begin basic motion definitions and introduce motion graphs during this unit. These additions make Physics Skills bleed more seamlessly into Kinematics.

Proportional reasoning is an essential skill to focus on early in the year.

Unit 2: Kinematics in One Dimension – 15 days

This includes constant velocity motion and uniformly accelerated motion in one dimension. I begin kinematics earlier than I used to, and try to infuse some of the graphical analysis skills and laboratory skills necessary for AP Physics 1 during this unit. I also specifically focus on the Qualitative/Quantitative translation FRQs as our first type of FRQ.

Unit 3: Forces – 15 days

In this unit, we focus on types of forces and basic usage of Newton’s Laws. This was a major change for me – moved forces up to before 2D kinematics (projectiles, motion on inclined planes). This gives students more of a conceptual basis of forces before we get into more complex problems. I also introduce vectors and vector operations at the end here as a precursor to 2D motion. I specifically focus on the experimental design FRQs.

2017 FRQ #2 is a great experimental design question to use in this unit.

This new layout for the first quarter gives me on average 4 full days for review and/or a full multiple choice + FRQ mini AP test.

Unit 4: Forces and Motion in 2D – 15 days

Two dimensions is a dense unit, and possibly somewhere that I need improving. I include 2D forces, projectiles, circular motion, and gravitation. My circular motion treatment is a little light, as I know we will get back to it in the rotation unit. Holding off with projectiles until after the first quarter lessens their scariness and gives them a better explanation once we understand forces. I also specifically focus on the experimental design FRQs.

Unit 5: Momentum – 10 days

This is another big change for me – momentum before energy. When I did energy here, we would usually not finish or rush to finish before Thanksgiving Break, and then somehow forget energy existed afterwards. I moved momentum up, knowing that if I took out in-depth collision analysis and moved that to the energy unit, we could easily finish momentum before break. I also like that this is heavy on the vectors, which we are jumping off from in forces. This unit includes impulse, momentum, conservation of momentum, and a basic knowledge of collisions. We also focus on short answer FRQs, especially the paragraph length response.

A sample collision lab using PhET simulations — The Collisions Lab from PhET is a great way to introduce collisions and conservation of momentum!

Unit 6: Energy – 15 days

Finally, we are closing out the first semester. We round out semester one with energy transfer, conservation of energy, and energy in collisions. This switch lets us take energy into the home stretch, and use it as a good spiral of every topic already covered.

AP Physics 1 Pacing – tl;dr version

I changed my order to do kinematics and forces in 1D before doing both in 2D. I did momentum before energy. I liked it, would recommend.

Getting back to it – AP Physics 1 Learning Goals

December 19, 2018 / dina

I haven’t updated this site in a year and half. 18 months later, my AP Physics 1 pacing guide is still ranked 3rd on Google. This realization boggles my mind and gives me new motivation. I will admit – after working on this site for only a few months, I felt unmotivated to continue. Particularly, I spent so much time in the classroom, it felt like a chore to continue outside the classroom. However, your views and comments and emails show that teaching Physics is important and new teachers need help.

Am I famous yet? No, just proud to be helping so many teachers with their course pacing! I will have to update this guide to reflect changes I have made.

To get us started back up, here is a bonus topic – learning goals for AP Physics 1!

AP Physics 1 Learning Goals for each unit

My school district requires teachers to have a learning goal for each unit displayed and referenced throughout the unit. For more day to day plans, I use the College Board learning objectives for AP Physics 1, but I struggled with coming up with overarching unit goals. In addition, I felt the Big Ideas from College Board were too broad and not student friendly.

Here is the AP Physics 1 Course Description from College Board, just to illustrate how cumbersome this process can be.

Example from the AP Course Description – these objectives drive the instruction, but I need more overarching goals for my classroom.

However, during our teacher preplan this year, I sat down and created AP Physics 1 learning goals for each unit, mostly based off the learning objective I thought most encompassed the entire unit. These are the goals displayed on my board every single day, and together we dissect what they mean and how we can achieve them.

My classroom hub, with our unit learning goal. I need to figure out how to condense this to be even more student friendly.

Learning Goals by Topic

Physics Skills: The student is able to express the motion of an object using
narrative, mathematical, and graphical representations.

Kinematics: The student is able to analyze experimental data describing the
motion of an object and is able to express the results of the analysis using
narrative, mathematical, and graphical representations.

Forces: The student is able to represent forces in diagrams or mathematically
using appropriately labeled vectors with magnitude, direction, and units during
the analysis of a situation.

Dynamics: The student is able to analyze a scenario and make claims (develop
arguments, justify assertions) about the forces exerted on an object by other
objects for different types of forces or components of forces.

Momentum: The student is able to analyze data to characterize the change in
momentum of an object.

Energy: The student is able to apply the concepts of Conservation of Energy to
determine qualitatively and/or quantitatively that work done will change the
kinetic energy, the potential energy of the systems, and/or the internal energy of the system.

Rotation: The student is able to describe a representation and use it to analyze a
situation in which several forces exerted on a rotating system of rigidly
connected objects change the angular velocity and angular momentum of the
system.

Waves: The student is able to design an experiment to determine the relationship between periodic wave speed, wavelength, and frequency and relate these
concepts to everyday examples.

Electricity: The student is able to apply Kirchhoff’s rules to the comparison of
electric current in various segments of an electrical circuit with resistors in series and in parallel and predict how those values would change if configurations of the circuit are changed.

What do you think? Are these learning goals a good representation of each unit? How do you decide your overarching learning goals?

5 Tips for New AP Physics Teachers

June 2, 2017 / dinacav

So you just found out you are teaching AP Physics for the first time? Or maybe you are a veteran teacher that needs some new resources? We have all been there. Beginning to teach a new subject can be difficult, especially if it is an AP course. Here are my tips for new AP Physics teachers.

What to do before the school year begins

1. Attend an AP Summer Institute

I attended the APSI at the University of South Florida the summer before I began teaching AP, and it was the single most valuable thing I did to prepare. The presenter gave us a wealth of resources, performed sample labs, and really delved in-depth into the expectations for the course and national exam. Hopefully, your school will pay for your attendance, because it is expensive. However, even if you have to pay out of pocket I would still recommend attending. The resources and knowledge you gain are far worth it – this is the number one thing all AP Physics teachers should do!

2. Join Pretty Good Physics

The previous AP teacher at my school told be about this site, and then I learned about it again at the APSI. It is a great place to find resources, share resources, and get ideas for your course.

There is a general wiki that has labs, activities, and various problem sets. This site is publicly view-able. There is also a secure site in which you must prove you are a teacher – secure includes test questions, FRQs, practice national exams, and so much more. I recommend joining both wikis.

Resources for AP Physics teachers during the school year

3. TIPERs are your best friend

TIPERs, or Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research, are a life saver. I find that these exercises tend to be pretty close to what students encounter on the national exam, and they are also just great problems. My students get an FRQ every week, and many times that FRQ is actually a TIPER. There are so many to choose from.

TIPERs are a great resource for AP Physics teachers

One type of exercise is a ranking task, in which students analyze six or so different scenarios and have to organize them based on most velocity, most kinetic energy, etc. The national exam has included these types of questions, as evident by 2017 AP Physics 1 FRQ #1.

You can find the book on Amazon, but I recommend getting an electronic version.

Here is an article on College Board’s website on using TIPERs and similar ranking tasks in your classroom. They also included this sample ranking task on projectiles.

4. Use the released practice exams

The released exams are my exams. Make sure you get access to the AP Audit website and secure documents. These documents can be used for in-class use, but may not be posted online or provided for students to take home. This makes they excellent test questions – they are secure and have actually been on the national.

The first thing my students said to me after the national was that it was not any harder than what we did in class. Sure, it was hard, but they were adequately prepared. Released exams are your best resource for preparing your students.

5. Do all the labs

Seriously, all of them. Okay, maybe not all, but at least 1-2 a week. 25% of your class should be time spent in laboratory experiences. This may sound like a lot and you may say that you don’t have time, but it is absolutely necessary. I teach in a school with 50 minute class periods. It is possible.

It is important to vary between the types of labs students perform. You can do inquiry-based labs, traditional step-by-step labs, design challenges, virtual labs, create models, whatever – the point is that students need their hands on things for Physics to make sense. I posted about how I use labs in my AP Physics course to help with the experimental design FRQ – check it out here!