AP Physics 2 (Sem 2) is the second semester of a year-long, introductory college-level physics course designed to simulate the rigor and skills needed for a first year college course. The course is algebra based and the topics of study include optics, quantum mechanics, and nuclear physics. This course also has a laboratory requirement which will be met with hands-on labs along with online simulations. The labs will be inquiry-based to provide students the opportunity to develop critical thinking and reasoning skills along with applying the science practices. This course does not include the AP exam; students can contact their school’s AP coordinator or guidance counselor to sign up for the exam. In order to maintain the integrity of AP standards, all AP course midterm and final exams must be proctored.
Prerequisites: AP Physics 2 (Sem 1)
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Students can provide examples of diverse physical systems which have common properties such as mass, charge, and internal structure.
- Students can describe interactions between objects by using the concept of force.
- Students can explain how changes in a system arise given interactions between systems.
- Students can apply conservation laws to make predictions of how interactions will change systems.
- Students can explain how waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another.
- Students can apply the mathematical model of waves to a variety of physical phenomena.
- Students can apply the mathematics of probability to describe the behavior of complex and quantum mechanical systems.
Course Outline:
Unit 6: Geometric Optics
Unit 7: Modern Physics (Quantum)
Unit 8: Modern Physics (Nuclear)
Unit 9: AP Review
Final Exam
Resources Included: College Physics for AP Courses by Anderson, David, Nathan Czuba, Erika Gasper, et al., (2015). OpenStax.org. ISBN: 978-1-938168-93-2. The content of this eTextbook is provided directly within the lessons contained in the course. When the lesson includes instructions to read particular passages of the textbook, then you will find a link to those passages within the lesson instructions. Throughout this course we will use the free, open textbook "College Physics for AP Courses" from OpenStax.
Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: AP Physics 2 Lab Kit (or equivalent resources provided by the school). Quality Science Labs, LLC Johns Hopkins CTY AP Physics 2 Lab Kit Additional details to be provided by the instructor.
Students require a graphing calculator (equivalent to a TI-83 or TI-84) that can perform trigonometry functions, such as SIN, COS, and TAN. Although free graphing calculators can be found online, students are encouraged to select a physical device from the approved AP Exam Calculator Policy that they plan to use during the AP Exam, as online calculators will not be permitted for use during AP Exam sessions.
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Web Browser must permit the launch of Web Start or Applet Java applications in order to view some content within this course.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: The official course descriptions for Advanced Placement courses and information about their exams are located on the College Board site at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html.
Michigan Virtual prepares students in AP courses for the AP exam, but does not offer the exam test itself. It is the responsibility of the school or parent to register for a local administration of the AP exam.
There are required due dates in AP courses. The pacing of due dates in AP courses aligns to the completion of all lessons and required assignments and assessments prior to the national AP exam date related to this course title. The calendar of AP exam dates is published by the College Board (Exam Calendar).