Required 2015 Summer Work for AP Credit in Physics
Active Viewing of the first 15 Caltech Streaming Lectures on Physics
“The Mechanical Universe”
(About 30 minutes each.)
Secret to Success in this Course (or any other):
Learn physics before you have to learn physics.
This is an “oldie” series done in 1984, but still a “goodie” as far as the “phundamentals of
physics” are concerned. View the lectures; laugh at the fashions and styles; but, learn the
physics! (Site references to this and other excellent physics resources are given below.)
Watch the first half (13) lectures – through “Beyond the Mechanical Universe” alone, with
friends, make it a social physics event.
(You are of course welcome to view all 52 mini-lectures, since you will be doing that during
the course of the year.) Start a notebook (like the one shown on the left below) using the
system described herein. Completion at the speed of sound or light is not required.
If you have any questions, or anything else I can assist you with about the course please
contact me at: [email protected]
Have a great summer break and I look forward to us hitting physics (that would be an
inelastic collision – when you view that lecture, you will understand) in the new school year.
Peter P. Demyan, PhD
AP/Honors Physics Online Resources:
Free High School Online Support
http://www.ck12.org/student/
This is the AP required viewing over summer.
Caltech Mechanical Universe
http://www.learner.org/resources/series42.html
SUMMER TASK: Watch the first 15 of the full 52
lectures (30 minutes each) over summer.
It really helps to know the scope and key areas
physics before learning it in depth.
Follow the model below to take conceptual notes
after each lecture is viewed. Two notebook pages
(the equivalent of two note cards each) are required
as proof of viewing for each lecture. The notebook
will be due the first day of class. Note: a free onetime registration may be required.
In a similar manner to OpenStax College, the CK12 foundation makes online textbooks available free.
They, too, are updated constantly and have video
and online content embedded.
I recommend the physics textbook as an excellent
source for another approach to yet another
approach to understanding the key introductory
college physics concepts.
Free Online College Courses
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses
Under major discipline areas (physics is a long
scroll down) there is a listing of the resources in that
area. More and more universities are going to free
online courses for students.
You will find this site worth checking out.
BEST RESOURCE FOR AP PHYSICS
http://www.apphysicslectures.com/
This is an excellent “chalk talk” put together on
the two main divisions of physics (1. mechanics and
2. electricity and magnetism) that we will study this
year. Try it out by using it as a “complement to the
Caltech lecture #5 Vectors (which will be our first
unit of study). Four videos cover kinematics
(measuring motion) in one and two dimensions.
Together, vectors and kinematics constitute our
first three units of study. It covers AP physics 1, AP
physics 2 and AP physics C versions of the AP tests.
Resources the AP physics C test are below.
This is a “talking hand” chalkboard set of You
Tube videos that last about 10 minutes. The
presenter has taught, created, and written for AP
physics examinations. These will be the topics for
the AMAP (AM AP physics) club meetings. You may
do them outside the AM club, but you will not have
had the guided experience or the club discussions.
Free College Online Textbook
http://openstaxcollege.org/
Rice University began a project to provide free
online college textbooks and low cost hardbound
copies. The one in physics, for example, is used at
The Ohio State University among others as the
standard text for students. Unlike hardbound
editions, online texts can be updated continuously,
and the physics text has gone through several
revisions in a few years. The video captures are
particularly good. This is a A+++ resource site.
MIT 801, 802, 803 Physics Series
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01PhysicsIFall1999/CourseHome/index.htm
NOTE: The series has been pulled by MIT, so
they are only available on DVD (you may copy
them) or to be viewed in class.
This is an EXCELLENT three course sequence (801
mechanics, 802 electricity and magnetism, 803
waves) presented by MIT that makes up the
introductory sequence at MIT in physics. This is
what you are preparing to be ready for in college.
We will view these video lectures mostly as capstone
events after you have studied an area. You can selftest to confirm your readiness by being convinced
that you understand the lecture and can work the
problems assigned by Professor Lewin.
Yale “Calculus Lifesaver” Series
http://www.calclifesaver.com/
For those among you wishing an in-depth video
lecture introduction to calculus, visit the above Yale
website. This is “the” one. The Yale lectures are
some of the very best I have ever found for making
calculus understandable (and even enjoyable).
AP Physics C -- Mechanics
http://www.flippingphysics.com/review-of-all-apphysics-c-topics---mechanics-video-1-of-2.html
http://www.flippingphysics.com/review-of-all-apphysics-c-topics---mechanics-video-2-of-2.html
AP Physics C -- Electricity and Magnetism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hk5gMajR1E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8E1rJCPdh0
Format for Taking Concept Notes:
Notebooks or Index Cards
2006-2015 Peter P. Demyan, PhD
This concept based, note taking format is
a good way to cover material and test
oneself for readiness on topics in any
course. The notebook you do over the
summer for the Caltech mini-lectures will
introduce you to what will be the concept
note taking style for regular classroom
homework. Besides, in a notebook format,
concept notes can be done on 3x5 index
cards. Individual cards can be study
flashcards.
In college (or in high school) a full set of
concept notes can be created by a study
group and shared with group members. We
will use study groups in strategic and
effective ways during the physics course.
The use of these groups saves time and will
help you master a unit’s important parts. It
is best not to do concept notes while
viewing lectures or reading the chapter of a
textbook, because it breaks your flow of
understanding. Do any notes after you first
view/read anything are trying to learn. A
short delay makes cards effective “checks
for understanding” and helps recall.
Steps for setting up concept pages/cards
(NOTE: if you took forensics, it’s the same.)
a. Divide the page into two equal parts
“hamburger style” (horizontally at the
middle line).
b. Now, divide each of the sections you
just made again horizontally (see
illustration) into equal parts. I used a
broken or dotted line in my example. Each
page should now have four equal horizontal
sections.
c. Divide the page again “hotdog style”
by folding from the edge to the red line (not
all the way to the binding). You will now
have a page separated into eight equal
sections. The top half (made of four
sections) is used for one concept from the
mini-lecture. The bottom half (also four
equal sections) is for another concept.
What goes where is covered below and in
the illustrated notebook pages.
d. You will use two sheets (front and
back) of the bound notebook paper for each
mini-lecture. That will have you covering
what you consider to be four important
concepts from what you viewed in the minilecture.
Subject mastery depends on “hooking”
these key elements to one another,
applying them, and having a reason to learn
them (for the test and beyond). These
hooked, key elements become your
“earned concepts” and they are the
fundamental components of a mental
mapping that you will build upon to go
forward. How to do the conceptual physics
mapping will be shown during class.
This way of organizing material for learning
prepares you for success in several ways
Front Side
1. The process focuses on key elements
(concepts, formulae, or depictions) which
are entered in the upper left box of the four
boxes on the note taking page. You will
learn during the course that expressing
concepts can be done in many ways.
For now, use any depiction way that
works for you – a word, a picture, a phrase,
or a sentence.
2. This style forces viewing key elements
in many ways. In the upper right box, you
explain the key element in your own words.
In the lower left box, a connection is to
be made between the key element and
physics – such as what the concept explains.
For the lower right box, you make a
personal connection between the key
element and you as a learner, such as what
you know now that you did not know
before or how you could use this in some
specified way.
3. Many assessments have conceptual
(such as essay) items that require written
response (short or extended). Students I
have had often freeze when they see this
kind of item and waste time thinking of how
to start to respond. These extended
response items frequently come in two
versions: “Why is this important in this
subject?” or “Why or how is this important
for you to know, explain, do…?” The
bottom two sections can be used as
“question response starters” that you have
thought about before being pressured to
answer in an exam situation.
Summary of the Front Side: The four
front sections have now become a
connected set of the key element’s
“attributes.” Attributes are separate parts
that, together, will make up an earned
(learned) concept that is more than the
separate parts (that’s called synergy).
You now have
-stated a key element formally in some
valid way (top left),
- made it mean something to you in your
words (top right),
- cited its relevance to physics (bottom
left), and, finally you
-made a personal (emotional) connection
(bottom right).
Back Side
1. On the reverse side of the notebook
page (or index card) is a two section space
for you to use as you to try to predict and
practice what you think the teacher might
test you on about this key element. To do
this for real, it is very important that you
get a feeling for what the person who will
grade you believes is important. For the
Caltech lectures, you can practice by using
the style of your chemistry teacher from
this year.
Learning the teacher’s style should be
one of the main reasons for attending each
class. By going to class you can pick up on
verbal and non-verbal clues from the
presenter (a teacher’s actions stress what’s
important to her or him). As you get used
to the styles of presentation and gain
experience about her/his way of testing,
you can adjust your predicted questions
accordingly.
2. The left half of this back side is for the
predicted question; the right half, for the
justified and fully explained (or worked out)
answer. This should not be a “Mickey
Mouse” question just to get the homework
done. An example is: “What does the “F” in
Newton’s F=ma equation on force mean?”
is too simple to ask.
Better: Solve the following problem:
Sam bets Joe he can calculate his “pinching”
reaction time (as we will do in a laboratory
experiment) without using a watch or
timepiece. How could Sam do it?
This side of the page (or an index card),
too, can become a “flash card” by folding
the sheet over to hide an answer.
Exchanging and quizzing one another on
the “cards” created is a great study method
and could become great reason to hold a
physics pizza party to review for the test as
a study group.
2006 Peter Demyan
The front and back sides of notebook pages are shown. Notebook pages have the equivalent of two index cards
on each page (concepts on front, prediction of test item on back). Four key elements “cards” based on the subject
read or viewed are due and a fifth card connects to the outside world.
Just Imagine…
Effective study and learning habits (used by you
alone and in or by a group of peers) combined with
effective organization skills will lead to college
success. That success will likely pay big bucks and
provide financial security.
One of the Really Big Bucks You Will be Earning
This $1,000,000 is about half of what a four year
degree college graduate makes in her/his lifetime
compared to someone who graduated from high
school. A “Bachelor's degree holders earn
approximately $2.1 million, nearly twice the sum of a
high school graduate's lifetime. Individuals who go
on to pursue a doctoral degree can expect to make
approximately $89,400 a year and $3.4 million over
the course of their lifetimes. … If people choose to
obtain a professional degree, the gap increases once
again. They will make about $109,600 in annual
income, over three times the amount of an
individual with only a high school degree.
Throughout their lives, individuals with professional
degrees earn about $4.4 million. Read more: College
Vs. High School Degree Salaries | eHow
http://www.ehow.com/about_6619770_collegehigh-school-degree-salaries.html#ixzz2VY6phhAk “
Report dated 2013.
ppd 22may2015