| (a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded
one credit for successful completion of this course. Algebra I is
suggested as a prerequisite or corequisite. This course is recommended
for students in Grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Physics. In Physics, students conduct laboratory
and field investigations, use scientific practices during investigations,
and make informed decisions using critical thinking and scientific
problem solving. Students study a variety of topics that include:
laws of motion; changes within physical systems and conservation of
energy and momentum; forces; thermodynamics; characteristics and behavior
of waves; and atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics. Students who successfully
complete Physics will acquire factual knowledge within a conceptual
framework, practice experimental design and interpretation, work collaboratively
with colleagues, and develop critical-thinking skills.
(2) Nature of science. Science, as defined by the National
Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable
explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the
knowledge generated through this process." This vast body of changing
and increasing knowledge is described by physical, mathematical, and
conceptual models. Students should know that some questions are outside
the realm of science because they deal with phenomena that are not
currently scientifically testable by empirical science.
(3) Scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the planned
and deliberate investigation of the natural world. Scientific methods
of investigation can be experimental, descriptive, or comparative.
The method chosen should be appropriate to the question being asked.
(4) Science and social ethics. Scientific decision
making is a way of answering questions about the natural world. Students
should be able to distinguish between scientific decision-making methods
and ethical and social decisions that involve the application of scientific
information.
(5) Scientific systems. A system is a collection of
cycles, structures, and processes that interact. All systems have
basic properties that can be described in terms of space, time, energy,
and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems as patterns and
can be observed, measured, and modeled. These patterns help to make
predictions that can be scientifically tested. Students should analyze
a system in terms of its components and how these components relate
to each other, to the whole, and to the external environment.
(6) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Scientific processes. The student conducts investigations,
for at least 40% of instructional time, using safe, environmentally
appropriate, and ethical practices. These investigations must involve
actively obtaining and analyzing data with physical equipment but
may also involve experimentation in a simulated environment as well
as field observations that extend beyond the classroom. The student
is expected to:
(A) demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and
field investigations; and
(B) demonstrate an understanding of the use and conservation
of resources and the proper disposal or recycling of materials.
(2) Scientific processes. The student uses a systematic
approach to answer scientific laboratory and field investigative questions.
The student is expected to:
(A) know the definition of science and understand that
it has limitations, as specified in subsection (b)(2) of this section;
(B) know that scientific hypotheses are tentative and
testable statements that must be capable of being supported or not
supported by observational evidence;
(C) know that scientific theories are based on natural
and physical phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple
independent researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are
well established and highly reliable explanations, but may be subject
to change;
(D) design and implement investigative procedures,
including making observations, asking well defined questions, formulating
testable hypotheses, identifying variables, selecting appropriate
equipment and technology, evaluating numerical answers for reasonableness,
and identifying causes and effects of uncertainties in measured data;
(E) demonstrate the use of course apparatus, equipment,
techniques, and procedures, including multimeters (current, voltage,
resistance), balances, batteries, dynamics demonstration equipment,
collision apparatus, lab masses, magnets, plane mirrors, convex lenses,
stopwatches, trajectory apparatus, graph paper, magnetic compasses,
protractors, metric rulers, spring scales, thermometers, slinky springs,
and/or other equipment and materials that will produce the same results;
(F) use a wide variety of additional course apparatus,
equipment, techniques, materials, and procedures as appropriate such
as ripple tank with wave generator, wave motion rope, tuning forks,
hand-held visual spectroscopes, discharge tubes with power supply
(H, He, Ne, Ar), electromagnetic spectrum charts, laser pointers,
micrometer, caliper, computer, data acquisition probes, scientific
calculators, graphing technology, electrostatic kits, electroscope,
inclined plane, optics bench, optics kit, polarized film, prisms,
pulley with table clamp, motion detectors, photogates, friction blocks,
ballistic carts or equivalent, resonance tube, stroboscope, resistors,
copper wire, switches, iron filings, and/or other equipment and materials
that will produce the same results;
(G) make measurements with accuracy and precision and
record data using scientific notation and International System (SI)
units;
(H) organize, evaluate, and make inferences from data,
including the use of tables, charts, and graphs;
(I) communicate valid conclusions supported by the
data through various methods such as lab reports, labeled drawings,
graphic organizers, journals, summaries, oral reports, and technology-based
reports; and
(J) express relationships among physical variables
quantitatively, including the use of graphs, charts, and equations.
(3) Scientific processes. The student uses critical
thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving to make informed
decisions within and outside the classroom. The student is expected
to:
(A) analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations
by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental and
observational testing, so as to encourage critical thinking by the
student;
(B) communicate and apply scientific information extracted
from various sources such as current events, news reports, published
journal articles, and marketing materials;
(C) explain the impacts of the scientific contributions
of a variety of historical and contemporary scientists on scientific
thought and society;
(D) research and describe the connections between physics
and future careers; and
(E) express, manipulate, and interpret relationships
symbolically in accordance with accepted theories to make predictions
and solve problems mathematically.
(4) Science concepts. The student knows and applies
the laws governing motion in a variety of situations. The student
is expected to:
(A) generate and interpret graphs and charts describing
different types of motion, including investigations using real-time
technology such as motion detectors or photogates;
(B) describe and analyze motion in one dimension using
equations and graphical vector addition with the concepts of distance,
displacement, speed, average velocity, instantaneous velocity, frames
of reference, and acceleration;
(C) analyze and describe accelerated motion in two
dimensions, including using equations, graphical vector addition,
and projectile and circular examples; and
(D) calculate the effect of forces on objects, including
the law of inertia, the relationship between force and acceleration,
and the nature of force pairs between objects using methods, including
free-body force diagrams.
(5) Science concepts. The student knows the nature
of forces in the physical world. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the concepts of gravitational, electromagnetic,
weak nuclear, and strong nuclear forces;
(B) describe and calculate how the magnitude of the
gravitational force between two objects depends on their masses and
the distance between their centers;
(C) describe and calculate how the magnitude of the
electric force between two objects depends on their charges and the
distance between their centers;
(D) identify and describe examples of electric and
magnetic forces and fields in everyday life such as generators, motors,
and transformers;
(E) characterize materials as conductors or insulators
based on their electric properties; and
(F) investigate and calculate current through, potential
difference across, resistance of, and power used by electric circuit
elements connected in both series and parallel combinations.
(6) Science concepts. The student knows that changes
occur within a physical system and applies the laws of conservation
of energy and momentum. The student is expected to:
(A) investigate and calculate quantities using the
work-energy theorem in various situations;
(B) investigate examples of kinetic and potential energy
and their transformations;
(C) calculate the mechanical energy of, power generated
within, impulse applied to, and momentum of a physical system;
(D) demonstrate and apply the laws of conservation
of energy and conservation of momentum in one dimension; and
(E) explain everyday examples that illustrate the four
laws of thermodynamics and the processes of thermal energy transfer.
(7) Science concepts. The student knows the characteristics
and behavior of waves. The student is expected to:
(A) examine and describe oscillatory motion and wave
propagation in various types of media;
(B) investigate and analyze characteristics of waves,
including velocity, frequency, amplitude, and wavelength, and calculate
using the relationship between wavespeed, frequency, and wavelength;
(C) compare characteristics and behaviors of transverse
waves, including electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic spectrum,
and characteristics and behaviors of longitudinal waves, including
sound waves;
(D) investigate behaviors of waves, including reflection,
refraction, diffraction, interference, resonance, and the Doppler
effect; and
(E) describe and predict image formation as a consequence
of reflection from a plane mirror and refraction through a thin convex
lens.
(8) Science concepts. The student knows simple examples
of atomic, nuclear, and quantum phenomena. The student is expected
to:
(A) describe the photoelectric effect and the dual
nature of light;
(B) compare and explain the emission spectra produced
by various atoms;
(C) calculate and describe the applications of mass-energy
equivalence; and
(D) give examples of applications of atomic and nuclear
phenomena using the standard model such as nuclear stability, fission
and fusion, radiation therapy, diagnostic imaging, semiconductors,
superconductors, solar cells, and nuclear power and examples of applications
of quantum phenomena.
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