Course Description

The above courses were submitted to the University of California for approval on June 1, 1999 under the UC Subject Area Requirements for entering freshmen (Appendix 2, Description of Acceptable Science Courses).

These courses will be taught over the Internet by Virtual Classrooms.

1. Overall organization of coursework: The courses described in this memo are the first and second semesters of a one year high school course in Introductory Physics. The basic course is Physics I for the first semester and Physics II for the second semester. It covers the areas of Newtonian Mechanics, Thermal Physics, Electricity and Magnetism, Waves and Optics and Atomic and Nuclear Physics.

The designations, AP-B and AP-C represent the AP versions of the class for the B and the C AP categories. The AP-B version is an algebra based class, and it will prepare the students to take the AP-B exam. It covers the five areas of physics listed above for the basic course, but at a deeper level. The organization of the course and the grading policy is the same as the basic course but the problem assignments are more rigorous, in preparation for the AP-B exam.

The AP-C versions will satisfy the AP requirements of the College Board for a calculus based college level introductory physics course which concentrates the first semester on Newtonian Mechanics and the second semester on Electricity and Magnetism. It covers a narrower subject matter than the basic course, but the students are expected to solve more sophisticated problems involving calculus, in preparation for the AP-C exam.

For Physics I, the chapters are:

For Physics II, the chapters are:

Chapter 16, Electric Charge and Electric Field
Chapter 17, Electric Potential and Electric Energy
Chapter 18, Electric Currents
Chapter 19, DC Circuits
Chapter 20, Magnetism
Chapter 21, Electromagnetic Induction and AC Circuits
Chapter 22, Electromagnetic Waves
Chapter 23, Light: Geometric Optics
Chapter 24, The Wave Nature of Light

For Physics I-AP-B and Physics I-AP-C, Chapter 8, Rotational Motion will be added. For Physics II-AP-B, the following chapters will be added:

Chapter 26, Special Theory of Relativity
Chapter 27, Early Quantum Theory
Chapter 28, Quantum Mechanics of Atoms
Chapter 30, Nuclear Physics and Radioactivity

2. The essential concepts to be explored: The basic course, Physics I and II, meets the requirements for high school physics of the Science Framework and the Science Content Standards published by the State of California State Board of Education. The table below shows in which chapter the various concepts required by the Science Content Standards are covered:

3. The general demands made upon students as a result of their participation in the course: For all of the above courses, the students will be asked to respond to conceptual questions, study the course content, submit homework problems, file reports on laboratory experiments and take three midterm and one final examinations, all over the Internet. They will also be asked to participate in online chat sessions and discussion groups.

It is expected that student participation and discussion with the instructor and classmates will be significantly greater than in a traditional classroom course. The grading structure of the course which is given in paragraph 5 below will emphasize this student participation.

4. Prerequisites and corequisites: The math prerequisite for the basic course and Physics 1-AP-B is elementary algebra. In addition, students taking Physics I-AP-C should take calculus I as a prerequisite or corequisite.

The course grade will be determined as follows:

Homework 10%
Lab Reports 10%
Discussion Groups 15%
Chat Sessions 10%
Midterm Exams 30%
Final Exam 25%

Total 100%

6. Laboratory Experiments: An important element of the course is laboratory experiments. These will be done by the student at home or in the classroom with materials normally found in those settings. Laboratory activities will occupy at least one-fifth of the course time.

The students will be given directions on how to use simple materials to measure physics parameters or investigate a physical process. The student will then report on his/her results and discuss the experiment with the instructor and other students over the Internet.

X-Sender: lrandolp@popserv.ucop.edu
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.1
Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1999 10:55:44 -0700
To: ray@kronquist.com
From: LOUISE RANDOLPH <louise.randolph@ucop.edu>
Subject: Physics
Cc: martha.beames@ucop.edu

Dear Mr. Kronquist:

I have reviewed the course material that you forwarded to me June 1, 1999.

I am pleased to tell you that all of the physics courses for "Virtual Classrooms" were approved for the "d" requirement to the University of California. We will keep the outline on file here.

You will now need to ask the principals of the high schools who wish to use these courses to submit the titles to us during the regular course update period which is usually May/June of any given year.

Let me know if you have any questions about this information.

Sincerely,

Louise Randolph