City High Science City High School ICCSD

City High Physics

City High School • 1900 Morningside Drive • Iowa City, IA 52245 • (319)688-1040
Instructors:

Cathy Wilson

Nicole Scott

Mary Lestina

*To contact one of the instructors by email, please click on the name above.

This course seeks to build a conceptual, rather than mathematical, base of physics. This is a base for all students to view nature more perceptively to see that surprisingly few relationships make up all its rules. For students wishing further study in science, it provides this conceptual base and is a springboard to a greater involvement in the sciences.

Download course syllabus HERE

Unit 1: VECTORS
"What's you vector, Victor?" Students will study displacement vectors as a launching pad for further study of techniques and rules that apply to all types of vectors.

Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Your Friend, the Vector
Your Friend, the Compass
Distance and Displacement

Ring of Truth - Mapping Video
Where Am I?
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links

 

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Unit 2: KINEMATICS
What's kinematics? A fancy name for the study of motion. This unit will answer all the age old questions related to motion and set the stage for future physics understanding.
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Domino Effect
Think Fast!
Let's Get Moving

T.P. Relay
Dropping Card I, II and III
Acceleration Due to Gravity
Think Hard!
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links

Unit 3: PROJECTILE MOTION
What is a projectile? How to projectiles move through the air? This unit will explore motion in two dimensions and will end with students trying to launch a projectile and hit the bull's eye!
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Throw Me the Ball!
Projectile Motion Book Assignment
Projectile Motion Problems

Interactive Physics CD
Bull's Eye!
EVALAUTION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links
Unit 4: STATICS
How do structures support their loads? Students learn about how forces act in static equilibrium with the ultimate challenge of designing a toothpick bridge for maximum strength.
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Tension
Tug of War
Weight of the World

The Missing Link
Statics Problem Sets
Bridge building project
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links

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Unit 5: Newton's Laws
How do forces affect the motion of objects? What basic laws govern the motion of all objects? These questions (and more) will be investigated during this unit.
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

The Inertial Balance
Newton's First Law
Constant Force, Changing Mass

Constant Mass, Changing Force
Newton's Second Law Problem Set
Wind Beneath Your Wings
Hold That 'Vator!
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links

Unit 6: Impulse and Momentum
What is impulse? What does it have to do with momentum? What is conservation of momentum? Where do we see momentum concepts at work in our everyday lives? This and more will be investigated in this unit!

 

Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Great American Egg Drop!
How to Survive a Car Crash
Air Jordan

Conservation of Momentum Questions
Conservation of Momentum Problems
 
 
EVALUATION!!
 
Interesting Related Web Links
Unit 7: Uniform Circular Motion
How can you describe the motion of things that are moving in circular paths? Are there forces acting on them? What direction does the force act? How can objects go into orbit?
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Going in Circles
Circular Motion Questions
'Round and 'Round We Go!

Circular Motion Problems/Questions
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links
Unit 8: Work, Power, Energy and Energy Conservation
Work, power, energy (and it's conservation) are ultimately studied through the use of a working K'Nex rollercoaster. How fun is that?
Laboratory Exercises & Activities (The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

It's All Uphill
Work & Energy Problems
How Hot Are Your Hot Wheels?

K'Nex Coaster and Energy
 
 
 
EVALUATION!!
 
Interesting Related Web Links
Unit 9: Human Space Flight
What did it take to land a man on the moon? This "capstone" unit will use all of the physics knowledge gained during the year to learn about the U.S. space program and what is involved in getting people safely to the moon and back again.
Laboratory Exercises & Activities
(The following is to serve as a guide.
Instructor may choose to add/subtract labs or alter the order of events.)
Sample assignment list:

Space Shot
Various handouts
Apollo 13
EVALUATION!!

 

Interesting Related Web Links
 

Physics Units
Vectors
Kinematics
Projectile Motion
Statics
Newton's Laws
Impulse and Momentum
Circular Motion
Work and Energy

Human Space Flight

(Astrobiology: Student Page)
Science News
Calendar: What happened on this date in history?

CNN Student News

CNN Science News

USGS
When and where have the latest earthquakes been? Find out here!
Science in Iowa

Have an Idea??
Find out how you can research your own question.
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Activities

Hygienic Laboratory (UHL)

Iowa Science Fairs
Eastern Iowa Science and Engineering Fair

State Science + Technology Fair of Iowa

Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS)

Science Fair Central

JET Challenge
Weekly engineering challenge puzzle

Science National Honor Society
Become a member by completing five science courses (three science honors courses) at City High School with a "B" average.
IOWATER
EPA Student Center

Hurricane Prediction Center:

The earth from space at NASA.

Check out the latest satellite images and current satellite loops, check out NOAA.

Real Time Weather Data

Astronomy Picture of the Day

See what's up in the sky this week from Sky and Telescope Sky at a Glance.

Sky and Telescope Online
Need some graph paper? Download it HERE!

City High Science • City High School • ICCSD