5/14 AP: End of year project

Congratulations to those of you who completed the AP Physics 1 exam.

Project areas

We all have just a few weeks left, and you’ll be occupying your ‘physics time’ working on a project to look at how physics is involved in activities you enjoy. Some examples:

• Music: How about sound: Resonance, harmonics, instruments.
• Theater: Lighting, sound design and acoustics.
• Arts: How do colors mix? How does one carve a statue without breaking stone?
• Sports, participation: Energy use, torque, forces, trajectory motion (now you can include air resistance!) Think about things that will help your achievements.
• Sports, watching: OK, for the couch potatoes out there, think about sports you like and look at the physics involved.
• No examining video games, unless you actually build them and can explain how you use physics in the coding 😁
• Environment: Look at the physics of car efficiencies, climate change, alternative energies.
• Astronomy: Plenty here.
• Modern physics: Relativity and quantum mechanics.

Project format

You can pick about any format you want, but be sure it is a format you enjoy doing.

• Slide show (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi, etc.)
• Video
• Conduct and document an experiment
• Musical recordings with written explanations
• Research paper

Groups?

You can work by yourself or with one other person. If there is a reason why you need more than two people, check with me before you start.

Completion

Due date

Projects are due by 7:00 AM Wednesday June 3rd. (I was going to say midnight the 2nd, but if you want to stay up all night, I know I won’t be grading them before 7:00 on Wednesday).

Proposal due date

Submit a proposal by Noon on Wednesday, May 20th. I will do a quick check on your proposal that day, to ensure you aren’t either taking on too big a task, or too small of one.

Grading

Remember, we’re on pass/no pass grading now. Please find something that you are authentically interested in, so it’s not just a make-work project, and you aren’t tempted to plagiarize and/or not put any real effort into it.

If you demonstrate authentic engagement, you’ll earn a passing grade on the project.

Submit your proposal below