(415) CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS
Full year course - 4 credits Open to: 11-12 Prerequisite: Recommendation of current science teacher, completion of CHEMISTRY or BIOLOGY with a grade of C and ALGEBRA II taken concurrently or completed. Instructor/department approval necessary if grade requirement is not met.
This course approaches physics with a greater emphasis on understanding and explaining concepts than on mathematical applications, although basic algebraic problem-solving using laws of physics is included. Topics covered in the course include classical mechanics, wave phenomena, electricity and magnetism, and optics. Hands-on and computer-based laboratory work is done. Students read from Hewitt's text Conceptual Physics, and are evaluated through homework, quizzes, tests (including short essays), and laboratory reports.