Physics 20
Your teen will explain and quantify predictions about changes in position, velocity and acceleration caused by interaction of objects. They’ll use Newton’s laws of motion to explain uniform circular and elliptical motion, as observed in a wheel or in orbits. Using an experimental and problem-based approach, your teen will quantify mechanical energy and explore the relationships among different forms of energy to understand conservation of energy. Your teen will also relate harmonic motion to technological applications, such as mechanical resonance in cars, and to the natural world, such as seismic waves in Earth’s crust. They’ll describe how mechanical waves transmit energy, and they’ll describe the factors that affect wave speed.
Physics 30
Your teen will explore the application of physics principles to explain natural events and the technologies we use every day. They’ll study momentum and impulse, explain how momentum is conserved when objects interact and apply their understanding to safety and sports equipment. Your teen will describe the motion of electric charges and its relevance to magnetic fields, and they’ll analyze the benefits and risks of electromagnetic technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging and generators. They’ll use the wave and photon models of light to describe electromagnetic radiation and to better understand electromagnetic phenomena, including the photoelectric effect and electron diffraction. Your teen will also study the atom—its internal structure and energy—to understand matter, energy and our universe