Study Resources

Getting ready for the test?  Use those resources!  I'm after school every day for help.  Bring QUESTIONS.

• Video playlists for Newton's Laws
• 1st law
• 2nd law
• 3rd law
• Physicsclassroom.com
• Tutorials
• Review Questions
• MOP Quizzes
• Calculator Pad - Practice problems with solutions
• Answer keys for the worksheets are on Its Learning as well.

Vocab Quiz

Be ready for the vocab quiz tomorrow. Key Terms are listed in the back of each chapter (4, 5, and 6).  I'm supplying the definition and your supplying the word.  I don't think you'll have any trouble with it; we've been using these terms the whole unit.  I thought you should get some credit for using the lingo.

Your only homework tonight is to study.

HW Wednesday, 12-12-12 :)

All classes

• Read 6.5-6.7
• Review Questions 9-18

That finishes the chapter, so expect a short HW quiz tomorrow.  Bring your notebook & homework with you to class.

HW Tuesday, 12-11

A period

• Read 6.5-6.7
• Review Questions 9-18

D, E, & G periods

• Read 6.1-6.4
• Review Questions 1-8

All periods

• We'll continue to work on the Practice Problems in class.
• Expect a newton's 3rd law HW quiz when your class finishes the review questions.
• VOCAB QUIZ for chapters 4, 5, and 6 on Friday for all periods.  We've been using these terms the whole unit, but make sure you brush up on those bold words in the chapter.
• TEST is coming up on Tuesday for A & G periods, and Wednesday for D & E periods next week.  Check out the calendar.

HW Monday, 12-10

A & G periods
- Read 6.1 - 6.4
- Review questions 1-8

D & E periods
- finish lab report
- think n solves 35-44

HW Friday 12-7

A & G periods
Due Monday

• Lab report  -->RUBRIC<--
• Ch 5 Think 'n' Solves 35-44, pg 73
  There is an answer key/quiz online to check your answers as you go.

D & E periods

Due Tuesday

• Lab Report -->RUBRIC<--
• Think 'n' Solves will be due Tuesday as well, but you may to budget your time and get started now.

Lab Reports AG-Mon, DE-Tues

Lab reports will be due on

• Monday, 12-10 for G and A periods
• Tuesday, 12-11 for D and E periods

Tomorrow G and A periods will start working on the Think 'n' Solve problems in chapter 5.  All classes spent two full days in the computer lab working on their reports, but I'm sure there will still be a few lingering questions they will ask tomorrow.  Because of the rotating schedule, D and E periods will be working on the Think 'n' Solve problems on Monday.  These classes would not have had that extra day to ask questions about the lab, so in order to be fair and offer the same opportunity to both classes, D and E period's labs will be due on Tuesday, 12-11 instead.

Click here for a Lab Report Rubric

For a checklist of what should be in the report, see the previous post.

Newton's 2nd Law Lab

Last week we DESIGNed experiments to test Newton's 2nd law, collected DATA at the beginning of this week, and now we've moved into the last phase: ANALYSIS!

CLICK HERE for a checklist that helps you make sure have everything you need in the group report (design) and individual report (analysis).

HW Friday, 11-30

A, D, & E periods

• Worksheet 5-2, PDF and answer key on Its Learning

HW Tuesday, 11-27

E & G period

• Finish Vector Addition Activity if you didn't in class
• Vector Addition Worksheet (page 1, page 2)

A period

• Ch 5 Plug 'n' Chugs 19-23 (none if you already finished in class)

HW Monday 11-26

A period

• Vector Addition Worksheet (page 1, page 2)

D, E, G periods

• none

HW Tuesday, 11-20

All classes:

• Read 5.4-5.7
• Review Questions 8-18

HW Monday, 11-19

D, E, and G periods

• Read 5.1-5.3
• Review Questions 1-7

HW Friday, 11-16

D & E periods
nothing new from today, but by now you should have finished

• worksheet 4-1 (inertia & weight)
• Plug 'n' chug 21-25, Think 'n' Solve 39, Chapter 4, pg 57

Check your answers for each of these online.

G & A periods

same as above, as well as

• worksheet 4-2 (net force) and check your answers online

Class Notes Online!

Any class notes we put on the interactive white board in class will show up HERE in this web album for chapters 4, 5, and 6 (Newton's Laws).

If everything works as planned, all I have to do is save the session we did in class.  Then...

1. The program saves each screen as a .jpeg (picture file) in a specific folder.  
2. Picasa automatically syncs that folder with the web album.
3. The link to the web album is in Its Learning under Forces --> Resources.
4. TADA!  You have access to the latest and greatest notes we took in class from one click of a button.  

There may be a way for you to subscribe to an album as well, but Picasa Web Albums is being upgraded and incorporated into Google+ so it remains to be seen.  Enjoy!

HW Thursday, 11-15

G & A periods
- 4-2 worksheet

D & E periods
- 4-1 worksheet (pdf and answers on its learning)
- Plug n Chugs 21-25, Think n Solve 39, pg 57 (quiz online as well)

HW Wednesday, 11-14

G & A periods

• Worksheet 4-1 Inertia and Mass on Its Learning if you didn't finish today in class.  Use the 4-1 Quiz to check your answers and see how you did.
• Plug 'n' Chugs 21-25 and Think 'n' Solve 39, pg 57.  There's an Its Learning quiz with these questions as well.

D & E periods

• Read 4.6 - 4.9
• Review Questions 14-20

HW Tuesday, 11-13

E, G, & A periods

• Finish reading the chapter, 4.6-4.9
• Review Questions 14-20

HW Friday, 11-9

All classes:

• Read sections 4.4 - 4.5
• Review Questions 6-13
• Create a short cartoon that demonstrates Newton's 1st Law of Inertia:
  An object in motion, stays in motion, an object at rest, stays at rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Resources for Test Prep!

Tomorrow's test will go on quarter 1 and provide 100 opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of momentum, impulse, and projectiles (in the form of points).  I just wanted to call your attention to some of the resources available on Its Learning as you prepare.

• Textbook Sections - since we bounced around two chapters, this page in Its Learning lists each section and each question we covered.  The short and sweet version: 
• Momentum & Impulse, sections 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3
• Projectile Motion, sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6
• Class Notes - any problems that I've put on the board using the projector (usually after school help sessions)
• Problem Solving
• Momentum & Impulse - Calculator Pad: Problems 1-11
  The rest deal with conservation of momentum which we will talk about next semester.
• Projectile Motion
• Calculator Pad: Problems 21-27 (don't do any part c)
• Think 'n' Solve Solution Videos
• Concept Questions
• Momentum & Impulse
• Review Session:  Questions 1-13.The rest talk about the conservation of momentum which we will cover next semester.
• Minds on Physics Quizzes:  For Practice Mode --> Mechanics --> Momentum & Collisions
• MC1: Momentum
• MC2: Impulse and Momentum Change
• MC3: Impulse-Momentum Change Variables
• MC4: Force, Impulse, and Momentum Change
• Projectile Motion
• Review Session: questions 5-9:  We have not done any vector, displacement, or resultant velocity problems yet.
• Minds on Physics quizzes:  For practice mode --> Mechanics --> Vectors & Projectiles
• VP7 - The Nature of a Projectile
• VP8 - The Acceleration and Velocity of a Projectile

Think about how you prepared for the last test and what you want to do differently for this one.  Practice how you're going to perform, so find ways to test yourself.  Don't forget to make a tool box!

Mad Dash to the Finish!

This Friday brings the end of the quarter and with it a frenzied sprint to finish things up, turn things in, and get thing graded.  Everyone is eager for the dust to settle and know how they did, and I am no excpetion.  I am doing my best to plow through the projects, motion labs, momentum labs, HW quizzes, and upcoming tests.  With 102 physics students, any individual assignment becomes a significant time investment, but I am working hard to make sure your son or daughter can still receive timely feedback whenever possible.  With that in mind, I have been prioritizing any assignment that provides important feedback to the current unit such as HW quizzes and the momentum lab.  All classes are testing this Thursday so they need to know where they stand in terms of their understanding of momentum, impulse, and projectiles.  Unfortunately, that means I have made slower progress on the projects and motion labs than I would like.

As soon as I finish grading anything it will be up on the portal.  A few logistical notes - if you see an assignment graded 1 out of 25 or 1 out of 50, that simply is an easy way for me to keep track of the ones that were turned in.  It will be listed in the non-graded category so that it does not affect the overall grade.  If a grade is blank or NG, it means I am in the process of grading that class and I didn't want the 1/50 to affect your average.  Any assignment I don't have will show up in red as MIS or missing.  Those count as a zero until it is turned in.  As always, if you notice anything wrong, or just need to double check on something, let me know.

Even though I am adding 102 more tests to it soon, the pile does get smaller every day and everything will be finished before grades come out on the 19th.  I appreciate your patience as we are both eager to see where our students stand after the 1st quarter.

Thanks,
Jon Jasinski

HW Monday 11-5

All Classes

• Chapter 3 Think 'n' Solves 41-45
• Check answers on Its Learning
• We will have limited time to go over these in class.  Use these video solutions to review them:
• 41
• 42
• 43
• 44
• 45

HW Friday, 11-2

A & G periods

• Chapter 3 Think 'n' Solves 41-45 on pg 42
• Check your answers on Its Learning

D & E periods

• Read sections 3.4-3.6 starting on pg 33
• Review Questions 7-18

HW Wednesday, 10-31

A and G periods

• Read 3.4 - 3.6
• Review Questions 7-18

D and E periods

• check your Think 'n' Solve answers on Its Learning, we'll go over them tomorrow
• you'll dig in to chapter 3 tomorrow night.

How Does A Boomerang Work?

Someone asked how a boomerang works:  Here ya go!

Parent Conferences

It was great to see all the parents tonight!  Thanks to those that came out, and I'm sorry if you didn't get a chance to stop in.  My door is always open, as is my inbox, so feel free to touch base.  I'll start working on the call backs very soon, so if you requested one, look for an email from me in the very near future.

The educational process is a trifecta of student, teacher, and parent.  Communication is key to keep this relationship functioning, and I'm glad we have this time to check in with each other to see how we can each support our students.  We have the same goal - student learning, and with your help, they will be successful.

Thanks again!

HW Wednesday, 10-24

G & A periods

• Finish Impulse & Momentum Lab.  If you need a clean copy, I posted the PDF on Its Learning
• For Monday:  Chapter 7 Think 'n' Solve 33-35, pg 102.  Check your answers on Its Learning

D & E periods

• Start the Analysis (calculations) on the Impulse & Momentum Lab.  Come in having at least calculated your impulse and change in momentum.

HW Tuesday, 10-23

E & G periods

• Impulse & Momentum Lab (due tomorrow for G, Thursday for E since you drop).  No extra writing here, just the data, calculations, and questions in the lab I gave you.

A period

• Work on some of the calculations in the lab.  We'll take the first 15-20 minutes tomorrow to finish our data, then we'll move on and talk about the Plug 'n' Chugs.  You labs will be due Thursday.

Speaking of Plug 'n' Chugs, check your answers on Its Learning if you haven't already.

HW Monday, 10-22

All Classes:

• Check your Plug 'n' Chug answers on Its Learning
• If you have any data, try doing the impulse and momentum claculations for the lab. Impulse (Ft) should equal the change in momentum (mv). Hopefully your calculations are close; if not, you may need to better data tomorrow.

HW Friday, 10-19

All classes

• Ch 7 Plug 'n' Chugs, 19-21 
• Check your answers on Its Learning

HW Thursday, 10-18

D & E periods 

• Ch 7 Plug 'n' Chugs, 19-21 
• Check your answers on Its Learning

G period

• Read 7.1-7.3 
• Review Questions 1-13 
• that's it for chapter 7, so expect a short HW quiz tomorrow

HW Wednesday, 10-17

A, D, & E periods (sneak peak for G)

• Read sections 7.1-7.3, pg 86
• Review Questions 1-13

That's the only part of chapter 7 we are doing right now; we'll come back to conservation of momentum when we talk about the conservation of energy next semester.  Since we're finishing the RQ in this chapter, expect a HW quiz tomorrow.

Late Work Policy

The original late policy for the course as written on the syllabus stated:

• "Late work will appear as missing (MIS) on the grade portal and count as a zero until turned in. It will not be counted for full credit. No work will be accepted once grades close for the quarter."

My philosophy is that grades should reflect what students understand, not their behavior.  I want the best work any student has to offer.  That said, deadlines are a fact of life and responsibility is an important value that should be rewarded.  In order to strike a balance between timely work and thoughtful work, I am clarifying the late work policy for the course:

• "All written assignments are due at the beginning of class.  Online assignments will be due by 11:59pm the day it is due.  Late work turned in any time afterwards will encounter a 10% late penalty."

Since we are clarifying this now, I will extend the deadline for the Train Project until Friday, 10-19 at the beginning of class.  Students that have already turned their work in may retrieve it if they would like to work on it further.  After class on Friday, late projects will incur a 10% penalty.

I hope that helps clarify things.  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me: jjasinski@medway.k12.ma.us

Test grades posted!

The test grades are posted, so head to the portal and see how you did.  When all the make up tests are complete you'll get them back and we'll go over it.
Average over all the classes: 76%

Progress Reports...Tuesday!

1/8 of the year has been completed.
That's right, it is progress report time.  I'm working fervidly to finish grading the tests we just took, as well as labs.  Right now there is only about 15 points posted, and by the end of the weekend I hope to have 125 more points.  I will blog again when those have been posted so you can get a more accurate feel for your grade in the course.

Have a great weekend!

Medway High School Faculty & Staff: Powerful statement

Medway High School Faculty & Staff: Powerful statement: Very impressed with this video - each time I watch parts of it, I become more taken with her amazing poise:

Forces and Momentum Concept Map

Your only homework for tonight and the weekend is to create a concept map for our next unit:  Forces & Momentum.  We started the year asking

• How do we describe and predict motion?

Now we ask ourselves:

• What causes motion and how do we change it?

Create a CONCEPT MAP about FORCES and MOMENTUM to gather your thoughts.

- What do you already know about these concepts?

- What other concepts/topics/etc are brought to mind?

- How are they related?

- How motion tie into it?

Freshman Class Elections

Good luck to the candidates for Freshman class office tomorrow!  You will have the opportunity to hear each speech and vote during E period.

Notes from after school help

Check out the images from today's after school session.
They are posted in its learning in the linear motion folder and notes and pics.

PhysicsClassroom.com

The test for linear motion (chapter 2) is coming up next Wednesday.  We've covered all the material, and you have completed all the work we're going to do for it.  Now it is a matter of building confidence.

PhysicsClassroom.com has several features that will allow to continue to practice and become more confident in your ability.  Feel free to poke around the site.  The topic you want is 1-Dimensional Kinematics (just a fancier way of saying Linear Motion).  A few highlights:

• Tutorials
• The Calculator Pad: overview and practice problems with solutions 
• The Review Session:  multiple choice problems
• Want more of a challenge?  Try the Minds On Physics (MOP) mastery quizzes.  You'll need Adobe Shockwave.  It tests your understanding of the material.  Read the questions carefully;  you have to get 80% or better to pass.
• Select Mechanics
• Select either Kinematics Concepts or Graphing

HW Tuesday, 9-25

All Classes

• Chapter 2 Think 'n' Solves 42-50, pg 27
• Check your answers on the Think 'n' Solve quiz on Its Learning.  It's not mandatory and its not graded, but take advantage of the immediate feedback.

HW Monday, 9-24

D period

• 2-1 and 2-2 Concept Development Worksheets, PDFs online if you need them.

A, E, and G periods

• Chapter 2 Think 'n' Solves 42-50, pg 27
• Check your answers on the Think 'n' Solve quiz on Its Learning.  It's not mandatory and its not graded, but I want you to have more immediate feedback.

HW Friday, 9-21

D period

• Graphing Wormhole Worksheet, which can be found on Its Learning under the Linear Motion folder

A, E, G periods

• 2-1 and 2-2 concept development worksheets.  Use the two new tools we developed today:
• final velocity = initial velocity + at
• displacement = initial velocity x time + 1/2 a t^2
• These can be found on Its Learning as well

no HW

No physics HW.   Take the night off.   :)  We'll regroup tomorrow.

HW Wednesday, 9-19

E, G, and A periods  (D, you'll have this tomorrow)

Wormhole Worksheet (on the back of the distance and velocity time graphs)
Make sure to read the description or else it won't make any sense.  The acceleration is constant (in fact, we will never deal with changing accelerations in this class).
If you need another copy of the worksheet, or want to go through the graphing lesson again, head to Its Learning.  Both are in the Linear Motion folder.

HW Tuesday, 9-18

All Classes:
Choose 6 practice problems from the 29 problems on pg 661-662.  Spread them out so you get a feel for the types of problems you could see on a test:

• 2 from the beginning
• 2 from the middle
• 2 from the end

Feel free to check your answers with the key in class.  If you don't feel confident about these, ask for help and try some more.  PhysicsClassroom.com also offers more practice problems with guided solutions.
Use KUESS to show your whole thought process!

KUESS = Show your work!

Always always always always always show your work.  :-)

• "Mr. J, do we have to use KUESS and show our work?"

The answer to that question will ALWAYS be an enthusiastic "YES!"

• "What are KUESS?" you ask.  Allow me to explain:

Known	What does the problem tell you?  What are you given?
Unknown	What are you asked to find?
Equation	What equation relates your knowns to your unknowns?  Sometimes this part might include an Explanation of the logic behind your work.
Substitute	Plug your knowns into your equation.  Here is all that mathy stuff.
Solve	Solve for your unknown and include units.  Put a box around your final solution so it is easy to find.

Parents - this is a great way to help our students through some problems.  Simply ask them the questions that follow the steps above.  Any problem throughout the entire year can be broken down into these steps.  Even on easy problems it is always good to practice this approach, so when you get to the harder problems, you're able to break it down.

Problems like these are graded out of 4 points, one for each part with the K/U combined.

Open House

I hope to meet all of you parents Thursday night.  For any that want to get a preview, see it again, or couldn't make it, here is the official Jasinski Open House Prezi!  Click around and you'll get a sense of what we talked about.  See you tomorrow night!

• Syllabus

Intro Physics Open House on Prezi

Homework 9-10: Books & Labs

Homework:
G & A periods

• Cover Book
• Read Ch 2.1-2.4, complete Review Questions 1-13 (14-25 tomorrow)
• Finish 1st draft of lab

D period

• Revise lab, complete final draft for Thursday

E period

• Finish 1st draft of lab

Labs due...

Just a heads up that the labs are due on

• TUESDAY for E, G, and A periods
• MONDAY for D period

Don't forget to check your lab report against THE RUBRIC!

Any questions, let me know!

Its Learning

If you have not yet logged into Its Learning, most accounts have been reset.  A few words of advice:

• Logging in for the first time, your password will be "Password1" and your username is probably what it was in the middle school.  
• You only get 3 chances before you're locked out, so type carefully
• Utilize the Forgot Password button.

Nothing is posted yet, so you're not missing out, but it would be great to start utilizing this great resource next week.

Car Lab

How do we describe motion?

That's the question you are trying to answer.  You did it for the first car with constant speed and received some feedback.  Now you have a car with more intricate motion.  You will need to describe that motion as well, and you will many more data points to do it!  How does this car move, and how can you use data to show that?

Obviously you will share the data you collected with the members in your group.  Each individual will use that data to write a final lab report for this car (not both).  Since you did it together, I expect procedures and purposes to be similar, but if you are truly typing it yourself, your voice will inevitably come through and they will be slightly different.  Collaborate, help each other, but make sure you type individually in the end.  That's the difference between collaboration and copying.  Sections that can be typed, should be typed.  Data tables and graphs may be made in excel or by hand.

Use THE RUBRIC, linked here, to help guide you.
These are DUE

• D period:  MONDAY
• E, G, & A periods:  TUESDAY

Great work this week!  Have a great weekend!

Homework: Tuesday 9-4

All Classes (A period, you'll see this tomorrow, but it doesn't hurt to get started)

• Email me: jjasinski@medway.k12.ma.us and let me know which period you are in.  This way I have a contact email for you.
• Log in to Its Learning
• go to https://medway.itslearning.com/
• Username: whatever it was last year
• Password:  password  -or-  Password  -or-  password1
• You only get 3 tries, so type carefully.  After that the account is locked and you must go to the office and let them know.  If you have any issues, let the office know, they can reset and create new accounts.
• There's not much there yet, we'll use it when I know everyone can log in.

D & E periods:

• Find definitions for the words relating to motion we discussed today.   Put them in "regular" language.  How would you explain it quickly to someone else?   Use whatever resources are available to you.  The internet is teeming with information.
• Speed
• Velocity
• Acceleration
• Distance
• Time

A & G periods

• Read the syllabus and come back with any questions you might have.

Ready, Set, Syllabus!

A few more details on the logistics of the course... here's a link to the class syllabus.  Take a look at it over the weekend and feel free to ask questions in the comments below or Tuesday.  Enjoy your last weekend of freedom!

Intro Physics Syllabus 2012-2013

Marshmallow Challenge

Today we built marshmallow towers.  Why did we build marshmallow towers?  We'll discuss this more tomorrow, but for now, please watch the following video of Tom Wujec doing a TED Talk about the Marshmallow Challenge.  Think about how these ideas relate to your class, your education, your life.

(Click here if the video does not show up)

Welcome to Physics!

Welcome parents, students, the Medway community, random blog searchers who stumbled across this to the MEDWAY PHYSICS BLOG!  I can't wait to get started! There is a lot to talk about, but we'll just start with the basics.

THIS BLOG
This blog will serve as a window for parents and the community to know what is going on here in Intro Physics. Students will participate in keeping it up to date. We will also utilize It's Learning, a more comprehesive class website, but more on that later. If you have a Google account, feel free to follow, but I suggest you at least subscribe to this blog by entering your email at the right, or by using any of the other subscribe services provided.

WHAT DO I NEED?
We will deal with the syllabus soon enough, but if you're going shopping tonight, this course only requires the usual suspects:

• basic calculator
• writing utensils
• something to write on
• something to organize papers.

I leave the details up to you. Some people like to keep a notebook and a folder; others would rather keep a binder with loose leaf paper and 3 hole punch everything. Use whatever organizational strategies best suit you.

More info to come!  I'm looking forward to a great year.