Physics B — Energy, Thermal Physics, Electromagnetism and Waves is the second semester of a full-year laboratory physics course for grades 11-12 (UC A-G area D), following Physics A. It is built on the California NGSS performance expectations HS-PS3-1 to HS-PS3-5, HS-PS2-4, HS-PS2-5, HS-PS4-1 to HS-PS4-5 and HS-ETS1-1 to HS-ETS1-4, with RST.11-12 literacy standards and the Mathematical Practices.
Four units: Energy, Work and Power, Thermal Energy and the Second Law, Electricity and Magnetism, and Waves, Light and Information. Hands-on labs include energy on a ramp, calorimetry by the method of mixtures, circuits with batteries, resistors and a multimeter, an electromagnet and induction coil, standing waves on a string and refraction with a laser pointer.
Sources: OpenStax Physics (high school) and College Physics 2e (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; referenced, not reproduced); public-domain NIST, NOAA, NASA and USGS material; PhET Interactive Simulations (CC BY 4.0) and the Falstad circuit simulator as modeling tools and lab alternatives. Labs follow the CDE Science Safety Handbook for California Public Schools.
Curriculum
- 4 Sections
- 20 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Unit 1: Energy, Work and Power5
- 1.1Pumped Storage: Work, Kinetic and Potential Energy50 mins
- 1.2Ramp Lab: Measuring Energy Transfer and Efficiency100 mins
- 1.3Where Did the Energy Go? Springs, Rubber Bands and Thermal Energy100 mins
- 1.4Power and a Pumped-Storage Day: A Computational Energy Model100 mins
- 1.5Performance Task — Design, Build and Refine an Energy Converter200 mins
- Unit 2: Thermal Energy and the Second Law5
- 2.1Why a Dark Roof Gets Hotter: Temperature, Thermal Energy and Heat50 mins
- 2.2Specific Heat by the Method of Mixtures100 mins
- 2.3Why Heat Flows Downhill: The Second Law and Engine Limits50 mins
- 2.4Particles, Pressure, Heat Pumps and Insulating Materials100 mins
- 2.5Performance Task — Keep It Cold in Fresno200 mins
- Unit 3: Electricity and Magnetism5
- 3.1Santa Ana Sparks: Charge and Coulomb’s Law100 mins
- 3.2Circuit Lab: Ohm’s Law, Series and Parallel with a Multimeter100 mins
- 3.3Do Currents Make Magnetic Fields? Electromagnet Evidence and Argument100 mins
- 3.4Fields, Induction and the Wind Turbines of Altamont100 mins
- 3.5Performance Task — Wind to Wire: Modeling a Transmission Link150 mins
- Unit 4: Waves, Light and Information5
- 4.1Seconds of Warning: Wave Speed and ShakeAlert50 mins
- 4.2Investigation Lab: Standing Waves on a Stretched String100 mins
- 4.3Argument Lab: Is Digital Always Better?50 mins
- 4.4Light as Wave and Particle: Refraction, Photons and the Spectrum100 mins
- 4.5Performance Task — Technical Brief: Waves That Carry Information and Energy150 mins
Instructor
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