Physics

FAQs

1. What should a student know before taking this course?

You should have completed a junior high school level course in physical science that covers definitions of velocity, acceleration, force, heat, electricity and electrical fields, magnetism, light (wave theory), geometric optics, relativity, and atomic and nuclear structure. We cover all of these topics in detail, and students have an easier time if they have been exposed to the basic concepts before starting this intensive Physics course. If you have taken the Scholars Online Natural Science course, the summer Physics Lite course, or a one-year Physical Science component of the standard junior high school science curriculum, you should be prepared to handle these physics concepts.

2. What level of mathematics is required?

You should have completed a first year algebra course and a geometry course or their equivalents, and at least be taking a second year algebra course that includes trigonometric concepts early in its coverage. Optimally, you will have completed a second-year algebra course and be starting pre-calculus.

Our textbook has appendices which cover the basic ideas required for problem-solving in this course, and when you get your copy, you need to read through this carefully, identify the areas where the material is new (or where you feel your command is weak), and do some serious review. But it is helpful if you can do the following, or are learning how to apply these techniques:

• You should be able to factor algebraic expressions and be able to solve the quadratic equation. For example, you should be able to rearrange the equation ax² + bx + c = 0 for x in terms of a, b, and c [where the solution, if you can't get it any other way, is x = (-b ± √(b² - 4ac))/2a ]
• You should be able to work with exponents; it is an advantage to already understand how logarithms work, but we will cover those in class anyway.
• You should know how to work general area and volume equations like
  • circumference of a circle = π * 2 * radius = diameter * π
  • area = π * r²
  • volume of sphere = (4 * π * r³)/3

    [π is "pi", a value approxiately equal to 3.14159....]

• Basic trigonometric relationships are fundamental to vector analysis, which we do early in the course. If you are taking a second year algebra course, you may want to review :
  • the definitions of sines, cosines, and tangents, such as sin α = h/r, where r is the hypoteneuse of the right-angle triangle, and h is the side opposite angle α; similarly cos α, tan α and their inverses csc α, sec α, and cot α.
  • the basic trigonmentric identities, such as sin2 α + cos2 α = 1 (there are about a dozen of these that an introductory trigonometry course will cover).
• Helpful, but not required at the outset:
  • Some idea of binomial expansions: ( 1 + x)n = 1 + nx + n(n-1)x²/2! + n(n-1)(n-2)x³/3! + ..
  • Natural logs: e^x= 1 + x + x²/2! + x³/3! + ....

3. How much preparation time is necessary?

This is hard to answer without knowing how fast you read technical subject matter and can work through examples in the text. For each chat session, you will need to

• read 10-20 pages of text, many of which will include examples of problem solving involving math that you will need to study carefully
• complete 5-8 homework exercises
• prepare a homework exercise with explanations and post it to the course conference center
• review and rework missed problems

My experience is that this will take you 3-4 hours to finish properly. In addition, for each chapter (usually one chapter every two weeks, but with some short chapters, we will do one per week), you will need to finish

• a 10 question on-line quiz at the website (15-20 minutes)

You may also opt to complete requirements for laboratory credit, which will involve another 2 hours per week of your time, depending on what equipment you need to build or collect.

So each week, you should plan to spend 3 hours in class, 6-8 hours in preparation, and 1 hour in testing, or a total of 10-12 hours a week. A normal high school course requires a minimum of 4 hours of class time and 4 hours of homework, plus 2-3 hours of lab time, so the amount of time is comparable. This course is intended to be a college-level introduction to physics, so it requires at least as much effort on your part as a high school level course.

Students taking the AP option spend additional time in both class and preparation of exercises and labs.

4. What is a passing score?

My examinations tend to be very thorough, since I am interested in assessing what you have actually learned and understand. The tests are written as though you were a college student (because that is the level of the material we cover), and so are more challenging that a high school physics test would be. Because of this, I tend to actually grade rather easily: passing for the course is 50% or better on each of the fall and spring semester finals. Scores in the past have ranged from just below 50% to above 95%. However, if you aim to take either the SAT II physics exam or the Advanced Placement exam, you should aim to get at least 70% regularly on the online quizzes and at least 80% on the semester exams. The best preparation for achieving this is disciplined completion of the homework problems, so that during an examination, you can complete most of the problems in the alloted time.

5. How have other students done on the SATs or AP exams?

Most students in my fairly small Scholars Online physics course have been juniors or seniors, and the seniors do not tend to take AP or SATs at the end of their year. Since homeschooled students receive their scores directly from the testing agency, I do not know all the results for all of my students, or even which students have taken the examinations. Students in the last two Physics offerings have reported AP scores of 3-5 and SAT scores from 650-800.

6. Do I have to attend both sessions each week?

Yes. The two sessions are not different sections of the class with different students. Because of the material we need to cover, the class must meet twice a week. All students must attend both sessions or make alternate arrangements to submit homework assigned.

If you have a conflict with the scheduled sessions, you will need to review your priorities and decide whether or not you can commit to the class. If your outside conflict is short term, I will work with you through the period, but you must plan to attend most of the year's sessions.

7. What kind of grade will I get?

You will be sent evaluations at the end of each semester that describe your performance on quizzes, homework, class participation, and the final examination, with an indication of a pass/fail grade. Many Scholars Online students have been accepted to nationally-recognized, competative colleges and universities, and have received scholarships based on these evaluations.

However, I realize that some government agencies and scholarship committees require more standard grades. While technically your parents are responsible for assigning and reporting a final grade to any school or college authorities, if arrangements have been made for Scholars Online to report your work directly to an educational institution, I will assign a letter and number grade to use in formal transcripts. This score will be scaled to match standard reporting (e.g., a minimum 50% passing grade will be scaled to a 68% C-).

However, the best way to establish your competence in physics for college admission or placement is to take the SAT II or the AP examination.

8. Will you be able to write me a letter of recommendation for my college (or secondary school) application?

Yes, I do write letters of recommendation for students. However, I cannot write such a letter on the basis of a few months' work. I require that you finish a complete year of instruction with me first, so that I have a basis for making an evaluation that reflects your true strengths and weaknesses. If this is your first Scholars Online class with me, I will not be able to write a letter during the fall semester. For more details, see my Letters of Recommendation FAQ.

9. How does the AP option work?

If, after reading my AP Exam description, you decide that you still want to take the AP option for this course, you will need to make a commitment to spending even more time on physics. You will attend the regular physics sessions twice a week and do all the homework assigned for them. Additionally, you will have 3-5 extra homework problems per chapter which are specially chosen to exercise more sophisticated thinking. We go over these problems in special IRC sessions scheduled at our mutual convenience at least once a month in the fall, and every other week in the spring as the exam approaches. We will chose an AP prep book and use the diagnostic tests to identify areas which you need to review. You will also take sample tests so that you are comfortable with the mechanics of the test as well as the material.

The College Board is now requiring submission of course syllabi before allowing use of the AP designation in formal transcripts. The Scholars Online Physics course syllabus has been approved for the AP designation. Students completing the main course and the AP option (additional work and laboratory exercises) will receive the AP designation on their transcripts. In any even, no student is required to take a formal AP course before taking the AP examination.

Please note that because of the extra work involved, there is an additional charge for the AP option.

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This course is offered through Scholars Online, a non-profit organization supporting classical Christian education through Internet-based courses. Permission to copy course content (lessons and labs) for personal study is granted to students currently or formerly enrolled in the course through Scholars Online. Reproduction for any other purpose, without the express written consent of the author, is prohibited.