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This page contains all of the online content for my AP Physics 2/UCONN ECE PHY 1202Q course. Dowd keeps all of his content on Flickr, the photo sharing site. Each course has its own album each year. If you click the link to the album, you'll be taken to it. The tables contain the major units in the course. Clicking on this link will bring you to a header photo in the album. To see the course content, scroll forward.
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2023-2024
To go to the overview page of the Flickr Album, click here.
On any Individual Topic, click forward in Flickr to see notes, or "Back to Album" to see all notes
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2022-2023
To go to the overview page of the Flickr Album, click here.
On any Individual Topic, click forward in Flickr to see notes, or "Back to Album" to see all notes
| Unit Name |
Class № |
Date |
Topic |
Unit Overview |
| Fluids (Unit 1) |
Click here to go to the Fluids Unit in Flickr |
This unit is closely tied to the ideas we learned in AP Physics 1, ideas like using free body diagrams to keep track of forces and using conservation of energy to relate different locations in a problem to each other. We introduce the new concepts of pressure and density, and use them to keep track of the motions of fluids. | ||
| 1 |
22-08-29 |
Introduction, Textbooks, Squirt Gun Lab |
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| 2 |
22-08-30 |
Squirt Gun Lab, Density, Fluids Force Problems |
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| Optional Video: Squirt Gun Projectile Motion |
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| Optional Video: Horizontal Projectile Motion |
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| 3 |
22-09-01 |
Demo Fluids Force Problem, Archimedes Activity, Finish Fluids Force Problems |
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| 4 |
22-09-07 |
Pressure v. Depth Lab, Density, Neutral Buoyancy, Sinking or Floating |
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| Video: The Continuity Equation |
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| 5 |
22-09-09 |
AP Problem Practice, the Continuity Equation |
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| Video: The Bernoulli Equation |
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| 6 |
22-09-13 |
Pressure v Depth in Atmosphere, Gauge v Absolute Pressure, Bernoulli Equation, Begin Torricelli's Lab |
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| Video: Torricelli's Law (part 1) |
||||
| 7 |
23-09-15 |
Discuss Torricelli's Law as a subset of Bernoulli's equation. Also do linerization. Questions on U1MCA&U1MCB Progress Checks |
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| 8 |
22-09-19 |
AP Problem Practice and Grading |
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| 10 |
22-09-23 |
More Problem Practice and Review |
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| 11 |
22-09-27 |
Unit 1 Test |
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| Thermodynamics (Unit 2) |
Click here to go to the Thermodynamics Unit in Flickr |
This unit takes the idea of conservation of energy and works and expands it to include discussion of gasses, heat, and internal energy. Our skills with the Ideal Gas Law from Chemistry are used as well. The AP Physics 2 curriculum also includes some review of momentum and conservation of momentum in this unit, to make sure we understand elastic and inelastic collisions. | ||
| 9 |
22-09-22 |
Gas Law Phet |
||
| 12 |
22-09-29 |
Boyle's, Charles, Gay-Lussac's Laws and Combining them into Ideal Gas Law. Internal Energy. Lab Design Boyle's Law |
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| 13 |
22-10-03 |
Collect Data Boyle's Law Lab. 1st Law of Thermodynamics |
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| Optional Video: 1st Law of Thermodynamics |
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| 14 |
22-10-05 |
Thermodynamic Processes and a Thermodynamic Cycle |
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| Optional Video: Thermodynamic Processes | ||||
| Video: The Thermodynamic Cycle | ||||
| 15 |
22-10-07 |
Rate of Heat Transfer |
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| Optional Video: Rates of Heat Transfer | ||||
| 16 |
22-10-12 |
Progress Check Review, AP Question Practice |
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| 17 |
22-10-13 |
Entropy, Review of Momentum, Progress Check Review |
||
| Video: Two Dimensional Collisions and Conservation of Momentum | ||||
| 18 |
22-10-17 |
Momentum Practice, Center of Mass Reference Frame, PSSC Frames of Reference, Review |
||
| 19 |
22-10-19 |
Final Unit 2 questions, start Friction Rods Lab |
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| 20 |
22-10-21 |
Unit 2 Exam |
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| Electrostatics (Unit 3) |
Click here to go to the Electrostatics Unit in Flickr |
This unit is about electric charges and how they alter the space around them. We pay specific attention to electric force and electric field (which helps you determine electric force) and electric potential energy and electric potential (which helps you determine electric potential energy.) We make lots of analogies to the similar concepts in your previous study of gravity. | ||
| Video: Fields, Potentials, and Action at a Distance |
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| Optional Video: Friction Rods and Electroscopes | ||||
| 21 |
22-10-25 |
Van de Graaff Demos, Altered Space: Field and Potential |
||
| 22 |
22-10-27 |
Play Electric Field Hockey, work Electrostatics Questions, go through Unit 2 Exam |
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| 23 |
22-11-02 |
Finish Electrostatics Questions and work Phet Electric Field Mapping Lab |
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| Video: Electrostatic Induction | ||||
| 25 |
22-11-04 |
Franklin's Bells, Students try and Charge Electrophorous |
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| 26 |
22-11-09 |
Faraday Cages and shielding, Balloons and 2D Force |
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| 27 |
22-11-11 |
Real Electric Field Mapping lab |
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| Optional Video: Mapping the Space Around Charges |
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| 28 |
22-11-15 |
Map Electric Field Lines in a Capacitor. Also Electric Field as vector Electric Potential as scalar |
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| 29 |
22-11-17 |
Mechanics in an Electric Field, work problems |
||
| 30 |
22-11-21 |
Make hair stand up with VDG, work on progress checks |
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| 31 |
22-11-29 |
Work and Energy in an Electric Field |
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| 32 |
22-12-01 |
Final Unit 3 Review |
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| 33 |
22-12-05 |
Unit 3 Exam |
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| DC Circuits (Unit 4) |
Click here to go to the DC Electric Circuits Unit in the Flickr Album |
This is a basic introduction to Direct Current (DC) circuits, which we get when a battery is used. We use Kirchhoff's Rules extensively to allow us to look at more complex circuits, including those with multiple batteries. We look closely at how resistors work and how batteries can have internal resistance. Finally, we look at how having capacitors in circuits affects the behavior of charge and energy in the circuit. | ||
| Video: Electric Potential Difference in a Circuit and Batteries | ||||
| 34 |
22-12-07 |
Light a bulb with a battery and wire, Battery Discussion, Ohm's Law Virtual Lab |
||
| Video: Definitions of Current, Resistance, and Electric Power | ||||
| 35 |
22-12-09 |
Resistance Stations Lab |
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| Optional Video: Resistance Experiments |
||||
| 36 |
22-12-13 |
Go through Unit 3 Exam |
||
| 37 |
22-12-15 |
Finish Resistance Stations, Ohm's Law, Series, and Parallel Lab |
||
| Optional Video: Series Circuits | ||||
| Optional Video: Parallel Circuits | ||||
| 38 |
22-12-19 |
Kirchhoff's Loop Rule, Parallel Circuit Danger, Kirchhoff's Junction Rule |
||
| Video: Combination Circuits | ||||
| Video: Using a Breadboard | ||||
| Optional Video: Another Combo Circuit | ||||
| Optional Video: Kirchhoff's Rules | ||||
| 39 |
22-12-21 |
Combination Circuits, Breadboard Lab |
||
| Video: Capacitors | ||||
| Video: Capacitors in Circuits 1 | ||||
| Video: Capacitors in Circuits 2 | ||||
| Video: Lab: Circuits with Capacitors | ||||
| 40 |
23-01-03 |
Capacitor Phet Lab |
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| 41 |
23-01-05 |
Review Problems and Progress Checks |
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| 42 |
23-01-09 |
Test, Unit 4 |
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| 43 |
23-01-11 |
Midterm Review |
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| 44 |
23-01-23 |
Go through Midterm. Begin Battery Internal Resistance |
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| 45 |
23-01-25 |
Non-Ohmic Data, finish Internal Resistance Lab, Kirchhoff's Rules with multiple batteries |
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| Electromagnetism (Unit 5) |
Click here to go to the Electromagnetism unit in Flickr |
There are two major components to this unit. The first looks at magnetic fields and how they create forces on moving charges. We can then use Newton's 2nd Law and Conservation of Energy to solve a lot of problems where charges are affected by electric and magnetic fields. The second looks at Faraday's Law and how EMF can be induced in circuits by changing magnetic flux. | ||
| 46 |
23-01-27 |
Mapping Magnetic Fields Lab, Magnetic Fields, Geomagnetism, Orsted's law, begin to understand direction rules |
||
| Video: The Magnetic Force and the Right Hand Rule | ||||
| 47 |
23-01-31 |
Intro
to Magnetic Force questions, Newton's 2nd Law and Conservation of
Energy with Magnetic Forces, PSSC Electrons in a Uniform Magnetic Field |
||
| 48 |
23-02-02 |
Magnetic Field around a Current Carrying Wire, Forces on a Current Carrying Wire, Rail Guns |
||
| Video: Permanent Magnets and Electrons |
||||
| 49 |
23-02-06 |
Practice Problems, Faraday's Law Mini-Lab, Faraday's Electromagnetic PhET |
||
| 50 |
23-02-08 |
2 forms of Faraday's Law, Lenz's Law, Superconductivity, AP Practice |
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| 51 |
23-02-10 |
Geomagnetism, Electric Guitars, Practice Problems |
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| 52 |
23-02-14 |
Unit 5 Review |
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| 53 |
23-02-16 |
Unit 5 Exam |
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| AC Circuits (Unit 5b) Not on AP |
Click here to go the AC Circuits Unit in Flickr |
This unit is not part of the AP curriculum, but is required for the UCONN part of the course. It's also good for all students going into science or engineering to understand. We start with the transformer, which is the device that allows alternating current (AC) electricity to be converted between different rms voltages. This is economically very important and why we use AC power to run our electric grid. We then talk about how electric and magentic fields that build in certain AC circuit elements (like capacitors and inductors) resist the flow of charge, something called reactance and impedence. We discuss the quality of electric load known as the power factor and finally discuss how capacitors and inductors can filter unwanted components of AC signals depending on their freqencies. | ||
| Video: Transformers |
||||
| 54 |
23-02-23 |
Equations of AC, PhET Inductor Lab, Alarm Clock Demo |
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| 55 |
23-02-27 |
Lagging/Leading Voltage in circuit elements, Unit 5 test corrections |
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| 56 |
23-03-01 |
AC Stations Lab (Primary Secondary Coil, Build Transformer, high and low pass filters) |
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| 57 |
23-03-03 |
Voltage Dividers, Filter Circuits, Practice Problems |
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| 58 |
23-03-07 |
Introduce Power Factor, Review AC Problems |
||
| 59 |
23-03-09 |
AC Quiz, AC/DC conversion, Introduction to EM Spectrum, Wave Particle Duality, Wave Sims |
||
| Waves, Light, and Optics (Unit 6) |
Click Here to go to the light and optics unit in Flickr |
This unit takes the understanding of waves developed in a previous class and applies it to light. We start out by looking at how light waves from a coherent source interfere with each other when passed through various things like pairs of slits, diffraction gratings, or small slits. We then examine the laws of reflection and refraction, and discover how lenses and mirrors can make real and virtual images. Finally, we discuss a bit about color vision, adding colors with light, and subtracting colors with pigments. These are not required topics for the course but are key for making sure we don't misunderstand the difference between how we percieve certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and what is actually there. | ||
| Video: Snell's Law | ||||
| 60 |
23-03-15 |
Snell's Law Lab |
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| 61 |
23-03-17 |
Vanishing Marbles in Oil, Polarization, Thin Films |
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| Video: Interference Patterns | ||||
| 62 |
23-03-21 |
Laser Diffraction Lab |
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| 63 |
23-03-24 |
Infrared Laser, Blue Violet Laser, Visible Spectrum and rest of EM spectrum. Single Slit diffraction |
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| 64 |
23-03-28 |
Unit 6 Review, Radiation Shields, Thin Film Problem |
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| 65 |
23-03-30 |
Unit 6 Exam |
||
| 66 |
23-04-03 |
Explore lenses and mirrors |
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| 67 |
23-04-05 |
Focal Length Lab, Overview of Sign Conventions |
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| Video: Image and Object Location in a Converging Lens |
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| 72 |
23-04-27 |
Ray Diagram Practice |
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| Modern Physics (Unit 7) |
Click here to go to the Modern Physics Unit |
In this unit, we explore how Planck and Einstein discovered that in addition to treating light as a wave (which we have to as shown by the experiments in the previous unit,) some phenomena like blackbody radiation (the color you see when you heat say a wire in your toaster or a burner on an electric stove up) and the photoelectric effect can only be explained by treating light as a particle with energy E=hf. We build a picture of the energy levels of the hydrogen atom using its spectrum. Later, we examin nuclear physics and discuss the tug of war going on inside the nucleus between different fundamental forces. We look at nuclear decay, and finally end our class with a discussion of special relativity- how some of the understandings of Newton's model of the universe start to break down as objects move very quickly relative to one another. | ||
| 68 |
23-04-17 |
Photoelectric Effect PhET, DeBroglie Wavelength, Intro Energy Levels of Atom |
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| 69 |
23-04-19 |
Blackbody Radiation, Spectroscopes, Hydrogen Energy Transitions, Balmer Series Lines |
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| 70 |
23-04-21 |
Mass Defect and E=mc^2, calculate energy released in a nuclear reaction |
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| Video: Nuclear Chemical Reactions |
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| 71 |
23-04-25 |
Special Relativity (Fountain of Trivia, Inside Einstein's Mind, Illusion of Time) Half Life Activity |
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| Optional Video: Special Relativity | ||||
| Optional Video: Half Life Simulations | ||||
| 73 |
23-05-01 |
Multiple Choice Test |
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| 74 |
23-05-03 |
Go through MC Test |
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| 75 |
23-05-05 |
Continue studying MC, do 2021 FR Test as Practice |
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| 76 |
23-05-09 |
Planck's Constant Lab |
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| 77 |
23-05-11 |
Continue Planck's Constant Lab, Concept Mapping, Review |
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| 23-05-12 |
2023 AP Physics 2 Exam |
|||
| More Modern Physics (Unit 7b) Not on AP |
78 |
23-05-15 |
Watch Inside Einstein's Mind and Look at AP Questions |
This
is a quick mini-unit we do after the AP Exam. A qualitative
understanding of this topic (how motion through space at constant
velocity is linked to motion through time) is included in AP Physics 2
but we go more in depth for the UCONN portion of the course. There are
also discussions of the nuclear chain reaction, atomic warfare, and
atomic energy. |
| 79 |
23-05-17 |
Nuclear Chain Reaction, Inverse Square Law |
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| Video: Radioactivity and the Inverse Square Law |
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| 80 |
23-05-19 |
Watch NOVA: Magnetic Storm |
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| 81 |
23-05-23 |
Special Relativity Practice |
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| 82 |
23-05-25 |
Modern Physics Graphing |
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| 83 |
23-05-31 |
Review Modern Physics |
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| 84 |
23-06-02 |
Unit 7 Exam |
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| 85 |
23-06-06 |
UCONN Final Exam |
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2021-2022
To go to the overview page of the Flickr Album, click here.
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2020-2021
To go to the overview page of the Flickr Album, click here.
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2019-2020
To go to the overview page of the Flickr Album, click here.
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(c) 2008-2023 Timothy M Dowd. Last Modified @ 21:23 EDT on 2023-10-29
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