2024-01-13

Happy New Semester!

We say goodbye to our study of Mechanics (mostly!), and greet with open arms our new semester which brings us to the study of Electricity & Magnetism. It's a fascinating survey of topics that you'll find includes many of the ideas you're already familiar with—motion of particles, forces of attraction (now, with repulsion, too!), fields (just like gravity)—along with a variety of new topics that you're going to be amazed by.

I'm so looking forward to seeing what you think of it all!

I'll see you in class...

2024-01-01

Happy New Year!

Welcome back! I hope you had a chance to get some good rest and relaxation over the last few weeks!

You all did a great job on your AP exams just before the break, and those grades have been posted—nice work! Our last unit of the semester is going to be a bit of a whirlwind, so classes will be a bit more focused than usual. I'll do my best to keep things to the essentials. It's going to be a push!

Also, don't forget your Rolling Objects lab, which is due Friday. We can talk about that as well...

Looking forward to seeing you again!

I'll see you in class...

2023-11-26

It's the Holiday Season!

I'm certainly thankful for having Thanksgiving week off. And yet, we've got some challenging material awaiting us at this point in the course. After a rest, I'm ready to dig into the good stuff... and I hope you are, too! Rotational motion, angular momentum, a quick test on those topics... and then our Block Day, with a full AP Physics exam awaiting you!

Yahooooo!

I'll see you in class...

2023-10-30

Welcome to Second Quarter!

The run up to November 1 is always stressful, but you've made it (or almost, as I write this). Now we can settle back in to learning really interesting physics topics: continuing momentum, learning about center of mass, and after that, rotational motion. I hope you like it!

See you in class...

2023-10-10

Welcome back from "Trips Week!"

You probably didn't "get away from it all" like some others did—those college apps are imminent!—but maybe you found a little time to relax this past week? I hope so!

We've completed our unit on Forces and Newton's Laws of Motion, and your test results as a class suggest you've got a reasonably strong understanding of those principles. We'll now leverage what you've learned, applying Forces to objects as they move through space, and seeing the implications of that Work—that "transfer of energy"—on the objects' motion.

We'll use the concepts in this next unit throughout the rest of the year. I'm looking forward to developing these ideas with you!

See you in class...

2023-09-14

From how things move to why they move

We've got our 1-d and 2-d (and 3-d?) kinematics figured out, so now it's time to examine why things move the way they do. Newton's Three Laws of Motion will lead you to a deeper understanding.

And watching those motorcycle movies doesn't hurt, either!

Stay safe, and I'll see you in class...

2023-08-26

Welcome Back to School!

It was a pleasure meeting you (again!) this past week, and I'm so looking forward to working with you all this year in our course.

As I'm writing this, the first test is almost done being graded. Although taking a test the first week of class isn't anybody's idea of a good time—sorry!—it serves as a really valuable form of early feedback, for both you and me. We can each use the results of that test to identify strong points, weak points, and where we go from here. Look for the results of that test to be posted on MyPoly sometime Saturday evening... or just get your test from me in class when I pass it back on Tuesday...

Either way, I'll see you in class!

2023-08-14

Happy End-of-Summer!

The "Summer Reading Assignment" was posted a couple of weeks ago, and if you're reading this, there's a good chance that you've figured out that you're in my class.

Welcome!

As stated in the email sent earlier today, you've got a few things to do before we begin our classes on Wednesday, Aug 23. You can find them all here in the pink box.

If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to reach out. Otherwise, I'll see you in class on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to working with you in here!

2023-07-18

Happy Summer!

The "Summer Reading Assignment" will be posted at the beginning of August, and will give you the chance to review/learn some of our introductory material, most of which you've already learned in your other classes. Look for an email announcing the presentation of that material, and a follow-up reminder the week before school starts.

And then... I'll see you in class!