St. Mary's Springs High School
Physics
Kathleen Bachhuber
...this site continues to be updated depending on the needs of my students!
Course Description
Course Guidelines
Study Tips
Keep up with the course. Once you fall behind it is difficult to catch up.
Devote a little time to studying physics every day, rather than a large amount of time once a week.
Develop study partners and study groups.
You will not survive in physics if you rely only on memorized information. In the words of Charles Misner "The equation f=ma is easy to memorize, hard to use, and even more difficult to understand."
Examine sample problems in your textbook carefully.
Students may find it helpful to review each lesson by making a simple list of the most important topics, and noting those aspects that need clarification.
Do not put off the problems until the night before they are due.
If you find yourself working reams of algebra then you are off on the wrong track. Stop, re-read the problem, reformulate your strategy.
Think of problems as mystery stories.
Do not search for the "right equation". You will not be able to effectively solve problems by plugging numbers into an equation.
Often the problem statement will give you more information than is needed to answer the question. The ability to recognize which data are needed and which are irrelevant is an important practical skill.
Review your problem solutions when they are returned to you. Why did you make the mistakes that you did? Five or ten minutes spent in the review can save hours by preventing similar mistakes in the future.
Lab Tips
Skim the lab instructions before coming to lab. You won't be able to fully understand things without the equipment in front of you, but you will get a general overview that will serve you well.
Most students lose points when writing conclusions and citing errors in their lab reports. The conclusion of your lab report will be read first, and the conclusion should reference data collected during the lab. A good conclusion is a few paragraphs long, summarizes both the purpose of the lab and the results obtained during the lab, as well as commenting on possible errors generated during the lab activity.
Most lab activities are done in a group. Be an active member of your lab group rather than a parasite.
Mechanics
There are a variety of web sites that will provide you with a plethora of animations and activities to help you understand mechanics.
Projectiles
Mechanical Waves
Wave FAQs
What is a mechanical wave? Are all waves mechanical waves?
| A mechanical wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium. Water waves, sound waves, seismic waves are all examples of mechanical waves. Not all waves are mechanical waves. Light is an electromagnetic wave. |
If mechanical waves do not transport matter, how do they transfer momentum?
| All mechanical waves transport energy and momentum without transferring matter from one place to another. Particles in a medium as set into vibration by a source. As one set of particles vibrates back and forth, energy is transferred to the next set of particles which then vibrate back and forth and energy is transferred to the next set....Both momentum and energy are transmitted, not the actual particle. |
What concepts that are used to describe simple harmonic motion are applicable to wave motion?
| Frequency, period and amplitude all are applicable to both SHM and mechanical waves. The frequency and period both refer to the oscillations of the particles in a medium. Period is measured as seconds per wave, while frequency is a measure of the waves per second. Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the particles in the medium from the equilibrium position. Amplitude does not affect the period or the frequency. |
What is the difference between longitudinal waves and transverse waves?
| If the particles of the medium in which the wave is traveling move perpendicular to the direction of the wave, the wave is a transverse wave. If the particles in the medium move parallel to the direction of the wave, the wave is a longitudinal wave. |
What is the energy flow in a wave?
| When particles in a medium are set into motion, work is done on the medium. If there are no frictional losses, the work you do to generate the wave becomes the energy of the wave. The greater the amplitude, the more work you do, the greater the energy of the wave. And, the faster you move a medium up and down to generate a wave, the higher the frequency of the wave. |
Why do water waves on the ocean break when they reach the beach?
| For waves in deep water, the speed of the wave depends on the acceleration due to gravity and the wavelength. Longer wavelength waves travel faster in the open ocean. In shallow water, the situation is different because depth becomes a factor. In deep water, the size of the ellipses that the water particles move in is approximately the same as the wavelength of the wave. In shallow water, these ellipses will be smaller. |
The following links will provide you with resources for review and reinforcement on the topic of mechanical waves.
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Sound
Light
The following are for Physics: April 23
Step 3: Explore these web sites:
Color Vision and Color Blindness
Below are a variety of hyperlinks that provide information and/or animations concerning the nature of light.
Neon Signs
| General Info About Neon With Links | General Information on Neon |
| Spectroscopy Information | |
| Optical Spectroscopy and Neon Lights |