This is a yearlong course. This course is offered as an alternative to the regular physics course for those students who have difficulty with algebraic problem solving. This course is designed to emphasize the concepts of physics and to explain natural phenomena such as why the sky is blue, what causes rainbows, why the moon orbits the earth, how musical instruments produce sound, how cameras work, what causes lightning, how microphones and loudspeakers operate, etc. The course will include labs, demonstrations and field trips. Since this course will not include mathematical problem solving, students who wish to take the SAT II- Physics test or students who may study science, engineering, medicine, or architecture in college should take the regular physics course instead of conceptual physics.
Departmental approval is required.
This course will not count toward the two-year science requirement . This is a yearlong course. This course is a first-year physics course. The course is excellent preparation for, but not equivalent to, the calculus based, university physics course required for engineering, physics or chemistry majors. The entire AP Physics B syllabus is covered and greater emphasis is placed on using mathematics to solve physics problems than in the regular physics course.