I didn't write a blog for Friday; it was a test day. Today, I passed back the test. I wanted to point out a particular problem that almost every student missed. The problem didn't look like a...

We got out the tiny little wave tank, which is so worth it, since I use them so much more than I would ever use the old larger wave tanks. We saw just how much more difficult it would be to draw...

In one class, I finally said why I called this unit the mechanical wave model, since mechanical waves cannot use a vacuum as its medium. (I always mention that a vacuum is not a vacuum cleaner, as...

I know these are just simple cylinders with a piston, but I really like how I can do two labs in one day with this equipment, in two different ways.  First, we use the speaker, tune it to a...

Friday was a homecoming assembly, so we had a shorter class. Plus my mind was on spreadsheets, again. We used to use this not-ideal way to sign up for parent-teacher conferences which meant that...

Yesterday, after a quick review of homework, we looked at a string vibrator and the different standing waves we could get on the string. The ability for students to touch it, and realize that it...

We did one of my favorite introductory problems today in AP Physics 2. It's a series of two problems that lulls them into complacency: Oh, you're asking how the wavelength will...

After a little practice of wave superposition, I showed how waves reflect off fixed and free ends. We then went outside to watch two slinkies of different mass densities so we can see how waves...

I embraced concept, then definition today in a slightly new way today. We had already learned beats, but we had no way to explain it. After a bit on the Doppler Effect, we went into the hallway and...

I am forgetting to take pictures! Aargh! We started by playing with tuning forks, seeing them splash in the water, and how the tines feel very weird when you touch it to your nose. I showed them...

Yesterday was the test, and today, I passed back the test. I didn't write a blog yesterday, because I sat there writing an answer key for the test, organizing my desk, working on orders for the...

Today we spent the day reviewing for tests, and I realized that my advice for studying is probably different than that of their other teachers. One, I realize I do not like...

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Listen, I know I still taught AP Physics 2 on Friday. Yes, I know it was boring. I sped through so much vocabulary that I know most of my students knew from middle school. It's about mechanical...

We whiteboarded some problems on lenses today. Students asked good questions, and they seem to be in a good place with the ray model of light. And my students wanted to...

I walked through the ways to draw ray diagrams with lenses with my classes. The last few years, I just told my student, "eh, it's basically the same thing. Let me show you how to draw the three...

I just threw the students into the lenses lab. I didn't tell them where the screen should go, so it was great to watch students try to figure that out. They were sure it would act like a mirror,...

Today, we whiteboarded problems on curved mirror and refraction. And, in both classes, the whiteboarding went quick. And, in both classes, the sticky points were the same—what if we cover half the...

We're applying the finishing touches to this post before it is fully published. It should be ready soon. I told them how to go from the interesting straight line we got when graphing sine of one...

We took a few notes today. I just told them about the difference between concave and convex mirrors and what that means about the sign convention we use in the lens equation. It's kinda boring, and...

I have been using this sheet to teach students how to draw the principal rays for concave and convex mirrors forever, as in before my current students were born. I think it might be time to redraw...

Today we finished the curved mirror lab. We looked at the ratio of si/so and hi/ho. We also graphed 1/si and 1/so. We now have a few equations, but we're not sure why they work or how we can use...

Today, we started by going over reflections in plane mirrors, and saw how Mr. Eye-Foot can help us figure out how big a mirror we need. Then we collected data on the images we could form from our...

To give students an idea about sensemaking in physics, I took a page from Kathy Harper and used pinochle as a way for students to experience what it's like to try to understand the rules of a game...

We did our first whiteboarding today, which was really more about getting used to presenting your ideas rather than getting deeper with our understanding. I then talked about the two types of...

Today was my first day with all my students. Some of my students in AP Physics 2 took AP Physics 1 last year, some took it the year before, and some are taking it concurrently. I've found that...

In our new contract, we get two days to get ready for the school year without students and without any meetings. Today has been wonderful. I got to talk to our new science teacher. I did some...

Today was some professional development. We had some good PD led by Facing History and Ourselves. In the afternoon, we had a staff meeting, where a link hub I maintain that I fully stole from...

Educator Resources The following lessons have been designed by licensed educators and peer-reviewed. Under the lesson description, you will find blue buttons that allow you to download teacher resourc...