11th-12th Science -- second semester

Second semester, 11th and 12th graders will be finishing up Electricity and Magnestism.

They will they have a seven week science/humanities elective -- this year either Filmmaking or Science of the Mind.

11th graders will have a short History of Science class in May.

Electricity and Magnestism-  December – February

After our work mastering basic concepts in electricity and magnetism, we will engage in a major design engineering challenge in which teams of students will design and build devices that utilize electromagnetic induction.

click here for a description of the project     click here for the evaluation rubric

Electricity Topics

You should be able to…

1)    Explain how static electric charges work… attractive and repulsive forces, changing the distance between charges, transfer of charges (contact, friction, induction). (Chpt. 32, Van de Graff, Lord Kelvin)

2)    Diagram electric forces and fields using vectors. (vector worksheet, Chpt. 33)

3)    Explain the concepts of current, voltage, and resistance (Ohm’s Law) and their relationships. (Chpt. 34)

4)    Calculate electrical power. (34.11)

5)    Draw and interpret schematic diagrams of circuits. Calculate equivalent resistance, current, and voltage in a circuit. (Chpt. 35)

6)    Understand the difference between series and parallel circuits. (35.3 and 35.4)

7)    Explain what a magnet is and how magnetic forces are arranged. (Chpt. 36.1 – 36.4)

8)    Describe the way current creates a magnetic force. (36.5)

9)    Explain and apply the relationship between current and magnetism. (36.6-36.8; 37)

10) Describe how an electric generator and an electric motor work, and how they are related to each other. (Chpt. 37)

11) Explain the factors that affect the amount of current created in an electric generator. (37.2)

12) Describe what a transformer does. (37.4)

13) Explain how electromagnetic waves are created, propagated, and detected. (37.8)

Schedule: