About the Class

Welcome! I'm more than excited to be teaching preAP physics, and I look forward to our year together. I can promise you two things:

• You're going to learn a lot of physics.
• And I'll do my best to make it fun.

​Because physics can be fun. It should be fun. (But that doesn't mean it should be easy!)

Based on scientific research and my own observations, I feel that lecture is among the least effective means of teaching. And, for you, it's among the least effective means of learning. I didn't say earning an A, I said learning. Can we acknowledge that there is a difference?

For this reason, I will attempt to structure the class so that you acquire information through your own active exploration, guided by me. Physics is not something to be memorized, like anatomy. Physics is something that you do. Be open to the process. You may be amazed at just how much you learn!

What you need to bring to class:

• a notebook (you may also wish to use a 3-ring binder to hold handouts)
• pens and pencils
• a laptop (all Vandegrift students, beginning this year, should have access to a school-issued laptop; if this is an issue for you, please talk with me)
• a graphing calculator (recommended but not required; personally, I use a TI-83)

Kinematics

Forces