Agenda – Physics 2

Course Description

Welcome to the exciting world of AP Physics 2, the physics course with perhaps the most engaging and diverse collection of topics. Whether you are a teacher just preparing for your first time through the course or a veteran looking for an efficient way to accommodate the upcoming changes to the curriculum, this APSI will put you in the best position to have a successful school year.

I have an active week planned, with an emphasis on active learning rather just passive presentation of information. My goals are briefly described below.

1) Teachers will emerge from the APSI with a thorough understanding of the topics in the AP Physics 2 Curriculum. The Course and Exam Description can be a bit overwhelming. So we will go through the content together, making sure that there is no doubt in your mind whether a particular learning objective is a part of the curriculum. Starting with the 2025 Exam, Fluids is out of the curriculum, Mechanical Waves and Sound are in, and the other units will have varying amounts of change, particularly Thermodynamics and Modern Physics. You will have the chance to learn content that you may have never seen or perhaps long forgotten so that you are ready for any questions that your talented young physicists may ask you during the school year.

2) You will have the opportunity to add to your repertoire of laboratory activities. I will ask for some input prior to the APSI to see where we might want to focus our efforts, and I will make use of the lab equipment on site plus whatever I can bring myself. There will definitely be some extra attention paid to mechanical waves and sound as they are newly added to the curriculum. I also hope to have some lively conversations and allow participants to share ideas with one another about activities throughout all of the units, and hopefully learn some new labs myself!

3) We will solve and score questions from across all four question types: Experimental Design, the Qualitative-Quantitative Translation, Mathematical Routines, and Translating Between Representations. I have been an AP Reader for 12 years and part of the leadership for 9 years, so I can make sure that you will be able to accurately score your student work. And as the Lead of the AP Physics 2 Content Development Team, I have written or reviewed about half of the questions on the 2024 and 2025 Exams, so I can make sure you know for certain how the components of the curriculum will be assessed. You won’t have to guess; you will know.

4) You will be exposed to all of the resources available through the CollegeBoard. You will leave able to navigate all of the features of AP Classroom, from the completely revamped Question Bank to AP Daily videos and more. There are tools to help you plan your course, gauge student performance, and recruit a diverse group of students into AP Physics 2

So we will have a fun and busy week. I will share a lot of files with you and remain a resource to you as your school year begins and for however long you teach the course. I’m so excited to begin working together!

Agenda AP Physics 2: 4-Day Agenda

Day 1: 8:00-4:15

Welcome Session: 8:00-8:15

AM1:  8:15-10:00

• Introductions, Agenda, and Filesharing
• AP Physics at a Glance
• Lab Activity: Standing Waves on a String

AM2: 10:15-12:00

• Exploring the Physics 2 CED – The curriculum
• Free-body-diagrams and Sum-of-the-Forces Equations

PM1: 12:45-2:15

• The AP Physics Exams
• Experimental Design FRQs and Linearization
• Brainstorm Experimental Questions

PM2: 2:30-4:15

• Sound Sensors Demos
• Science Practices, Skills, and MCQ
• Sorting Tasks, with Circuits as Example

Day 2: 8:00-4:15

AM1:  8:00-10:00

• Broadening Access to AP: Overview and Jigsaw
• Right-Hand Rules
• Qualitative- Quantitative Translation FRQs

AM2: 10:15-12:00

• Content Deepdive: Thermodynamics
• AP Reading
• Scoring Student Samples: QQT

PM1: 12:45-2:15

• AP Audit
• Content Q&A
• Features of AP Classroom

PM2: 2:30-4:15

• RC Circuit Lab
• Creating a Year-Long Plan [Calendar, Labs]

Day 3: 8:00-4:15

AM1:  8:00-10:00

• Implicit Bias and Stereotype Threat
• Representations in AP Physics 2
• Translating Between Representations FRQ

AM2: 10:15-12:00

• Scoring Student Samples: TBR
• Online Simulations: Internal Resistance

PM1: 12:45-2:15

• Diffraction mini-labs
• Lab Manual Jigsaw

PM2: 2:30-4:15

• Using Instructional Planning Reports and CR Reports
• Creating Quizzes and Using Results in AP Classroom

Day 4: 8:00-1:15

AM1: 8:00-10:15

• Turning Labs into Inquiry Labs
• Mathematical Routines FRQ
• Favorite teaching trick Share-a-thon

AM2: 10:30-1:15

• TIPERs
• Decay Constant Activity
• Best demos Share-a-thon
• Wrapping Up