AP Physics: Conservation of Momentum

Students worked on some problems using conservation of momentum. I used some problems that require them to shift how they are define their system, which students found challenging at first, but once they got the hang of it, many seemed to appreciate how shifting their system can make a problem easier.

Physical Science: Refraction

Students did a lab making lots of observations of objects in a clear cup of water. Afterwards, we shifted to making some observations as a whole-class of a laser pointer in a fish tank. Once they summarized the big ideas based on observations, I set up a washer in the bottom of a fish tank and aimed a PVC tube to view the washer. Students predicted where, relative to the tube, they should aim a dowel and a laser pointer in order to hit the washer. I was very pleased at how successful students were at this task; I do wish I’d had them write a CER for this problem since a lot of students struggled to explain their prediction.