Today was our first day of final exams.

AP Physics 1: Practice Exam

I don’t actually have any AP Physics sections until tomorrow, but they will be taking roughly half of a practice exam. I trimmed it to fit into the 90 minute blocks we have for final exams, rather than 3 hours, as well as to limit it to material we’ve covered so far this year.

Physics: Lab Practical

Students took an individual final, then completed the “Catch the Loot” practical in small groups. Time was tight, so I didn’t have any groups today that were able to test their calculation. Given how satisfying this result is, it will be worth looking at how to adjust the timing if we repeat this lab next year. A lot of students will switch hours when the new term begins Monday, with many students even switching between me and the other physics teacher, so unfortunately it won’t be practical to give them the opportunity to try their prediction when the new term starts Monday.

Chemistry Essentials: Density Practical

Students took a short individual test, then did a density practical in groups. After finding the volume of a cylinder turned out to be a major barrier for a lot of students on a lab in September, I ordered some plastic centimeter cubes thinking they might make the lab more accessible. I decided the final would be a good opportunity to test out using them for the density lab and the results came out very nicely.