Physics

School Curriculum: Physics

This page is designed to enable parents to understand what their child should be learning, when they should be learning it, and what degree of mastery the child should have attained (at a median level) by a certain grade level. For Homeschoolers, we hope that this page will serve as a valuable asset in establishing a baseline curriculum. For parents whose children attend public or private schools (or for the inquisitive student) this page should give some guidance as to whether or not the school curriculum and methods are providing students with an adequate standard of education.

What is meant by "Physics," why is it important, and how is it approached ? Below is a description of the core discipline and its components, and the answers to why-how-when these components are taught. Physics components have median level goals to be attained by the end of Grade 2, by the end of Grade 4, by the end of Grade 6, by the end of Grade 8, and by the end of Grade 12.

This page does not contain articles for education in this discipline.
For educational articles, go to: Physics: A. Motion and Forces, B. Energy Transformations

STANDARD 5.7 (PHYSICS) ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF NATURAL LAWS AS THEY APPLY TO MOTION, FORCES, AND ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS.

Descriptive Statement: Basic principles of physics emerge in this standard, where the study of force and motion leads students to the concept of energy. All forms of energy are introduced and investigated, and principles of transformation and laws of conservation are developed.

Strands and Cumulative Progress Indicators

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

A. Motion and Forces

1. Distinguish among the different ways objects can move such as:

fast and slow.

in a straight line.

in a circular path.

back and forth.

2. Show that the position and motion of an object can be changed by pushing or pulling the object.

B. Energy Transformations

1. Demonstrate that sound can be produced by vibrating objects.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 4, students will:

A. Motion and Forces

1. Recognize that changes in the speed or direction of a moving object are caused by force and that the greater the force, the greater the change in motion will be.

2. Recognize that some forces can act at a distance.

gravity
magnetism
static electricity

B. Energy Transformations

1. Identify sources of heat and demonstrate that heat can be transferred from one object to another.

2. Identify sources of light and demonstrate that light can be reflected from some surfaces and pass through others.

3. Use devices that show electricity producing heat, light, sound, and magnetic effects.

4. Show that differences in sound (loud or soft, high or low) can be produced by varying the way objects vibrate.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 6, students will:

A. Motion and Forces

1. Recognize that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object moving in a straight line at a steady speed will continue to move in a straight line at a steady speed unless a net (unbalanced) force acts on it.

2. Recognize that motion can be retarded by forces such as friction and air resistance.

3. Recognize that everything on or near the earth is pulled toward the earth's center by gravitational force.

B. Energy Transformations

1. Recognize that heat flows through materials or across space from warmer objects to cooler ones.

2. Show that vibrations in materials can generate waves that can transfer energy from one place to another.

3. Design an electric circuit to investigate the behavior of a system.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

A. Motion and Forces

1. Use quantitative data to show that when more than one force acts on an object at the same time, the forces can reinforce or cancel each other producing a net (unbalanced) force that will change speed and/or direction of the object.

2. Recognize that every object exerts a gravitational force on every other object, and that the force depends on how much mass the objects have and how far apart they are.

Recognize that the sun is a major source of the Earth's energy and that solar energy includes visible, infrared and, ultraviolet radiation.

B. Energy Transformations

1. Recognize that the sun is a major source of the Earth's energy and that solar energy includes visible, infrared and, ultraviolet radiation.

2. Describe the nature of various forms of energy, including heat, light, sound, chemical, mechanical, and electrical and trace energy transformations from one form to another.

3. Describe how heat can be conducted through materials or transferred across space by radiation and know that if the material is a fluid, convection currents may aid the transfer of heat.

4. Show that light is reflected, refracted, or absorbed when it interacts with matter and that colors may appear as a result of this interaction.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 12, students will:

A. Motion and Forces

1. Apply the mathematical relationship between the mass of an object, the net force exerted on it, and the resulting acceleration.

2. Explain that whenever one object exerts a force on another, an equal and opposite force is exerted on the first object.

3. Recognize gravity as a universal force of attraction between masses and that the force is proportional to the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

4. Recognize that electrically charged bodies can attract or repel each other with a force that depends upon the size and nature of the charges and the distance between them and know that electric forces play an important role in explaining the structure and properties of matter.

5. Know that there are strong forces that hold the nucleus of an atom together and that significant amounts of energy can be released in nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, and nuclear decay) when these binding forces are disrupted.

6. Explain how electromagnetic, gravitational, and nuclear forces can be used to produce energy by causing chemical, physical, or nuclear changes and relate the amount of energy produced to the nature and relative strength of the force.

7. Demonstrate that moving electric charges can produce magnetic forces and moving magnets can produce electric forces.

8. Recognize that magnetic and electrical forces are different aspects of a single electromagnetic force.

B. Energy Transformations

1. Explain how the various forms of energy (heat, electricity, sound, light) move through materials and identify the factors that affect that movement.

2. Explain that while energy can be transformed from one form to another, the total energy of a closed system is constant.

3. Recognize that whenever mechanical energy is transformed, some heat is dissipated and is therefore unavailable for use.

4. Explain the nature of electromagnetic radiation and compare the components of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays.

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