Advanced Physics is taught by Mr. Ellis, and it is a fast-paced course that hurts the sleep schedule of many. However, the balance between new course material and practice makes the class much more manageable, and Mr. Ellis incorporates applicable labs and other activities to enhance our understanding. I did not have any prior knowledge in Physics before Mass Academy, but the class is structured in a manner that everyone is able to learn and digest new concepts, even with the initial struggle. In fact, I have grown to appreciate the concepts and how all the units seem to build on each other; with the added bonus of the international candy we are provided, the class is quite enjoyable. So far we have covered Kinematics, Forces, and Energy & Momentum, and we are transitioning into rotational motion.
In this class, we also learn how to navigate confusing Microsoft applications such as Word and Excel. Google Docs is superior to Word, but Excel is alright, I suppose. One of the first write-ups we did on Word was the rock and balloon lab, which corresponded to the Kinematics unit. After completing the physics portion, we had to format our document as a replica of the example provided to us. The process took many tries to result in an acceptable paper, so it was a relief once completed. My solution is provided below and here.
One of the labs we completed for the kinematics unit was Penny Drop, where we recorded times of the penny dropped to calculate the acceleration of gravity. My group consisted of Diego and Alexis, and based on our data, our acceleration was calculated to be -9.9598 m/s^2. My write-up is below.
At the end of each unit, we complete an "Über" problem, which essentially wraps up the unit as a whole and covers all the details embedded in the unit. For the kinematics unit, we wrote up a solution to a problem involving a rocket and projectile motion; my write-up is below.