Grade 11 · printable course

Algebra-Based Physics: Modeling Matter, Motion, and Energy

Grade 11 · 590 pages · 73 lessons · PDF, print at home

A full-year, algebra-based survey of mechanics, energy, waves, and electricity designed for students who have completed Algebra I and Geometry. Students build physical models from household-material experiments (carts, springs, pendulums, circuits made from batteries and bulbs) and use algebraic representations, not calculus, to describe and predict motion, forces, energy transformation, wave behavior, and electric circuits. The course treats each unit as a chain: each new topic is forced by an unanswered question from the one before it, so momentum arises from an unresolved collision question, energy arises from a limitation of force-and-motion accounting, and so on. Emphasis throughout is on distinguishing genuine causal/conceptual understanding from procedural pattern-matching, consistent with known findings from physics education research (Hestenes' FCI, Hake's normalized-gain studies).

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Every unit and lesson in this book, in order. The same lessons are taught online at lettersanddevotion.com, so a family can move between paper and screen.

Algebra-Based Physics: Modeling Matter, Motion, and Energy

73 lessons · try a lesson online free

Unit 1: Describing Motion: Kinematics in One and Two Dimensions10 lessons
  1. 1.Relative motion and reference frames
  2. 2.Scalar vs. vector quantities
  3. 3.The relationship between slope of a position-time graph and velocity
  4. 4.The correspondence between position-time and velocity-time graph features
  5. 5.Average vs. instantaneous velocity
  6. 6.Constant-acceleration kinematics equations
  7. 7.Selection among constant-acceleration kinematics equations based on known/unknown quantities
  8. 8.Independence of horizontal and vertical components of projectile motion
  9. 9.Physical plausibility of graphed motion
  10. 10.Prediction of future motion from experimentally derived velocity-time data
Unit 2: Forces and Newton's Laws9 lessons
  1. 11.Free-body diagrams representing forces acting on a single object
  2. 12.Newton's first law (inertia) as it applies to motion without a sustaining force
  3. 13.Newton's first law applied to scenarios engineered to trigger impetus misconceptions
  4. 14.The F = ma relationship as a proportional statement linking net force, mass, and acceleration
  5. 15.The proportional (not merely computational) relationship between force, mass, and acceleration
  6. 16.Newton's third law interaction pairs versus balanced forces acting on one object
  7. 17.Static and kinetic friction and the transition between them, evidenced by measured force and acceleration data
  8. 18.The distinction between mass (invariant) and weight (dependent on local gravitational field)
  9. 19.Argumentation defending a Newtonian prediction against an explicitly stated impetus-theory counterclaim
Unit 3: Momentum and Collisions8 lessons
  1. 20.Momentum as the product of mass and velocity
  2. 21.Impulse-momentum theorem (J = FΔt = Δp)
  3. 22.Derivation of momentum conservation from Newton's third law
  4. 23.Conservation of momentum applied to real, imperfect experimental data
  5. 24.The qualitative distinction between elastic and inelastic collisions
  6. 25.The isolated-system criterion for conservation of momentum
  7. 26.Impulse-momentum reasoning applied to injury-reduction engineering (crumple zones, airbags)
  8. 27.System definition and its effect on whether conservation applies
Unit 4: Work, Energy, and Power9 lessons
  1. 28.Work as force times displacement, with angle/component consideration
  2. 29.Kinetic energy (1/2 mv^2) and gravitational potential energy (mgh)
  3. 30.Conservation of mechanical energy and energy dissipation as heat/sound/deformation
  4. 31.The distinction between conditions for momentum conservation (always, isolated system) versus mechanical energy conservation (only without dissipation)
  5. 32.Power as rate of energy transfer (P = W/t = ΔE/t)
  6. 33.Experimental verification of conservation of mechanical energy using height and speed measurements
  7. 34.Application of energy and momentum conservation reasoning to novel multi-stage mechanical systems
  8. 35.Quality of justification for conservation-law selection in mechanical scenarios
  9. 36.Real-world energy transformation processes described in technical/informational text
Unit 5: Waves: Energy Transport Without Matter Transport10 lessons
  1. 37.The parts of a transverse wave (amplitude, wavelength, crest, trough)
  2. 38.The distinction between transverse and longitudinal wave motion
  3. 39.The wave equation v = fλ and its relationship to T = 1/f
  4. 40.Wave speed as a property of the medium, independent of amplitude or frequency of the source
  5. 41.Superposition of two overlapping wave pulses
  6. 42.Constructive and destructive interference as outcomes of superposition
  7. 43.The difference between a medium particle's local oscillation and the wave's propagation
  8. 44.Superposition reasoning applied to an untaught interference context
  9. 45.An experimental procedure for measuring wavelength, frequency, and computing wave speed from household materials
  10. 46.Wave-based energy transport vs. object-based energy transport
Unit 6: Light, the Electromagnetic Spectrum, and Fields10 lessons
  1. 47.The wave equation v=fλ applied to electromagnetic waves
  2. 48.The electromagnetic spectrum and the energy-frequency relationship
  3. 49.The law of reflection and ray-diagram notation
  4. 50.Refraction as a consequence of a wave's speed change at a boundary
  5. 51.The set of wave properties that generalize across mechanical and electromagnetic waves versus those that do not
  6. 52.The field model as a description of influence at every point in space independent of whether a test object occupies that point
  7. 53.Prediction of interference behavior for untaught EM-wave scenarios using the field model
  8. 54.Inference of relative wave speed in an unknown medium from observed refraction angle
  9. 55.Scattering versus specular reflection as distinct light-matter interaction mechanisms
  10. 56.The student's own reflection lab data and its relationship to the law of reflection
Unit 7: Electricity and Circuits8 lessons
  1. 57.Conservation of charge in a single-loop series circuit
  2. 58.The proportional relationship V=IR among voltage, current, and resistance
  3. 59.The structural difference between series and parallel circuit topology and its effect on current and voltage distribution
  4. 60.Electrical power and energy dissipation using the P=IV relationship
  5. 61.Inferring internal circuit structure from external voltage-current measurements
  6. 62.Circuit diagrams and free-body diagrams as structurally analogous modeling abstractions
  7. 63.A measurement-based strategy for characterizing an unknown circuit from external inputs and outputs only
  8. 64.The distinction between voltage (energy per charge) added by series batteries and current capacity added by parallel batteries
Unit 8: Capstone: Engineering Design Under Constraint9 lessons
  1. 65.Criteria versus constraints in an engineering design brief
  2. 66.Model selection among kinematics, force, energy, momentum, and circuit models
  3. 67.Pre-build quantitative prediction using energy or circuit equations
  4. 68.Discrepancy between predicted and measured design performance
  5. 69.Diagnosis of design failure as reasoning error versus construction error
  6. 70.Iterative redesign informed by discrepancy diagnosis
  7. 71.Integration of concepts from at least three prior units in a design rationale
  8. 72.Qualitative prediction of design outcome under an unrehearsed parameter change
  9. 73.Equation forms for KE, PE, F=ma, and P=IV from Units 2, 4, and 7

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