United States · Common Core State Standards
10th Grade Physics
This course explores the fundamental laws governing the physical world through mathematical modeling and hands-on investigation. Students develop critical thinking skills by analyzing motion, energy, and the invisible forces that shape our reality.
Kinematics and the Geometry of Motion
Students investigate how objects move in one and two dimensions using vectors and graphical analysis. The unit focuses on describing displacement, velocity, and acceleration without regard to the forces causing them.
Analysis of position-time and velocity-time graphs to determine the state of an object's motion. Students learn to translate physical movement into mathematical slopes and areas.
Exploration of how horizontal and vertical components of motion operate independently. Students calculate trajectories for objects launched at various angles.
Dynamics: Forces and Newton's Laws
A deep dive into why objects move, focusing on the interaction between mass and force. Students apply Newton's three laws to predict the behavior of systems under stress.
Study of objects at rest or moving at constant velocity where net forces sum to zero. Students use free-body diagrams to visualize invisible forces like tension and friction.
Application of F=ma to systems involving multiple forces and inclined planes. Students calculate how changing mass or force affects the resulting acceleration of a system.
Examination of objects moving in circular paths and the universal law of gravitation. Students explore the relationship between orbital speed and distance from a central mass.
Energy, Work, and Momentum
Students investigate the conservation laws that govern the universe. This unit covers the transfer of energy through work and the preservation of momentum in collisions.
Defining work as a change in energy and exploring the relationship between kinetic and potential energy. Students solve problems involving the conservation of mechanical energy.
Analysis of collisions and explosions using the principle of momentum conservation. Students compare elastic and inelastic collisions in closed systems.
Introduction to the laws of thermodynamics, entropy, and the microscopic motion of particles. Students study how thermal energy moves through conduction, convection, and radiation.
Electricity and Magnetism
Exploration of charge, electric fields, and the flow of current in circuits. Students also investigate the relationship between moving charges and magnetic fields.
Study of stationary charges and the forces between them using Coulomb's Law. Students map electric fields and discuss the concept of electric potential.
Practical application of voltage, current, and resistance in series and parallel circuits. Students build and test circuits to verify mathematical predictions.
Investigation into how electric currents create magnetic fields and how changing magnetic fields induce currents. Students explore motors and generators.
Waves, Light, and Optics
Students examine the behavior of mechanical and electromagnetic waves. The unit covers reflection, refraction, interference, and the dual nature of light.
Analysis of frequency, wavelength, and amplitude in longitudinal and transverse waves. Students investigate the Doppler effect and resonance in musical instruments.
Study of light as a ray that reflects off mirrors and refracts through lenses. Students use Snell's Law and ray diagrams to predict image formation.
Exploration of the wave nature of light through interference patterns and diffraction. Students discuss the evidence for light acting as both a wave and a particle.
Modern Physics and Nuclear Processes
An introduction to the revolutionary ideas of the 20th century, including relativity and quantum mechanics. Students explore the nucleus and the energy released in nuclear reactions.
Investigation into the photoelectric effect and the quantization of energy. Students learn how electrons transition between energy levels to emit light.
Study of alpha, beta, and gamma decay, and the half-life of isotopes. Students calculate the mass defect and binding energy in nuclear fission and fusion.