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Physics: Essential Questions

This document provides an overview of the key topics in physics including waves, light, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics. For each topic, it outlines some enduring understandings and essential questions. Specifically, it discusses how waves carry energy and how knowledge of waves helps us understand the world. For light, it explains the electromagnetic spectrum and nature of light as both a particle and wave. It also covers how electricity is a form of energy from moving charges and how magnetic fields are produced. Finally, it addresses atomic structure, nuclear fusion in the sun, radioactivity and decay rates. The document serves to outline core concepts and questions for learning physics.

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Shiny Nivolya
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75 views6 pages

Physics: Essential Questions

This document provides an overview of the key topics in physics including waves, light, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics. For each topic, it outlines some enduring understandings and essential questions. Specifically, it discusses how waves carry energy and how knowledge of waves helps us understand the world. For light, it explains the electromagnetic spectrum and nature of light as both a particle and wave. It also covers how electricity is a form of energy from moving charges and how magnetic fields are produced. Finally, it addresses atomic structure, nuclear fusion in the sun, radioactivity and decay rates. The document serves to outline core concepts and questions for learning physics.

Uploaded by

Shiny Nivolya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics

truments, decibel-hearing loss, Doppler-radar, echo location / sonography and


ultrasound.)

Essential Questions:
Where do waves come from?

How do you know that waves carry energy?

Explain how knowledge of waves helps us understand our world better and
improve the quality of our lives?

Light

Enduring Understandings:
Visible light is part of a larger family of radiation known as the electromagnetic
spectrum

White light consists of a continuous spectrum of colors that can be reflected,


transmitted or absorbed by different materials.

Light has a particle nature (photoelectric effect) as well as a wave nature


(reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference)

Essential Questions:
How do the properties of EM waves determine their uses?

What determines the colors you see in nature?

Why are optical fibers preferred over electrical cables to send information?

What limits the amount of data storage on an optical disk and why are lasers
used to read them?

Why has the world gone digital (compared to analog)?


Electricity and Magnetism

Enduring Understandings:
Electricity is a form of energy that can be transformed by moving electric
charges doing work in various devices

Electric fields provide the force that moves charged particles

A potential difference has to be maintained in order to move charges between


two points.

Magnetic fields are produced around moving charges. A changing magnetic


field can induce a current in a closed conductor

Essential Questions:
Do electric companies really sell “electricity”?

When a battery dies does it run out of charge?

Which has more resistance a 20W light bulb or a 60W light bulb?

Why are Christmas lights wired in series but house lights wired in parallel?

Why do transformers hum?

Atomic and Nuclear

Enduring Understandings:
Students should understand the models and physical evidence for the
structure of the atom.
(The configuration of the electrons determines whether and how the atom
bonds to form compounds, melting and freezing temps, thermal and electrical
conductivity, taste texture, appearance and color of substances. The positive
charged nucleus determines the possible structure of electron orbits and
therefore the chemical properties of the atom).

Students should understand that life on earth is sustained by nuclear fusion


reactions within the sun

Students should understand that radioactivity is not a rare occurrence on our


planet.

Students should understand that radioactive elements decay at predictable


rates defined by the half-life
Essential Questions:
What do we base our current understanding of the structure of the atom on?
Why is it important to understand atomic structure?

How prevalent is natural radioactivity on earth? Should there be concern for


our health?

Is radioactivity a blessing or a curse?

What misconceptions do the general public have about nuclear power?

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