June, 2024

Dear In-coming Honors Physics Student,

Welcome to Physics!  In physics, we will study macroscopic interactions in the physical world.  This includes motion, forces, energy, momentum, gravitation, fluids, waves, and electromagnetism.  Physics will change how you see the world around you! 

As I’m sure you are aware, all science electives require a summer assignment.  Honors Physics is no different.  This assignment is a self-directed review.  What I mean by “self-directed” is that you decide what you need to complete.  You are upperclassmen and honors level students – that means you are at a point where you are responsible for your own educational success.  That means taking the initiative to identify your weaknesses and working to improve them without a teacher or parent directing you. 

Physics requires a strong base in mathematics and logical reasoning skills.  (Perhaps no course better prepares you for college due to the intense amount of critical thinking that is expected of you.)  In order to ensure that you have the required background skills, The previous honors teacher, Mrs. Carpinelli, has prepared a Kahoot quiz (linked on the page below).  It will test your ability to perform the following tasks – metric and non-metric conversions, scientific notation, finding the slope of a line, significant figures, formula manipulation, and basic trigonometry.  These are all skills that you are expected to have PRIOR to starting the course.  The quiz should take you no more than 20 minutes. 

After you take it, you should think about how you did and how you felt while answering the questions.  If you got everything correct without guessing, great!  You are well-prepared and can move on to other tasks.  If, on the other hand, you struggled with one or more areas, you should work through the tutorials that are linked on this page.  Please note that while this will not be checked directly, it will be evident in your ability to function in this class.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at rduym@wtps.org.  I will be checking my e-mail regularly, but it may take me 48 hours to respond.  Good luck, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in September!

                                                                    Robin Duym

                                                                    Honors Physics Instructor