DESCRIPTION
High School Physics is a complete, full-year, hands-on science curriculum designed for students in grades 8-12. Through nine Science Unlocked modules, students explore energy, waves, electricity, magnetism, force, motion, gravity, and measurements while asking questions, analyzing evidence, and deepening scientific understanding through hands-on learning.
The full-year curriculum includes:
- Full-color Student Workbooks
- Teacher Guides with step-by-step teaching support
- Student assessments
- Required science materials for hands-on investigations
- Suggested schedules and lesson-planning guidance
- Support for teaching students of different ages and abilities
No science background is required. Each module includes an easy-to-use Teacher Guide that helps parents understand the science between each lesson, guide hands-on investigations, evaluate student responses, and support meaningful scientific discussion.
The High School Physics Full-Year Curriculum meets all 15 NGSS HS-PS and 1 HS-ET standards plus 10 additional HST science goals to fill physics gaps we see in NGSS. It includes the following nine modules:
Energy and Waves
Module 1: Transformers
Energy in Disguise
Design, build, and test devices that convert energy from one form to another while learning how energy is transferred and conserved.
Module 2: Magnetize Me
Connections Between Magnetism and Electricity
Examine the connections between magnetism and electricity, including magnetic force, voltage, current, and resistance.
Module 3: UV Defenders
Protecting Against Electromagnetic Radiation
Explore the effects of electromagnetic radiation through hands-on activities using UV color-changing beads.
Module 4: Trick of the Light
Lenses, Mirrors, and Illusions
Test mirrors and lenses, create optical illusions, and compare digital and analog transmissions to learn about reflection and refraction.
Force and Motion
Module 5: Newton's Notions
Understanding Newton’s Laws of Motion
Explore Newton’s three laws of motion through concepts such as inertia, acceleration, and reaction forces.
Module 7: Gravity of the Situation
Gravitational Forces from Planets to Particles
Examine how objects enter, maintain, and escape orbit and how gravity relates to forces within atoms.
Module 8: In Perfect Harmony
Patterns of Motion in Springs, Pendulums, and More
Observe patterns of harmonic motion using springs, pendulums, cyclical motion, and balanced and unbalanced forces.
Measurement
Module 9: Martian Impact
Analyzing Forces with Accurate Measurements
Use measurements and conversions to understand how scientists and engineers design technological solutions to problems in physics.
More information about the learning objectives in each module can be found in the contents section below. This NAPPA Award-winning homeschool physics curriculum is based on NGSS science standards for middle and high school science education. Read the contents section below to learn more about the standards met in each module.
Where does this curriculum fit in Science Unlocked?
High School Physics is part of Launch, the Science Unlocked level for grades 8-12. Launch builds on the hands-on, inquiry-first learning of earlier Science Unlocked levels while supporting greater student independence.
What comes next?
Continue through the Launch pathway with the science discipline recommended by your student's next grade level.
MORE INFORMATION BOX
CONTENTS
This Launch (high school) level Science Unlocked curriculum includes the following modules:
Extra student workbooks for this curriculum are available.
SCIENCE STANDARDS
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- Learning outcome: Energy can’t be created or destroyed, but you can design, build, and test devices to convert it from one form to another!
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- HS-PS3-1 Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
- HS-PS3-3 Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
- HS-PS3-5 Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Use mathematical representations to describe the relationships between work, power, time, and force.
- Magnetize Me
- Learning outcome: Perform investigations involving magnetism and electricity to learn how magnetic force, voltage, current, and resistance are connected.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS2-5 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Use mathematical representations to describe the relationships between the potential difference, current, voltage, and resistance for an electric circuit.
- UV Defenders
- Learning outcome: Explore the good, the bad, and the ugly impacts of electromagnetic radiation. Engage in memorable physics activities using UV color-changing beads.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS3-2 Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motions of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative position of particles (objects).
- HS-PS4-1 Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
- HS-PS4-3 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind the idea that electromagnetic radiation can be described either by a wave model or a particle model, and that for some situations one model is more useful than the other.
- HS-PS4-4 Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.
- Trick of the Light
- Learning outcome: Uncover the secrets of refraction and reflection by testing mirrors and lenses, making your own optical illusions, and comparing digital and analog transmissions.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS4-2 Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information.
- HS-PS4-5 Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
- MS-PS4-3 Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Develop a model to describe the relationships between sizes and locations of images and objects for mirrors and lenses.
- Newton's Notions
- Learning outcome: Get hands-on with Newton’s three laws of motion, exploring concepts like inertia, acceleration, and reaction forces.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS2-1 Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
- HS-PS2-2 Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.
- MS-PS2-1 Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
- MS-PS2-2 Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
- Project Projectile
- Learning outcome: Hit the mark with this physics kit that aims to help students understand the laws of one-dimensional and two-dimensional motion.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS2-1 Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Use mathematical representations to describe the changes in horizontal and vertical position during projectile motion.
- Do investigations to determine the relationships between time, displacement, velocity, and acceleration for one-dimensional motion.
- Gravity of the Situation
- Learning outcome: Explore how objects in space stay in orbit, how they could escape orbit, and how the force of gravity is related to the forces within atoms.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS2-4 Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.
- MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
- MS-PS2-4 Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Gather information on research in modern Physics to explain the role of studying subatomic particles in understanding the universe.
- In Perfect Harmony
- Learning outcome: Learn about the natural patterns of harmonic motion by exploring springs, pendulums, and more. Experiment with cyclical patterns and with balanced and unbalanced forces.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-ESS1-4 Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Do an investigation to determine the relationship between radius, mass of an object, and period for circular motion.
- Do an investigation to determine the relationship between length of a bob, mass of bob, and period for pendulum motion.
- Do an investigation to determine the relationship between the amount of extension, spring constant, and force for a spring.
- Martian Impact
- Learning outcome: Learn how measurements and conversions help scientists and engineers design technological solutions to problems in physics.
- NGSS science standards alignment
- HS-PS2-3 Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision.
- Additional science standards alignment
- Describe how scientists and engineers use the metric system to communicate and how it can be used to accurately and precisely describe the properties of matter.
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