Massachusetts · MA DESESyllabus
Physics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Massachusetts Physicssyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Module 6: Electricity and magnetism
Module overview →- What is electric current, what drives it, what resists it, and how does Ohm's law connect them?Define electric current, voltage, and resistance, and use Ohm's law V = IR to relate them in a simple circuit (MA STE Introductory Physics, electric circuits).12 min answer →
- What is electric charge, how do charged objects exert forces on each other, and how does that force depend on charge and distance?Describe positive and negative charge and that like charges repel and unlike charges attract, and use Coulomb's law qualitatively (force proportional to the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance) (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces, HS-PS2-4).12 min answer →
- How much energy does a circuit transfer each second, and how is electrical power calculated?Define electrical power as the rate at which a circuit transfers energy, use P = IV (and energy E = Pt), and connect electrical power to the transformation of electrical energy into other forms (MA STE Introductory Physics, electric circuits, Energy).12 min answer →
- How does a changing magnetic field create an electric current, and how do generators use this to make electricity?Explain electromagnetic induction (a changing magnetic field produces a current in a conductor) and how a generator converts kinetic energy into electrical energy (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces, Energy, HS-PS2-5, HS-PS3-5).12 min answer →
- How do magnets behave, what is a magnetic field, and how does an electric current produce one?Describe magnetic poles and fields, state that like poles repel and unlike poles attract, and explain that an electric current produces a magnetic field (the basis of electromagnets) (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces, HS-PS2-5).12 min answer →
- How do current, voltage, and resistance behave differently in series and parallel circuits?Compare series and parallel circuits: in series the current is the same and voltage divides; in parallel the voltage is the same and current divides, and adding parallel branches lowers the total resistance (MA STE Introductory Physics, electric circuits).13 min answer →
Module 4: Energy and work
Module overview →- If energy is never created or destroyed, how does it move between forms while the total stays the same?State the law of conservation of energy, apply it to mechanical systems by setting the energy before equal to the energy after, and account for energy transformed into thermal energy (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-2).13 min answer →
- How do devices convert one form of energy into another, and why is no device ever perfectly efficient?Describe how devices convert energy from one form into another, define efficiency as useful output over total input, and explain why some energy is always transformed into unwanted thermal energy (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-3).12 min answer →
- How is energy stored when two objects interact through a gravitational, electric, or magnetic field, and how does it change as they move?Model two objects interacting through a gravitational, electric, or magnetic field, and describe how the energy stored in the field changes as the objects move closer or farther apart (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-5).12 min answer →
- How is energy stored in a moving object and in an object's position, and how do you calculate each?Define kinetic energy as the energy of motion (KE = 1/2 mv^2) and gravitational potential energy as the energy of position (PE = mgh), and calculate each (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-2).12 min answer →
- What is thermal energy, why does heat always flow from hot to cold, and how do we calculate the heat needed to change a temperature?Describe thermal energy as the energy of particle motion, state that heat flows spontaneously from hotter to colder regions (the second law), and calculate heat using Q = mc(delta-T) (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-2, HS-PS3-4).13 min answer →
- When does a force do work, how much energy does it transfer, and how fast is that energy transferred?Define work as a force acting through a distance (W = Fd), define power as the rate of doing work (P = W/t), and apply both to everyday situations (MA STE Introductory Physics, Energy, HS-PS3-1).12 min answer →
Module 2: Forces and Newton's laws
Module overview →- How can a diagram of the forces on an object reveal whether it is in equilibrium and what its acceleration will be?Draw free-body diagrams showing all forces acting on an object, and use them to identify equilibrium (zero net force) and to find the net force in one direction (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- How do the gravitational force between masses and the electric force between charges depend on size and distance, and why are they so similar?Describe Newton's law of gravitation and Coulomb's law, and use proportional reasoning to predict how the gravitational and electric forces change with mass, charge, and distance (MA STE Introductory Physics, HS-PS2-4).12 min answer →
- Why does an object keep doing what it is doing unless a force acts, and what is inertia?State Newton's first law, explain inertia as the resistance to a change in motion, and identify the role of balanced and unbalanced (net) forces (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).11 min answer →
- How does the net force on an object set its acceleration, and how does mass mediate that relationship?State and apply Newton's second law, F = ma, to calculate net force, mass, or acceleration, finding the net force first in multi-force situations (MA STE Introductory Physics, HS-PS2-1).12 min answer →
- Why do forces always come in pairs, and why does a force pair not cancel out?State Newton's third law, identify action-reaction force pairs, and explain why the two forces in a pair act on different objects and therefore do not cancel (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).11 min answer →
- What are the everyday contact and gravitational forces, and how do weight, the normal force, and friction act on an object?Distinguish weight from mass, calculate weight using Fg = mg, and describe the normal force and friction as the contact forces that act on objects on a surface (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
Module 1: Kinematics and motion
Module overview →- How are position, how fast something moves, and how quickly its motion changes defined and related?Define and calculate displacement, average velocity, and acceleration, and distinguish each from the everyday words distance and speed (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- How do objects move when gravity is the only force acting, and why do a heavy and a light object fall together?Analyze free fall as motion with constant acceleration g, using the kinematic equations to find fall time, speed, or height, and explain why mass does not affect the rate of fall (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- How do position-time and velocity-time graphs encode motion, and what do their slopes and areas tell you?Interpret and sketch position-time and velocity-time graphs, reading slope as velocity or acceleration and area under a velocity-time graph as displacement (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- How can the horizontal and vertical parts of a projectile's motion be treated separately to explain its curved path?Describe projectile motion as independent horizontal (constant velocity) and vertical (free fall) motions, and explain why a horizontally launched and a dropped object reach the ground together (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- How do physicists describe how things move using measured quantities, and why does direction matter for some of them but not others?Distinguish scalar from vector quantities, use SI units and the metric prefixes, and convert measurements before substituting them into an equation (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).11 min answer →
- How can the equations of constant acceleration predict where a moving object will be and how fast it will be going?Use the constant-acceleration (kinematic) equations from the reference sheet to solve for an unknown displacement, velocity, acceleration, or time in straight-line motion (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).13 min answer →
Module 3: Momentum and collisions
Module overview →- Why does an object moving in a circle need a force pointing inward, even when its speed is constant?Explain that circular motion requires a net force directed toward the center (a centripetal force), and identify the real force providing it in everyday examples (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).11 min answer →
- How do elastic and inelastic collisions differ, and what happens to momentum and kinetic energy in each?Distinguish elastic from inelastic collisions, explain that momentum is conserved in both while kinetic energy is conserved only in elastic collisions, and analyze recoil and explosion situations (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
- Why is the total momentum of a system unchanged when objects interact, and how is that used to predict their motion?State the law of conservation of momentum and use it to calculate an unknown velocity after a collision when no external force acts (MA STE Introductory Physics, HS-PS2-2).13 min answer →
- How do safety devices like airbags and crumple zones use the physics of impulse to protect people in a crash?Apply science and engineering ideas to explain how a device that extends the time of a collision reduces the force on an object, and evaluate a safety design (MA STE Introductory Physics, HS-PS2-3).12 min answer →
- How does the mass and velocity of an object combine into momentum, and how does a force over time change it?Define momentum as p = mv, define impulse as a force acting over a time, and relate impulse to the change in momentum (MA STE Introductory Physics, Motion and Forces).12 min answer →
Module 5: Waves and sound
Module overview →- What is sound, how do its frequency and amplitude set pitch and loudness, and how does its speed depend on the medium?Describe sound as a longitudinal wave that needs a medium, relate its frequency to pitch and its amplitude to loudness, and describe how its speed depends on the medium (MA STE Introductory Physics, Waves, HS-PS4-1).12 min answer →
- What is the electromagnetic spectrum, how do its regions compare, and how do devices use waves to carry information?Describe the electromagnetic spectrum as a range of waves with different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies, order its regions, and explain how devices use waves to transmit information (MA STE Introductory Physics, Waves, HS-PS4-3, HS-PS4-5).13 min answer →
- How do transverse and longitudinal waves differ in the way the medium moves, and which everyday waves are which?Distinguish transverse waves (particle motion perpendicular to the wave direction) from longitudinal waves (particle motion parallel to the wave direction), and classify examples such as light, water, and sound waves (MA STE Introductory Physics, Waves, HS-PS4-1).12 min answer →
- What happens to a wave when it meets a boundary between two materials?Describe what happens when a wave meets a boundary: reflection, refraction, transmission, and absorption, with examples for light and sound (MA STE Introductory Physics, Waves, HS-PS4-1).12 min answer →
- What are the basic properties of a wave, and how do its speed, frequency, and wavelength relate?Define wavelength, frequency, period, and amplitude, and use the wave equation v = f(lambda) to relate the speed, frequency, and wavelength of a wave (MA STE Introductory Physics, Waves, HS-PS4-1).12 min answer →