Project Overview

Phys-Newtons is an illustrated guide to the California State Physics Standards, created by the senior class of 2011 at High Tech High. Art teacher Jeff Robin and physics teacher Andrew Gloag, who regularly collaborate, designed and led this interdisciplinary project. To create the book, each student researched one of Newton’s laws covering: motion, gravity, energy, circular motion and projectiles. They collected and painted images that visually demonstrate the law, and then designed a page using a combination of these images and text. The resulting product is a both aesthetically pleasing, and a clear breakdown of complex ideas. The selection of images, including surfers to demonstrate perpendicular forces and monkeys to demonstrate conservation of energy, reflects the teen authors and teen audience that this book is intended for.

Following the completion of the book, the student’s work was prominently displayed in the school and peer-to-peer teaching sessions were set up so that the students could learn from each other. Students were responsible for teaching and learning all of the physics standards, not just the one they focused on for their page. An exam is included in the back so that you can test what you learned from reading this book.