Physics for a Middle Schooler
Integrated Science Lessons Tailored to My Student’s Interests
To S—, my reason for thinking again about physics
Volume 1
SAMPLE — public domain
An Artbook
Subsequent Lessons
#13 Circadian Rhythms and Limit Cycles (Biology, Systems of Equations)
#13 Tetravalent Carbon and the SN2 Reaction (Chemistry, Geometry)
#13 Reference Frames and Time Dilation (Physics, Lorenz and Schwarzchild Factors)
#14 Circadian Rhythms: Overview
#15 Circadian Rhythms: How Does a Cycle Occur?
#16 Circadian Rhythms: How Does a Particular Cycle Occur?
#17 Circadian Rhythms: What Is the Math?
#18 Circadian Rhythms: Starting Conditions and Equilibria / Steady States / Limit Cycles
A Little Bit of History
Lessons Linking All Eight IB MYP Subject Groups
#22 An IB MYP Interdisciplinary Sketch: The Pigment Ultramarine
#23 Heat as a Tool: A Brief Excursion Prompted by Ultramarine
#24 An IB MYP Interdisciplinary Sketch: The Japanese Pagoda
#25 Earthquakes: A Brief Excursion Prompted by the Japanese Pagoda
#26 An IB MYP Interdisciplinary Sketch: Chopsticks
#27 The Human Hand: A Brief Excursion Prompted by Chopsticks
Discovery De Nuevo
Key Figures Here
#29 Tensegrity, Fascia, and the Spiral Line in Soccer (full notes)
#34 The 12 Rotational Symmetries of the Trionda (CA) (full notes)
#38 Derivation of the Formula for Centripetal Acceleration (CA) (full notes)
#39 Classification and Coordinate Systems in AI’s Neural Networks (full notes)
Suspension Bridges and Cable-Stayed Bridges (full notes)
Energy and Power of the 40m and 800m (full notes)
May 24, 2026 over Zoom, paraphrased
“That was a good lesson.”
“Yes, I like it because it brings together three ideas of science into an amazing feat of engineering.
“Do you remember how we did testing during the pandemic?”
“I was in third grade. We took tests at school.”
“People had to go to clinics. There were tents in parking lots with drive-through testing. Cars lined up.
“I was working at Stanford. In Zoom meetings, professors were thinking of all different ways to build a home test. After six years, it came down to this.”
“My mom and dad had a home test. Once I got COVID and had to stay home for a week. It wasn’t bad.”
“I remember. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he has it?’ Your parents said that you were alright.
“Remember how we did Zoom because I couldn’t visit you? We would shop for Beyblades.
“The names were hard to spell. We searched for names on a shared screen.
“Once we couldn’t find the name of a Beyblade that you really wanted. You got so exasperated with me that you said, ‘We can’t get it because you can’t spell!’”
The 13-year-old smiles.
Lessons as Craft
#41 A Fancy Dive Into a Pool Versus the Bicycle Kick (notes)
#43 How Do Seeds Know When to Grow? (notes)