Explore the physical underpinnings of our universe, the basic principles of physical laws, their application to the behavior of objects, and how we use the scientific method to advance our knowledge.
Physics is the branch of science that explores the physical nature of matter and energy. Physicists examine the story behind our universe, which includes the study of mechanics, heat, light, radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms. They study the events and interactions that occur among the elementary particles that make up our material universe. In this course, we study the physics of motion from the ground up – learning the basic principles of physical laws and their application to the behavior of objects. Classical mechanics studies statics, kinematics (motion), dynamics (forces), energy, and momentum developed before 1900 from the physics of Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton. We encourage you to supplement what you learn here with the next Saylor Academy course in Physics, PHYS102: Introduction to Electromagnetism. Since mathematics is the language of physics, you should be familiar with high-school-level algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. We will develop a small amount of additional math and calculus that you will need to succeed during the course.
- Unit 1: Introduction to Physics
- Unit 2: Kinematics in a Straight Line
- Unit 3: Kinematics in Two Dimensions
- Unit 4: Dynamics
- Unit 5: Rotational Kinematics
- Unit 6: Rotational Statics and Dynamics
- Unit 7: Work and Energy
- Unit 8: Momentum and Collisions
- Identify common units and S.I. prefixes while using significant digits and converting units;
- Use kinematic equations to solve one-dimensional linear-motion problems;
- Use kinematic equations to solve two-dimensional problems such as projectile motion;
- Use Newton's laws of motion to analyze and solve dynamic problems involving various types of forces such as the universal law of gravity;
- Use centripetal force and rotational kinematics to solve problems involving objects in circular motion;
- Solve statics and dynamic problems involving rotation;
- Use the work-energy theorem and the conservation of energy law to analyze machines and to solve linear and rotational problems; and
- Use conservation of momentum to solve elastic and inelastic collision problems for linear and rotational motion.