Introductory Mechanics

Offered By: Massachusetts Institute of Technology via edX

Course Description

Overview

Learn physics just like an MIT freshman would in our Introductory Mechanics X-Series. This set of modules will take you through the full set of topics covered in the first semester of physics at MIT.

In the first module, you’ll explore the basic kinematic description of motion and the causes of motion—forces—and discuss more complex situations, such as a rocket whose mass depends on time, or the tension in a massive rope. Then you’ll learn to use energy (kinetic, potential) instead of forces to describe the same physics. Finally, we dive into more complicated topics such as angular momentum, torque, and rotational dynamics and end the series with a mathematical description of simple harmonic motion and use that to approximate the simple pendulum and other cases where we can approximate the potential function as a quadratic.

This series of courses requires the use of calculus, but many of the concepts will be reviewed as needed.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics

Learn about kinematics and dynamics in this calculus-based physics course.

Course 2: Mechanics: Momentum and Energy

Learn about momentum and energy in this calculus-based physics course.

Course 3: Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

Learn about rotational dynamics, rigid bodies and moment of inertia in this calculus-based physics course.

Course 4: Mechanics: Simple Harmonic Motion

Learn how to solve and understand simple harmonic motion in this calculus-based physics class.

Courses

1 review
12 weeks, 10-12 hours a week, 10-12 hours a week
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Mechanics is the study of the physics of motion and how it relates to applied forces. It lays the foundation of understanding the world around us through the how and why of motion.

This physics course is the first in a series of four modules that covers calculus-based mechanics. This module reviews kinematics (the geometrical description of motion) in the context of one-dimensional, multi-dimensional, and circular motion. It also reviews Newton's laws of motion and examines their application to a wide variety of cases.

The modules are based on material in MIT's Physics I, which is required for all MIT undergraduates, and is being offered as an XSeries on edX. Please visit theIntroductory Mechanics XSeries Program Page to learn more and to enroll in all four modules.

The course image is a picture of an MIT building with the name Newton prominently displayed.
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12 weeks, 10-12 hours a week, 10-12 hours a week
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This course is the third of a series of four modules that cover calculus-based mechanics. You will explore rotational motion and learn about the concepts of torque and angular momentum. You will learn about the conservation of angular momentum, and use it with other conservation laws to solve complex problems in rotational dynamics.

The modules are based on material in MIT's Physics I, which is required for all MIT undergraduates, and is being offered as an XSeries on edX. Please visit the Introductory Mechanics XSeries Program Page to learn more and to enroll in all four modules.

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics and Mechanics: Momentum and Energy.
0 reviews
14 weeks, 10-12 hours a week, 10-12 hours a week
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This course is the second of a series of four modules that cover calculus-based mechanics. You will learn about the concepts of momentum, impulse, energy, and work, as well as the powerful idea of conservation laws. You will apply these concepts to solve interesting mechanics problems such as collisions and rockets.

The modulesare based on material in MIT's Physics I, which is required for all MIT undergraduates, and is being offered as an XSeries on edX. Please visit the Introductory Mechanics XSeries Program Page to learn more and to enroll in all four modules.

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics.

The course image is a fire truck on top of the MIT dome. Image taken by Sarahjane10784 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MIT_firetruck_hack_2006.JPG
1 review
8 weeks, 10-12 hours a week, 10-12 hours a week
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This is the fourth of a series of four modules that cover calculus-based mechanics. You will explore simple harmonic motion through springs and pendulums. This short course will culminate in the ability to use the Taylor Formula to approximate a variety of other situations as simple harmonic motion.

The modules are based on material in MIT's Physics I, which is required for all MIT undergraduates, and is being offered as an XSeries on edX. Please visit the Introductory Mechanics XSeries Program Page to learn more and to enroll in all four modules.

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics, Mechanics: Momentum and Energy, and Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics.

Taught by

Saif Rayyan, Analia Barrantes, Michelle Tomasik, Anna Frebel, Deepto Chakrabarty, Peter Dourmashkin, George Stephans and Aidan MacDonagh