Mechanics: Motion, Forces, Energy and Gravity, from Particles to Planets

University of New South Wales via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

29 hours
Sessions

On-Demand
Subtitles

Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Kazakh, Hindi, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Chinese, Thai, Ukrainian, Japanese, Indonesian, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Farsi

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Overview

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Most of the phenomena in the world around you are, at the fundamental level, based on physics, and much of physics is based on mechanics. Mechanics begins by quantifying motion, and then explaining it in terms of forces, energy and momentum. This allows us to analyse the operation of many familiar phenomena around us, but also the mechanics of planets, stars and galaxies. This on-demand course is recommended for senior high school and beginning university students and anyone with a curiosity about basic physics. (The survey tells us that it's often used by science teachers, too.) The course uses rich multimedia tutorials to present the material: film clips of key experiments, animations and worked example problems, all with a friendly narrator. You'll do a range of interesting practice problems, and in an optional component, you will use your ingenuity to complete at-home experiments using simple, everyday materials. You will need some high-school mathematics: arithmetic, a little algebra, quadratic equations, and the sine, cosine and tangent functions from trigonometry. The course does not use calculus. However, we do provide a study aid introducing the calculus that would accompany this course if it were taught in a university. By studying mechanics in this course, you will understand with greater depth many of the wonders around you in everyday life, in technology and in the universe at large. Meanwhile, we think you'll have some fun, too.

Syllabus

Introduction and Basic Tools

This module introduces the foundational tools and concepts needed to study mechanics. You’ll learn how physicists describe the physical world using units, significant figures, vectors, and estimation techniques. These essential skills will help you interpret measurements, analyze motion, and solve physics problems accurately. You’ll also learn how physicists make useful approximations to understand real-world phenomena, from everyday objects to planets and galaxies.

Velocity and Acceleration

In this module, you’ll begin your study of kinematics—the description of motion. You’ll learn how to represent motion using graphs and equations, and how velocity and acceleration describe how objects move and change speed over time. You’ll explore motion in a straight line and learn how to analyze relative motion between observers. These tools form the basis for understanding more complex motion in later modules.

Motion in Two Dimensions

This module extends your understanding of motion to two dimensions. You’ll explore projectile motion, including objects falling under gravity and moving through the air, and learn how horizontal and vertical motion combine. You’ll also study uniform circular motion, which describes the motion of planets, satellites, and many everyday systems. These concepts will help you analyze realistic motion beyond simple straight-line movement.

Newton's Laws of Motion

This module introduces Newton’s three laws of motion, which explain how forces affect motion. You’ll learn how forces cause acceleration, how motion depends on reference frames, and how forces always occur in pairs. These principles allow you to explain and predict motion in systems ranging from everyday objects to engineering structures and astronomical bodies.

Weight, Friction and Spring Forces

In this module, you’ll explore important forces encountered in everyday life. You’ll learn the difference between mass and weight, and how gravity acts on objects. You’ll study elastic forces using Hooke’s law and examine contact forces such as normal force and friction. These concepts will help you understand how objects interact when pushed, pulled, stretched, or in contact with surfaces.

Work, Energy and Power

This module introduces the powerful concepts of work, energy, and power. You’ll learn how energy is transferred and transformed, and how energy conservation helps explain motion without directly calculating forces. You’ll explore kinetic and potential energy, conservative and non-conservative forces, and how power describes the rate at which work is done. These ideas connect physics to real-world applications, from human movement to machines and technology.

Momentum and Collisions

In this module, you’ll learn about momentum and how it helps explain collisions and interactions between objects. You’ll study impulse, conservation of momentum, and the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. These principles allow physicists to analyze events ranging from sports and vehicle safety to particle physics and space exploration.

Gravity

This final module explores gravity—the force that governs motion on Earth and throughout the universe. You’ll learn how gravity determines weight, orbits, and the motion of planets and satellites. You’ll explore gravitational potential energy, escape velocity, and how gravity shapes stars, galaxies, and black holes. This module connects the physics you’ve learned to the large-scale structure of the universe.