Newton's Laws of Motion

Lecture Description

This lecture introduces Newton's Laws of Motion. The First Law on inertia states that every object will remain in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. The Second Law (F = ma) relates the cause (the force F) to the acceleration. Several different forces are discussed in the context of this law. The lecture ends with the Third Law which states that action and reaction are equal and opposite.

Course Description

This course provides a thorough introduction to the principles and methods of physics for students who have good preparation in physics and mathematics. Emphasis is placed on problem solving and quantitative reasoning. This course covers Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, gravitation, thermodynamics, and waves.

Related Resources

Lecture Transcript, Reading Assignment, Handouts, and Problem Sets

Course Index

1. Course Introduction and Newtonian Mechanics
2. Vectors in Multiple Dimensions
3. Newton's Laws of Motion
4. Newton's Laws (cont.) and Inclined Planes
5. Work-Energy Theorem and Law of Conservation of Energy
6. Law of Conservation of Energy in Higher Dimensions
7. Kepler's Laws
8. Dynamics of a Multiple-Body System and Law of Conservation of Momentum
9. Rotations, Part I: Dynamics of Rigid Bodies
10. Rotations, Part II: Parallel Axis Theorem
11. Torque
12. Introduction to Relativity
13. Lorentz Transformation
14. Introduction to the Four-Vector
15. Four-Vector in Relativity
16. The Taylor Series and Other Mathematical Concepts
17. Simple Harmonic Motion
18. Simple Harmonic Motion (cont.) and Introduction to Waves
19. Waves
20. Fluid Dynamics and Statics and Bernoulli's Equation
21. Thermodynamics
22. The Boltzmann Constant and First Law of Thermodynamics
23. The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Carnot's Engine
24. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (cont.) and Entropy