Part I
IN WHICH we learn the basics about the two most important concepts in physics--Newton's Laws and Conservation Laws.

Newton's Laws and the Conservation Laws are the most fundamental principles in physics, and have been found to hold true over hundreds of years of new discoveries in the field of science. Newton's three Laws of Motion take a look at what is happening in a physical system at the moment it is happening. Conservation Laws take a "before and after" look. Our discussion in Part I will be at the most basic, conceptual level, using little to no mathematics.



 

 

DAY 1 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 2 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 3 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 4 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 5 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 6 -- topic summary
      -- homework

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 7 -- topic summary
      -- homework

Click here for spreadsheet to go with example problem #1 for today.

 

What you need to know and understand:

bd14518_ Newton's Three Laws of Motion.

bd14518_ Mass.

bd14518_ Force.

bd14518_ Acceleration.

bd14518_ Energy.

bd14518_ The Law of Conservation of Energy.

bd14518_ Power.

bd14518_ Momentum.

bd14518_ The Law of Conservation of Momentum.

Part II
IN WHICH we apply some very basic mathematics to Newton's Laws and Conservation Laws.

Math is needed to fully understand and use Newton's Laws and the Conservation Laws. We will examine these laws using simple mathematics (basic Algebra) and apply them to some problems involving motion in one dimension.

What you need to know and understand:

bd14518_ Newton's Three Laws of Motion.

bd14518_ Acceleration.

bd14518_ Velocity.

bd14518_ How to solve problems involving Newton's Laws and straight-line motion.

bd14518_ The Law of Conservation of Energy.

bd14518_ Power and Energy--expressed in simple algebra.

bd14518_ How to solve problems involving energy and straight-line motion.

 

Part III
IN WHICH we get more mathematical, to the point where we can solve almost any straight-line motion (1-Dimensional) problem.

We will round out our introduction to Newton's Laws and the Conservation Laws by bringing our best math skills to the problem. With strong mathematical tools at hand we should be able to solve almost any straight-line (1-Dimensional) problem. We can start to solve some serious real-world problems with our knowledge.

What you need to know and understand:

bd14518_ The kinematic equations of motion -- derived from basic definitions of acceleration and velocity.
bd14518_ Work.

bd14518_ Derivation of Potential and Kinetic Energy formulas.

bd14518_ Momentum.