The goal of the course is to explain the basic principles of Newtonian mechanics and special relativity and to show how these theories can be used to describe a range of physical phenomena.
1. One-dimensional motion (1.1 Kinematics, 1.2 Dynamics: Newton's laws)
2. Simple harmonic motion (2.1 Hooke's law, 2.2 Properties of simple harmonic motion, 2.3 Energy in simple harmonic motion, 2.4 The vertical spring)
3. Damped and forced oscillations (3.1 The oscillating spring revisited, 3.2 Unforced oscillations with damping, 3.3 Forced oscillations with damping, 3.4 Forced oscillations without damping)
4. Three-dimensional kinematics (4.1 Position and frames, 4.2 Velocity, speed and acceleration, 4.3 Relative velocity and acceleration)
5. Three-dimensional dynamics (5.1 Newton's first two laws of motion, 5.2 The gravitational force, 5.3 Projectiles: two-dimensional motion with constant acceleration, 5.4 Resisted motion)
6. Conservation laws (6.1 Newton's third law, 6.2 Momentum conservation, 6.3 Collision problems, 6.4 Angular momentum, 6.5 Energy conservation)
7. The Kepler problem (7.1 Geometry of the ellipse, 7.2 Kepler's laws)
8. Special relativity (8.1 The relativity principle, 8.2 The Lorentz transformations, 8.3 Relativity of simultaneity, time dilaton and Lorentz contraction, 8.4 Relativistic velocity addition)
By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:
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SCQF Level: 8
Credits: 15