Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. identify and deduce the physical quantities and their units;
2. differentiate between vectors and scalars;
3. describe and evaluate motion of systems on the basis of the fundamental laws of mechanics;
4. apply Newton’s laws to describe and solve simple problems of motion;
5. evaluate work, energy, velocity, momentum, acceleration, and torque of moving or rotating
objects;
6. explain and apply the principles of conservation of energy, linear and angular momentum;
describe the laws governing motion under gravity; and
7. explain motion under gravity and quantitatively determine behaviour of objects moving under
gravity.
Course Contents
space and time. units and dimension. vectors and scalars. differentiation of vectors: displacement,
velocity and acceleration. Kinematics. Newton laws of motion (Inertial frames, Impulse, force and
action at a distance, momentum conservation). relative motion. Application of Newtonian
mechanics. equations of motion. conservation principles in physics, conservative forces,
conservation of linear momentum, Kinetic energy and work, Potential energy, System of particles,
Centre of mass. Rotational motion. torque, vector product, moment, rotation of coordinate axes
and angular momentum, polar coordinates. conservation of angular momentum; Circular motion.
Moments of inertia, gyroscopes and precession. gravitation: Newton’s Law of Gravitation, Kepler’s
Laws of Planetary Motion, Gravitational Potential Energy, Escape velocity, Satellites motion and
orbits.
