Physics I is a first-year, first-semester course at MIT. Students usually take this course at the same time as 18.01 Single Variable Calculus.
This course is ideal for motivated high school students, college students, and anyone interested in learning the basics of physics.
Physics I is an introduction to Classical Mechanics. The noun “mechanics” here refers to the motion of objects: we will study how the motion of an object can be understood and predicted in terms of the forces that are acting on the object. The adjective “classical,” in this context, means that we will restrict our study to speeds that are slow compared to the speed of light, so we will not have to take into account the effects of relativity. It also means that we will restrict our study to objects which are generally large, compared to atoms or molecules, so that we will not need to consider the effects of quantum theory. Fortunately, almost any situation we are likely to meet in everyday life satisfies these restrictions, so the results of classical mechanics have a wide variety of applications in science and engineering.
The overall goal of this course is to convey the excitement of the physicist's quest to understand nature at its deepest level, and at the same time to provide the knowledge and tools that you will need to continue your studies in science or engineering.
There are three main reasons why the study of Classical Mechanics important, one obvious and two more subtle.
The course will have succeeded in its aims if you come away from it with a grasp of the basic principles governing the motion of objects, a feel for the scientific method, and an understanding of the techniques of problem solving.
This course combines the content of two key versions of Classical Mechanics taught at MIT and previously published on OCW: a "classroom lecture style" course and a "studio physics" course. The content of those two courses are still available in their original form:
MIT students can expect to spend about 150 hours learning Classical Mechanics. That number comes from a combination of attending lectures, studying independently, and time spent in the lab. It’s difficult to estimate how long it will take you to complete all of the modules in this particular course because it’s never been taught at MIT in this format. But you can probably expect to spend an hour on practice problems, readings and assessment for each hour of video you watch.
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with all of the modules covered in this course. The course has been arranged in a linear progression through each of the topics of the course. On each module page you will find:
Everything you need to complete this course is included on this site. However, if you would like to use a textbook in addition to the material provided, the following is recommended:
Sears and Zemansky's University Physics: with Modern Physics. 12th edition
Young, Hugh D., Roger A. Freedman, and A. Lewis Ford. San Francisco, CA: Addison Wesley, 2007. ISBN: 9780805321876.
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MIT OpenCourseWare has teamed up with OpenStudy so you can quickly and easily connect with others working on this course. Through this site, you can find other students interested in Physics I: Classical Mechanics: work together on assignments, ask each other questions about the exams, or just discuss the topics of the course.