Physics for Engineering & Science
The physics behind engineering and the physical sciences: motion, forces, energy, momentum, torque, circuits, induction, waves and heat, with Python exercises and a home pendulum lab.
Leads to: Civil Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Chemist, Physicist, Materials Scientist
Before you start
This course builds on Math for Tech & STEM. Take it first if you are new to the topic.
About this course
An intermediate course for future civil, mechanical and electrical engineers, chemists, physicists and materials scientists who have finished Math for Tech & STEM. You will solve constant-acceleration problems, draw free-body diagrams and apply Newton's laws, work through friction and inclined planes, use conservation of energy and momentum, compute torques and shaft power, explain voltage as energy per charge, apply Ohm's law to battery circuits, explain how generators and transformers work, relate frequency, wavelength and wave speed, compute heat transfer with specific heat, and finish by measuring g with a pendulum at home, including an uncertainty estimate. Each lesson has a reading, free videos and a quiz; most have a short Python exercise where the code already runs and you write one key formula. The worked examples build intuition and are not design methods: real engineering designs follow codes and must be reviewed by a licensed professional engineer, and engineering and science careers need accredited degrees (and, for many engineers, the FE and PE exams) beyond this course. Hands-on work uses only safe household items.
Course content
Module 1
Motion and Forces
3 lessons · 2h 21mDescribe motion with the constant-acceleration equations, explain it with Newton's laws and free-body diagrams, and solve friction and inclined-plane problems.
- 34mKinematicsReading
Describe motion with displacement, velocity and acceleration, and solve constant-acceleration problems such as braking and free fall.
- 59mNewton's lawsReading
Draw free-body diagrams and use Newton's three laws to solve for forces and accelerations.
- 48mFriction and inclinesReading
Model static and kinetic friction and solve an inclined-plane problem by resolving forces along the slope.
Module 2
Energy and Momentum
3 lessons · 1h 31mUse conservation of energy and momentum to skip the details of a motion, and extend the ideas to rotation, torque and shaft power.
- 26mWork and energyReading
Calculate work, kinetic and potential energy and power, and apply conservation of energy with and without friction.
- 31mMomentum and collisionsReading
Use impulse and conservation of momentum to solve elastic and perfectly inelastic collisions.
- 34mRotation and torqueReading
Compute torques and moments, balance them for equilibrium, and link torque, angular speed and power.
Module 3
Electricity and Magnetism
3 lessons · 1h 23mCharge, electric field and voltage as energy per charge; current, resistance and Ohm's law; and how magnetism and induction make generators and transformers work.
- 25mCharge, field, and potentialReading
Explain electric charge, field and potential, and why a volt is a joule of energy per coulomb of charge.
- 37mCurrent and resistanceReading
Apply Ohm's law, series and parallel rules and the power formulas to simple battery circuits.
- 21mMagnetism and inductionReading
Explain magnetic forces, Faraday's law of induction and how generators and transformers work.
Module 4
Waves and Heat
3 lessons · 2h 2mOscillations and waves, heat and specific heat, and a home pendulum lab that measures g with an uncertainty estimate.
- 33mWaves and oscillationsReading
Describe oscillations and waves, and relate frequency, wavelength and speed with v = f·λ.
- 40mHeat and temperatureReading
Distinguish heat from temperature and compute heat transfer with specific heat, latent heat and conduction.
- 49mPhysics lab at homeReading
Measure the acceleration due to gravity with a home-made pendulum and estimate the uncertainty of your result.