Outline

COURSE OUTLINE
We cover the standard topics in an introductory college level mechanics
course including all topics in the College Boards Advanced Placement Course
Physics-C Mechanics. We place a strong emphasis on helping you understand
how these concepts interrelate and how to use this understanding to analyze
and solve problems where several concepts apply.
Our emphasis on overview rather than basic formulas and procedures means
that you will find our course much easier if you already have exposure to
and familiarity with some of the core concepts: Newtons laws, momentum,
energy, and ideally a bit of rotation and/or angular momentum.
This course has been composed by Prof. Dave Pritchard and his education
research group: REsearch in Learning Assessing and Tutoring Effectively
(http://RELATE.MIT.edu). It embodies our Modeling Applied to Problem
Solving (MAPS) pedagogical approach.
We now briefly summarize the central ideas and approach of this course.
These ideas provide a framework with which to categorize the core concepts.

Mechanics: The Study of Motion

Newtonian Mechanics is the study of motion and how forces change this
motion.

Two Basic Types of Motion and Objects

This course involves only two types of motion:

Translational (Linear) Motion - the movement of a particle (or the

center of mass) from one place to another.
Rotational Motion - the rotation of a rigid body.
These two types of motion pertain to two types of objects: point particles,
and rigid bodies. The motion of more complex objects like deformable solids
and liquids may be deduced by dividing them into small pieces before
applying the laws and concepts of this course, but such treatments are
omitted in favor of fundamentals.

Five Basic Descriptions of Motion

Each of the two basic types of motion can be described using any one of five
physical quantities as variables to describe the state of motion of the
system:

Velocity (or Angular Velocity for Rotational Motion)

Momentum (or Angular Momentum for Rotational Motion)

Mechanical Energy
These basic descriptions are fundamental organizing principles of mechanics,
and they underlie the Core Models used in our MAPS (Modeling Applied to
Problem Solving) approach to mechanics.
These motion variables will remain constant if the system experiences no
interactions. Newtons First Law is an example of this that the velocity of a
point particle will remain constant if no forces act on it. Angular Momentum
about some axis will remain constant if there is not external torque about
that axis.

Four Common Types of Interaction

Interactions are central in mechanics because they generate forces that
change the variables that describe motion. For example, gravity generates
weight, which can change mechanical energy and other motion variables.
This course will generally consider only these four common types of
interaction:

Gravitational interaction, both universal and uniform,

Contact interactions, when two bodies touch,

Tension interactions, such as in a string, and

Elastic Restoring interactions, as with a spring.

What is a Core Physical Model?

A physical model is a simplified representation of structure and behavior in a
physical system.

In this course the core physical models involve systems composed of one or
more particles or solid bodies (the structure), and describe how forces
change some physical variable like the momentum (the behavior). For
example, the momentum model describes how external forces change the
momentum of a collection of particles.
The solution to a physical problem is also a physical model, with attendant
simplifications and assumptions. Often it will contain one or more core
physical models.

Models vs. Formulae

The equation 4 = 3 + 1 represents a mathematical truth. The equation F =
ma is not a mathematical truth. It represents how the world works in certain
circumstances with certain assumptions it is a model of the world that is
not complete.
Furthermore, the F above is not the same F as in the momentum model, F =
dp/dt, where F refers only toexternal forces. In F = ma, the F is the net
force. In addition, F = ma applies only to single particles, whereas F = dp/dt
can apply to a collection of point particles. Thus these equations are not true
in and of themselves. Rather they apply only in conjunction with other
stipulations and assumptions. We use the term "model" for the collection of
stipulations and assumptions that accompany the equation. These equations
are the equation of change of their respective models, not mathematical
truths.
Side note: in fact, all models in this course apply only in an inertial
coordinate system, for objects moving at speeds much less than the velocity
of light, and under the assumption that space is not curved - so they fail
near a black hole. More importantly, they fail at small distance scales where
quantum effects become important; as nanotechnology advances this is
becoming of major concern.
One key to becoming more expert is to understand that these equations are
not stand-alone formulae, but are each the heart of a model that specifies
the definitions, circumstances of applicability, and assumptions that
accompany the application of the formulae to the physical world. It is only
by internalizing the key ideas of the model (applicable systems, what
interactions cause the change, assumptions, etc. ) that you will be able to
understand and figure out when a particular model is applicable to the
particular physical situation at hand.

OVERVIEW OF MAPS
Modeling Applied to Problem Solving (MAPS) organizes the standard
mechanics syllabus under five core models: dynamics, momentum, energy,
rotational dynamics, and angular momentum each distinguished by the
variable used to describe the motion. Each model is restricted to systems
containing only certain types of objects, and only certain aspects of the
forces change the motion variable of that model.

A graphical overview of the models of motion is presented above. Each core

model occupies one column, with the allowed systems and motion
variable near the top, the types of interaction and the particular aspect of
the forces that acts as an agent of change, and the equation of

change underneath. Each model will be described in at least one of the

introductory units of the course. Those units will begin by highlighting the
portion of the core model map that is covered in that unit.
You can learn more about these models in the course's wiki.
The next page introduces the central idea of MAPS that organizing ones
knowledge of mechanics usingmodels enables a modeling process to
conceptualize the solution of new problems in terms of existing models. In
the subsequent page, we will discuss the procedure for making this
connection: approaching the problem by identifying the System and the
Interactions as a guide to identifying the appropriate Model (SIM).

MODELS AND SIM

A (physical) model is a simplified representation of structure and behavior in
a physical system. In Mechanics, all of our models are focused on a
particular Law of Change: an equation expressing how some physical
quantity changes due to particular types of interaction(s). When a ball is
kicked into the air, what is changing is the velocity of the ball because of its
interaction with gravity.
The key mnemonic for modeling and models is S. I. M. which has a slightly
different meaning in these two applications (modeling the problem and core
physical models):

When modeling a problem, you must first develop an understanding

of the situation and then conceptually plan your attack. The SIM Strategy for
modeling the solution is the standard approach to problem solving in MAPS
pedagogy:
1. Choose a System composed of some objects in the problem.
2. Describe the Interactions this system experiences - this means the
forces, the physical interactions that cause them, and their properties.
3. Choose a Model from the hierarchy whose allowed system and
relevant interactions fit the system and interactions at hand.

To help you decide which of the basic physical models can be

applied to a problem that you are solving, the core physical
models you will see in this course have a parallel structure.
For these core models S. I. M. stands for:

S. What are the allowable constituents of Systems to which that model

can apply (i.e. what types of objects are allowed in the system)
I. What types of Interactions are agents of change in this model (e.g.
forces, work done by forces, torques due to forces)
M. The Mathematical statements of the Law of Change for that model.
All models have both a differential and an integral form of the law of
change.
This is a cyclic process; the objects in a multi-objects problem can be
combined into different systems with different interactions, and
sometimes the nature of an interaction changes from internal to

external as a result. Often it is necessary to combine two different SIM

procedures in one solution, either simultaneously or sequentially.