Rice University is offering free online course on Introduction to Mechanics. This course is an introduction to mechanics and follows a standard first-semester university physics course.
In this six-week course, applicants will earn the physics of how things move with this calculus-based course in mechanics. The course will start on September 4, 2017.
Course At A Glance
Length: 6 weeks
Effort: 4-6 hours pw
Subject: Physics
Institution: Rice University and edx
Languages: English
Price: Free
Certificate Available: Yes, Add a Verified Certificate for $49
Session: Course Starts on September 4, 2017
Providers’ Details
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 2 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
About This Course
This course is an introduction to mechanics and follows a standard first-semester university physics course. You will learn fundamental mechanics concepts and mathematical problem solving required for all STEM fields.
The course begins with kinematics, where you will learn to use equations and graphs to describe the position, velocity, and acceleration of an object, and how those quantities are related through calculus. You will then learn how forces affect motion through Newton’s Laws, and how to understand and calculate several different forces, including gravitational, normal force, drag force, and friction force. The concept of energy will be covered, including kinetic energy, potential energy, and how they are affected by work. You will learn how to use the conservation of energy to solve motion problems. Finally, momentum, another “quantity of motion” will be described. You will learn how to calculate momentum, about its relationship to Newton’s laws, and how to use it to solve motion problems, including collisions.
Why Take This Course?
This is a free online course. This MOOC will be offered with Video Transcripts in English. Applicants can get a verified certificate.
Learning Outcomes
- Kinematics
- Work and Energy
- Momentum and Collisions
- Conservation laws
- How to apply vector analysis and calculus to solve physics problems
Instructors
Jason Hafner
Professor of Physics, Astronomy and Chemistry, Rice University
Requirements
Secondary school (high school) algebra and trigonometry. Calculus is needed but can be learned concurrently.
How To Join This Course
- Go to the course website link
- Create an edX account to SignUp
- Choose “Register Now” to get started.
- EdX offers honor code certificates of achievement, verified certificates of achievement, and XSeries certificates of achievement. Currently, verified certificates are only available in some courses.
- Once applicant sign up for a course and activate their account, click on the Log In button on the edx.org homepage and type in their email address and edX password. This will take them to the dashboard, with access to each of their active courses. (Before a course begins, it will be listed on their dashboard but will not yet have a “view course” option.)