Mechanics

Essential ideas:

• Motion may be described and analysed by the use of graphs and equations.
• Classical physics requires a force to change a state of motion, as suggested by Newton in his laws of motion.
• The fundamental concept of energy lays the basis upon which much of science is built.
• Conservation of momentum is an example of a law that is never violated.

The ideas of motion are fundamental to many areas of physics, providing a link to the consideration of forces and their implication. The kinematic equations for uniform acceleration were developed through careful observations of the natural world

Isaac Newton provided the basis for much of our understanding of forces and motion by formalizing the previous work of scientists through the application of mathematics by inventing calculus to assist with this.

The tale of the falling apple describes simply one of the many flashes of intuition that went into the publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687.

Many phenomena can be fundamentally understood through application of the theory of conservation of energy. Over time, scientists have utilized this theory both to explain natural phenomena and, more importantly, to predict the outcome of previously unknown interactions. The concept of energy has evolved as a result of recognition of the relationship between mass and energy.

The concept of momentum and the principle of momentum conservation can be used to analyse and predict the outcome of a wide range of physical interactions, from macroscopic motion to microscopic collisions