How to Solve Physics Problems with Forces (Mechanics)

What you'll learn

A systematic technique to solve physics questions with forces.
Know how to proceed when uninspired by a physics question involving forces.
Draw an accurate free body diagram.
Manipulate and sum vectors graphically and analytically.
Derive the mathematical expression of a resultant force.
Know when and how to apply Newton's Laws.
Examine equations in order to identify a solution to a problem.

Requirements

Basic algebra.
Being familiar with the concept of vectors (some basic notions will be reminded in the course).
Basics in trigonometry (some basic notions may be reminded in the course).

Description

Have you ever been stuck when trying to answer a mechanics question involving forces?

Maybe you are clueless on how to begin, or maybe you often get stuck at a certain point?

Well, this course is there to solve that problem!

This course presents a 5-step technique that can guide you through any physics problem involving force. It is structured in 3 sections.

The first three episodes contain a summary of the 5 steps and 2 solved examples. The goal of this first section is to for you to get an overview of the technique before diving into the details.

The second section consists in 6 lesson videos. The process of applying each step is presented in detail and in various situation. The conceptual and mathematical tools required to carry out each single step is also presented (1 step = 1 video + 1 extra video about the manipulation of vectors). You will learn here how to draw a free body diagram, how to express a resultant force mathematically, how to manipulate vectors, when and how to apply Newton’s Laws etc…

The third section is your play-ground! You will find 8 exercises for you to train your skills in applying the 5-step technique to solve physics problems. After giving you a chance to solve each question yourself, the presenter carries out a detailed correction on the white board. This section also contains a video lesson about mechanical friction forces.

I have been a private teacher for 7 years now, helping every year, dozens of students with their study of physics. One observation I can report is that many students manage to get by a mechanics problem, and even find a correct numerical solution, without truly understanding the concepts they used, and without any structure to their thinking…

The problem shows up the day of the exam when confronted to an exercise they have never seen before… Exam day can then easily turn into panic day. This is why I produced this course, to avoid such a situation.

If you follow the course seriously and work on the exercises diligently, you will learn much more than just a bunch of equations. You will learn how to approach any dynamic problem (at the high school level) and thus learn how to begin the resolution process when confronted to a new question.

When this approach becomes second nature to you, you will realize that Physics is actually pretty easy to handle: the patterns of thinking presented in this course are commonly used in many areas of physics, and could be very useful to you in your studies.

The level of this class corresponds to the last years of High School Physics Programs. This makes it an ideal tool as support for the lessons you get at school, and to prepare any High School Diplomas in Physics, like for example IB Physics, A-Level Physics, AP Physics etc.

I hope you enjoy the course and wish you a productive study,

Edouard Reny, PhD, Tutor in Physics.


Note: This course comes with manually edited captions. So even if you are not a native english speaker, you can still make the most of this course!

Who this course is for:

High school students taking Physics.
Any student having difficulties in solving Physics problems where forces are involved.
Any person that wishes to understand how to manipulate forces and use them to solve physics problems.
Engineers, university students, and any person that wishes to revisit the basics of Dynamics,