About this course: An introduction to physics in the context of everyday objects.
Created by: University of Virginia
Taught by: Louis A. Bloomfield, Professor of Physics
| Commitment | 11 hours of videos and assessments |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Chinese (Simplified), Italian, Korean, German, Urdu, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Introduction
Start here!
1 video, 2 readings, 1 reading
WEEK 2
Skating
Professor Bloomfield examines the principle of inertia through skate boarding. Objects at rest tend to remain at rest while objects in motion, tend to remain in motion. Why does a stationary skater remain stationary? Why does a moving skater tend to continue...
7 videos
Graded: Skating
WEEK 3
Falling Balls
Professor Bloomfield examines the physics concepts of gravity, weight, constant acceleration, and projectile motion working with falling balls.
8 videos
Graded: Falling Balls
WEEK 4
Ramps
Professor Bloomfield examines the physics concepts of Newton's third law including conserved quantities, support forces, work, energy, and mechanical advantage working with ramps.
7 videos
Graded: Ramps
WEEK 5
Seesaws
Professor Bloomfield illustrates the physics concepts of rotational versus translational motion, Newton's law of rotation, and 5 physical quantities: angular position, angular velocity, angular acceleration, torque, and rotational mass using seesaws.
8 videos
Graded: Seesaws
WEEK 6
Wheels
Professor Bloomfield illustrates the physics concept of frictional forces through experiments with wheels.
8 videos
Graded: Wheels
WEEK 7
Bumper Cars
Professor Bloomfield examines the physics concepts of momentum, impulse, angular momentum, angular impulse, and the relationship between potential energy and force using bumper cars.
7 videos
Graded: Bumper Cars
WEEK 8
Final
This is the final exam.
1 video
Graded: Final Assessment
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
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Creators
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is distinctive among institutions of higher education. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, and located on a World Heritage site in Charlottesville, the University sustains the ideal of developing, through education, leaders who are well-prepared to help shape the future of the nation. The University is public, while nourished by the strong support of its alumni. It is also selective; the students who come here have been chosen because they show the exceptional promise Jefferson envisioned.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
An excellent course by an excellent professor! Professor Bloomfield is passionate and enthusiastic about his work. The real life demonstrations with everyday objects made understanding the science of physics so easy and accessible. 10/10 would recommend to anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the world around them.
Loved the teacher, he was very enthusiastic!
Good course when you want to get to know some basic mechanical physics. Examples are real world scenarios which makes everything much more relatable and exciting.
Course has very little math in it so it's easier to follow for beginners. But if you want some math exercises and examples then you need to find some other course/book to help you.
I think Louis hasn't visited the page for a while, because he hasn't given any comments in discussion forum for a while. There's some activity in the forum by community, but not the author of the course.
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DK
What the course really focuses on is understanding of physics. I like this idea because I feel overwhelmed by calculations at school.