Course 3 | Foundation
Physics for Mechanical Engineers
Build intuition for units, vectors, force models, motion, energy, thermals, fluids, circuits, and measurement.
Course snapshot
- Purpose
- Physics gives the first-principles language behind every later mechanical engineering model.
- Prerequisites
- Next in the guided sequence
- Used in Career Directions
Choose later
How to study this course
- Identify the physical system
- Draw the situation
- Name knowns and unknowns
- Choose the governing law
- Solve and check units
- Connect the result to physical sense
How this course is designed
Original course map
This course uses an original MechCompass module order based on physical reasoning, mechanics, energy, thermal intuition, electricity, measurement, and engineering prerequisites. Suggested references are optional and listed separately.
Engineering bridges
Each module connects a physics habit to the engineering course it feeds: force balance, energy accounting, rotation, waves, thermal behavior, fluids, circuits, sensors, and measurement.
Deliberately bounded
No deep quantum mechanics or relativity, no full fluid mechanics or thermodynamics here: modules 12, 13, and 16 are previews and bridges, kept short on purpose. The full treatments come in their own courses.
The 16 modules
01 | Module
Physical Quantities, Units, Dimensions, and Scaling
Dimensional consistency and engineering estimation: the free error detector.
02 | Module
Vectors and Coordinate Systems in Physical Problems
Vector language applied to real motion and forces. The bridge into Statics and Dynamics.
03 | Module
Kinematics: Motion in 1D, 2D, and 3D
Position, velocity, acceleration, and projectiles: describing motion before explaining it.
04 | Module
Newton's Laws and Force Models
Gravity, normal force, friction, tension, drag, and springs: the engineer's force toolbox.
05 | Module
Free-Body Diagrams and Equilibrium Preview
Short and intensely practical: the diagram habit that Engineering Statics assumes.
06 | Module
Work, Energy, and Power
Energy bookkeeping: preparation for Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Machines, and Energy Systems.
07 | Module
Momentum, Impulse, and Collisions
What survives a crash, an impact, or a jet: conservation thinking.
08 | Module
Circular Motion and Rotating Systems
Centripetal reality for curves, bearings, and rotating machinery intuition.
09 | Module
Torque, Angular Momentum, and Rigid-Body Rotation
Shafts, motors, gears, gyroscopes, and flywheels: rotation as the engineer lives it.
10 | Module
Oscillations, Mechanical Waves, and Resonance
Springs, pendulums, and the resonance warning: preparation for Mechanical Vibrations.
11 | Module
Thermal Physics: Temperature, Heat, and Material Response
Expansion, heat capacity, and phase change: the bridge to Thermodynamics and Materials.
12 | Module
First Law of Thermodynamics and Energy Balance
Q, W, and internal energy: the physics foundation the full Thermo course builds on.
13 | Module
Fluids: Pressure, Buoyancy, and Flow Intuition
Pressure, Archimedes, continuity, and Bernoulli intuition: a preview, not the full course.
14 | Module
Electricity, Circuits, and Magnetism for Mechanical Engineers
Enough E&M for sensors, motors, actuators, and instrumentation.
15 | Module
Measurement, Uncertainty, and Experimental Physics
Experimental engineering thinking: error analysis on real instruments.
16 | Module
Optics, Light, and Modern Physics Overview
Kept short: lasers, IR thermography, and where modern physics touches engineering.