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COURSE 03 / COURSE

Work, Energy & Momentum

Find conservation laws that survive complicated motion.

OUTCOMEUse work–energy and impulse–momentum methods to solve systems where force-by-force bookkeeping becomes unwieldy.
PREREQUISITEDynamics and single-variable calculus.
Work, Energy & Momentum: original course diagram
Course visual: a compact prompt for the physical ideas developed below.

12 CHAPTERS

Course map

01Work as energy transferCalculate mechanical work and track its sign across a path.→02Kinetic energy and the work theoremDerive the work–energy relation from Newton’s law.→03Potential energyRepresent conservative interactions with an energy landscape.→04Conservation of mechanical energySolve motion from energy differences and state what breaks conservation.→05Power and efficiencyRelate energy rate to force, speed, machines, and losses.→06Work in multiple dimensionsUse line integrals and recognize path dependence.→07Momentum and impulseReplace a short, complicated force history with a measurable impulse.→08Center of massReduce a many-body system to translational motion plus internal motion.→09CollisionsSeparate momentum conservation from kinetic-energy conservation.→10Rocket and jet momentumConnect mass flow to thrust and control-volume thinking.→11Angular momentum previewSee the rotational conservation law before the full rotation course.→12Energy audit studioBuild an honest power and loss budget for a pump-driven water feature.→