Foundations of Physics

Foundations of Physics (15 credits)

In ‘Foundations of Physics’ you will be introduced to the mathematical skills you will need to solve problems in physics at level 3 while studying fundamental equations and concepts in classical physics.

The focus on the module is in improving your confidence with using mathematical skills and introducing a range of tools which you can use to approach problems. Your studies will be focused mainly on the key strands in mechanics, including, energy, forces, accelerated motion, moments and gravity. Once you have a grasp of these key concepts, theories and equations, you will have a good underlying understanding of the essential elements of physics needed to study other topics.

Throughout the module you will look at the way these mathematical skills can be applied to problems in different topics based around these key areas. The idea is to understand a mathematical approach and then apply it to a range of theories and topics. This should make you a much more confident and flexible problem solver when you meet any new area of physics in the future.

While the key theme to this module is to use mechanics to develop a flexible mathematical problem solving style for any topic, we also want to develop your ability to understand concepts in a less mathematical way. You will study the motion of objects in a descriptive way, by applying concepts such as Newton’s Laws. You will use mathematical relationships to describe how changing a situation can affect the motion of an object. Once you have learned to use relationships in this way, you will be able to apply the same idea to describe the effects of other concepts in physics.

By the end of the module, you will be more able to approach problem questions and have a range of methods for solving them. You will be confident in explaining physics phenomena in a less mathematical way. If you can do this with the equations and theories in mechanics then you can start to apply the same tools to solve other problems in physics. You will also be ready to look at more advanced techniques in the ‘Advancing Physics’ module and will be ready to take another step towards having a firm grasp on the skills and the knowledge you will need to study physics at level 4.