Mechanics is a fundamental building block of other more complex engineering and physics courses. The aim of this course is to cover mechanics in a mathematically more formal way to bring the students closer to the level required at university. A characteristic feature of mechanics is that there are few general principles, but a very wide range of problems to which these may be applied. As a consequence, plenty of problems are integrated into the syllabus and understanding will be checked with example sheets.
The course begins by revisiting Newton’s laws and conservation laws. It goes on to present the usage of elementary analysis in kinematics. After covering the general principles, we will use these in particle dynamics, rotation mechanics, static equilibrium and in other miscellaneous mechanical topics.