About

This is a pre-University course and is a variation of a standard high school physics curriculum. The current offering is tailored to the Indian School Certificate Physics Curriculum for students of Rishi Valley School. However, depending on time and interests there may be occasional deeper dives or tangents to related topics which are indicated by the asterisk (*) in the syllabus we have covered, sometimes using video content. Some topics may have been covered via exercises or homework and are indicated by (**). Topics which we have not covered but I consider essential are also listed italicised for interested students.

Syllabus

Basic Mathematics Elementary Calculus Derivative as a rate of rhange Integral as an area under a curve Standard Derivatives and Integrals Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Vector Algebra Euclidean Vectors and Points Calculating magnitudes and direction Vectors in Cartesian Co-ordinates Triangle and *Parallelogram Laws Dot Products as projections Cross Products as directed areas Resolving planar vector components Additional Topics Linear Transformations and Matrices* Change of Co-ordinate Systems	Straight Line and Planar Motion Kinematics Kinematic equations of motion Variations of free fall problems Inclined plane projetile motion Horizontal and plane projectiles Uniform circular motion Dynamics Newton's Laws of Motion Normal Force and elevator problems Inclined planes and Atwood's machine Small oscillations in a simple pendulum Static and Kinetic friction Inclined planes with friction *Banking of curved roads Additional Topics Solving Equations of Motion*
Work, Energy and Power Work and Energy Work done by and on a system Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces Mechanical Energy: Kinetic & Potential Work-Energy Theorem Gravitational Work Applications Translational Equilibrium Stable and Unstable Equilibrium Conservation of linear momentum General planar collisions Power as a rate of change of work Work done to rotate an object Additional Topics Principle of Stationary Action Euler-Lagrange Equations	Rotational Dynamics Rotational Variables Rotational work and torque Torque as a rate of change Angular momentum of rotation Center of Mass and *Gravity Rotational Inertia and Angular Velocity Parallel and Perpendicular Axis Theorems Radius of Gyration and RMS quantities Applications True Mechanical Equilibrium Conservation of angular momentum Mechanical energy due to rotation Rolling with and without slipping Additional Topics Inertia Tensor and General 3D Motion* Symmetries and Conservation Laws
Newtonian Theory of Gravity Planetary Motion Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion Geometric proof of Law of Orbits Universal Law of Gravitation Proofs for Circular Orbits Gravitational Fields and Potentials Weak Equivalence Principle Gravitational Fields and Gauss's Law Variation of gravity with height Gravitational potential and energy Orbital and Escape Velocities Additional Topics Newtonian Black Holes Hubble's Law	Practical Experiments Mechanics Measurements with Calliper and Screw Gauge Simple Pendulum and Gravitational Acceleration Dependence of Inclination in Static Friction Strength of materials and Young's Modulus Fluids Archimedes Principle and Laws of Flotation Capillary Action and Surface Tension Determining Viscocity Coefficients Waves and Thermodynamics Newton's Law of Cooling Heat Capacities with Calorimeters Resonance in Tuning Forks

Resources

Problems in Introductory Mechanics

Open

Introductory Physics

Download

Recommended external literature for self-study and deeper dives. The first book can only be accessed by an RV google account. You can find an accompanying question bank for the second book here.

Helpful playlists from Open Yale Courses featuring Professor Ramamurti Shankar and Dr. Walter Lewin for the physics. Also, playlists from MIT OpenCourseWare featuring Professor Gilbert Strang and 3 Blue 1 Brown's Essence of Calculus courtesy of Grant Sanderson for the math.

Exercises and Tests

All previous assignments, soft homework and test papers will be available here shortly. If there are any errors, please do not hesitate to contact me. If any students wish to contribute to official solutions to the problems, they may contact me and I will host their solutions on the website if satisfactory.

General Updates

All students are required to join the google classroom for real-time updates and announcements.
All students are required to share their google documents and sheets for their lab reports (by 25.10).
All students are required to share a google document or overleaf file for their projects (by 25.10).
The above document is to discuss, review, finalise and clarify issues regarding the project and its draft.
Failure to do the above without proper reason and its communication will result in a loss of 7.5 project points.
All students are required to complete their lab reports for the completed experiments by 31.11.
All students are required to have begun their project draft by 30.11 in the file shared earlier.

Projects

The list of projects for this year will soon be available to see here. Upto four selected projects may get featured on my blog :)

The projects will be primarily evaluated on the following criteria: