Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
Welcome to the Fun Side of Mechanics. This is a set of PPTs I created and used for MIT HSSP in which I
taught 50 middle and high school students mechanics in a conceptual approach. These resources are
free for you to use, copy, and adapt, with only a few strings attached:
1.) You must absolutely put safety first. Many slides contain the ‘physics of Unicycling.’ Some of
these applications of mechanics are dangerous and you must assume all responsibility or have a
way of denying any such responsibility for anyone you share this material with.
2.) I would enjoy being credited with this work, but my name/email does not need to be on any of
the resources here if there resources are used for general classroom instruction. I would love to
hear your comments and I will try to respond to any requests at jabbott@mit.edu.
3.) Much care has been taken to only use open-source/ creative-commons content. Please respect
the use of other material and abide by their policy. Most of their content cannot be
commercially sold, but it should be usable for educational creation.
You might be interested in these PPT resources if:
1.) You are a teacher hoping for some cool applications of mechanics
2.) You are a student trying to preview mechanics
3.) You are a unicyclist or other sports fan trying to understand the mechanics behind what you do
These resources stress conceptual understanding rather than problem solving, but can be used to try to
understand actions in everyday life.
Many of the pictures were created by me and are used in physics problems available as open-source
content in LON-CAPA. You can access these questions through someone with a LON-CAPA account.
Thank you for exploring these resources. I hope you find them intriguing, interesting, and intellectual.
Jonathan Abbott
MIT Mechanical Engineer Class of 2014
jabbott@mit.edu
Rough Outline
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Intro Newton’s Law 1&2 Forces
Friction, Action Reaction Pairs, Center of Mass
Balance on a Unicycle – Countersteering
Momentum and Energy
Rotation
Impulse Harmonic and Circular Motion
Review Random Topics Right Hand Rule Gyroscopes
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 1!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Fundamentals of Physics
 What’s Physics?
 Mass
 Inertia
 Weight
Forces
 What’s a force?
 Gravity
 Newtons First Law
 Net force
 Contact vs. Field Force
Newton’s Second Law: F=ma
This is where you can take notes! :D
Force Diagrams
Defining Motion
 Position, Speed, and Velocity
 Acceleration
 Scalar vs. Vector
 Components
Units and Review
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR NEXT WEEK !
Newton’s First Law: An object in motion will stay in that motion until acted upon by a net external
force
Newton’s Second Law: Force = Mass x Acceleration
Force Diagrams: Be able to draw a simple one and describe what it means.
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 2!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Review
 What’s Physics, Mass, Inertia, Newton’s First law, Net Force, Newton’s Second law
More about Forces
 Parachutes!
 Friction (and how to move a sofa)
o Kinetic
o Static
Newton’s Third Law
Force Diagrams
Center of Mass
Practice
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR NEXT WEEK !
Friction: When is it kinetic and when is it static.
Newton’s Third law: Forces always come in equal and opposite pairs.
HOMEWORK:
Force Diagrams: Draw at least 5 force diagrams during the next week.
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 3!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Review
 Newton’s First law, Net Force, Newton’s Second law, Friction: Kinetic vs. Static
Share and Present force diagrams
Countersteering/Overcompensating
 Idle on a unicycle
 Bunny Hop on a unicycle
 Balance on a rolla bolla
 Ride a unicycle
 Ride a scooter/bike
Newton’s Third Law
Center of Mass
Practice
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR NEXT WEEK !
Countersteering: Turning in the opposite direction when going to make a turn
Newton’s third law: forces always come in equal and opposite pairs.
HOMEWORK:
Force Diagrams: Ride a bike or scooter with a helmet and practice countersteering.
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 4!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Review
Momentum
 Momentum = mass * velocity
 p=m*v
 Conservation of momentum
Collision
 internal forces
 system
 perfectly inelastic, inelastic, elastic
Energy
 Mechanical Energy
o Kinetic Energy, Kinetic Energy of Translation: KE = ½ m v2
o Potential Energy, Gravitational Potential Energy: PEg = m g h
 Conservation of energy
Work
 A change in mechanical energy
 Work = Force * Displacement
Analysis of skateboard ollie
(opt.) Position, Velocity, Acceleration Toolbox
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR NEXT WEEK !
Momentum: p = m * v, when is it conserved?
Energy: KEt = ½ m v2, PEg = m g h, when mechanical energy conserved?
HOMEWORK:
Do something cool and 1.) Draw a free body diagram (forces just on the object) 2.) Draw a force
diagram (all forces) 3.) Identify if there is momentum 4.) Identify the types of energy 5.) What is
conserved?
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 5!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Review
 Translation, Momentum, Mechanical Energy
Now we will talk about rotation.
(like forces): Torque
(like mass): Moment of Inertia
(like kinetic energy of translation): Kinetic Energy of rotation
(like velocity): Angular Velocity
Recap: countersteering  now focus on use of arms in balance
Optional: use diabolo/baton
Optional: Right hand rule
Optional: Riding a bike with no hands
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR NEXT WEEK !
(formulas are not something you need to memorize, but they are useful for understanding the concept.)
Torque
Kinetic Energy of Rotation
Moment of Inertia
Angular momentum
A force causing a change in rotation
Energy due to rotation
Like mass, how much will an spinning object
resist changes in spinning
Often conserved: big object spinning fast
T =r x F
KE = ½ I(w)2
I = ∑𝑚 𝑟2
L = I(w)
HOMEWORK:
Make a Concept Map of the topics we have learned so far (either a web or outline)
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 6!
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Review
 Moment of Inertia, Torque, Angular Momentum
Concept Maps
Impulse
 J = Change in momentum p = Force * Time
 Why you wear a helmet
Springs
 Elastic Potential Energy
 Spring Constant Lab
 Simple Harmonic Motion
Uniform Circular Motion – go in a big circle
 Centripetal Force – a center seeking force that causes uniform circular motion
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR F UN !
Impulse
Simple Harmonic Motion
Uniform Circular Motion
Centripetal Force
A change in momentum, Force * Time
When something waves back and forth
When something makes a circle
A center seeking force for uniform circular
motion
HOMEWORK:
Explore a topic of interest and relate what we have learned so far.
J = Δp = F * t
F = m v2/r
Fun Side of Mechanics Overview
FUN SIDE OF MECHANICS: DAY 7!
Thank you so much for coming to the Fun Side of Mechanics this summer. I hope you have had a
great time in this class and learned something [fun] that you can take with you. Have a great school
year.
W HAT WE ARE COVERING TODAY :
Researched topics (some or all):
 Taste of Quantum
 Speed Skating/Figure Skating
 Car Engines
 Jobs that involve mechanics
 Other stuff you want to cover?
Big Review
 [Like a lot of stuff!]
Optional: Right hand rule
 Precession/Gyroscopes (This is fascinating)
Optional: Riding a bike with no hands (This is dangerous)
 Gravitational Potential Well
 Stable/Unstable
M OST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR F UN !
Mechanics can be fun.
HOMEWORK:
Use what you have learned!