Skip to main content

Introduction to Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

Learn about rotational dynamics in this calculus-based physics course.

Introduction to Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

Learn about rotational dynamics in this calculus-based physics course.

This online physics course is the third in the xSeries that covers calculus-based mechanics. In this course, you will explore rotational motion and learn about the concepts of torque and angular momentum. You will learn about the conservation of angular momentum, and use it with other conservation laws to solve complex problems in rotational dynamics.

Show More

The xSeries in Introduction to Mechanics is a four-part series of online courses that is based on the MIT subject 8.01: Physics I, required of all MIT undergraduates.

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics and Mechanics: Momentum and Energy, linked above.


The course image is an overlay of multiple shots of a yoyo as it accelerates across a surface due to a force pulling the string.

What you'll learn

  • Rigid Bodies and Moment of Inertia
  • Torque
  • Angular Momentum
  • Translation and Rotation
  • Gyroscopes

Prerequisites

High school physics and calculus, for example:

  • Calculus 1A: Differentiation
  • Calculus 1B: Integration
  • Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series
  • Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics
  • Mechanics: Momentum and Energy

Meet your instructors

  • Featured image for Deepto Chakrabarty
    Professor of Physics and Astrophysics Division Head in the Physics Department at MIT
  • Featured image for Peter Dourmaskin
    Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT
  • Featured image for Analia Barrantes
    Physics Lecturer at the Experimental Study Group at MIT
  • Featured image for Saif Rayyan
    Former Assistant Director of Academic Programs at the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL).
  • Featured image for Michelle Tomasik
    Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT
  • Featured image for George Stephans
    Senior Research Scientist in the Laboratory for Nuclear Science and a Senior Lecturer in the Physics Department at MIT

Who can take this course?

Because of U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions and other U.S. federal regulations, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea and the Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine.