Mechanics, Gravitation, and Work and Kinetic energy

This paper is divided into five sections; Kinematics, Dynamics, Statics, Gravitation, and Work and kinetic energy. We presented the summary notes, exemplar questions and solutions, and self-test questions with answers. In our presentation of solutions to exemplar questions, it was not taken for granted that the paper is for College, Tertiary Institution, or University students and so explanations were offered for understanding. Analogies were applied where feasible. In dynamics for instance, without any rigorous mathematics, we establish the equations associated with the motion of a rocket; simply by considering Newton’s second law of motion using calculus and conservation of momentum principle in the absence of external forces as a starter, and by making an analogy to the rolling of a car tyre, the movement of a point on the tyre when escaping contact with the ground, the static friction and hence the traction or tractive force between the tyre and the ground and the direction of motion of the car, we justify the state of existence of each of the terms in the equation; and by extension, gravity was considered. The self-test and the exemplar questions are modeled after real-life situations. In our dealings with gravitation, we establish the gravitational potential at a point in the gravitational field by using the concept of work of gravity as the scalar product of the acting gravitational force vector and the displacement vector, all in the opposite direction to the unit vector in the outward radial direction.