One-dimensional motion

This course is a part of Physics, a 20-course Topic series from Khan Academy.

In this tutorial we begin to explore ideas of velocity and acceleration. We do exciting things like throw things off cliffs (far safer on paper than in real life) and see how high a ball will fly in the air.

This course contains 5 segments:

Introduction to physics

Get a big picture overview of what physics is, and get recommendations for prerequisite knowledge.

Displacement, velocity, and time

This tutorial is the backbone of your understanding of kinematics (i.e., the motion of objects). You might already know that distance = rate x time. This tutorial essentially reviews that idea with a vector lens (we introduce you to vectors here as well). So strap your belts (actually this might not be necessary since we don't plan on decelerating in this tutorial) and prepare for a gentle ride of foundational physics knowledge.

Acceleration

In a world full of unbalanced forces (which you learn more about when you study Newton's laws), you will have acceleration (which is the rate in change of velocity). Whether you're thinking about how fast a Porsche can get to 60mph or how long it takes for a passenger plane to get to the necessary speed for flight, this tutorial will help.

Kinematic formulas and projectile motion

We don't believe in memorizing formulas and neither should you (unless you want to live your life as a shadow of your true potential). This tutorial builds on what we know about displacement, velocity and acceleration to solve problems in kinematics (including projectile motion problems). Along the way, we derive (and re-derive) some of the classic formulas that you might see in your physics book.

Old videos on projectile motion

This tutorial has some of the old videos that Sal first did around 2007. This content is covered elsewhere, but some folks like the raw (and masculine) simplicity of these first lessons (Sal added the bit about "masculine").