Intro to Physics (Udacity)

Offered by Udacity,
Intro to Physics (Udacity)

Landmarks in Physics. Study physics abroad in Europe -- virtually! Learn the basics of physics on location in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, by answering some of the discipline's major questions from over the last 2000 years.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Udacity's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This unique class gives you the chance to see the sites where physics history was made and learn some of the subject's most captivating concepts.

What You Will Learn

Lesson 1
How can we measure the circumference of the Earth?

  • Basics of geometry and trigonometry.

Lesson 2
How do objects move?

  • Data analysis and kinematics.

Lesson 3
What causes motion?

  • Forces
  • acceleration
  • and Newton’s Laws.

Lesson 4
How can we use motion?

  • Work
  • energy
  • and simple machines.

Lesson 5
How can we determine our longitude at sea?

  • Simple harmonic motion.

Lesson 6
What is electricity?

  • Charge and electric fields.

Lesson 7
What is left to discover?

  • Modern physics and open questions.
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

The Sun and the Total Eclipse of August 2017 (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

The Sun and the Total Eclipse of August 2017 (Coursera)

A total eclipse is one of the most spectacular sights you can ever see! It looks like the end of the world may be at hand. There is a black hole in the sky where the sun should be. Pink flames of solar prominences and long silver streamers of the sun's corona stretch across the sky. It gets cold, and animals do strange things. People scream and shout and cheer, and remember the experience their whole life. But total eclipses are important scientifically as well.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action (Coursera)

Are you concerned about climate change? Would you like to learn how to address and respond to this challenge? If so, this course is for you. Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action is intended to help learners understand, address and respond to climate change as individuals and in partnership with their communities and political leaders.

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Fundamentals of Fluid-Solid Interactions (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique

Fundamentals of Fluid-Solid Interactions (Coursera)

What is fluid-solid interactions ? It is what happens when the motions of a fluid and of a solid are somehow coupled. This happens all the time, around you when leaves flutter in the wind, inside you when your heart beats, above you when wings of a plane vibrate, under the sea... The idea behind this MOOC is to give you the basic tools to be able to predict and eventually mitigate things called flutter, galloping, sloshing, vortex-induced vibrations, added mass, to cite a few. We are going to consider any possible domains of applications such as civil engineering, aerospace engineering, nuclear engineering , ocean engineering, biomechanics and even food processing !

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Calculus: Single Variable Part 2 - Differentiation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Calculus: Single Variable Part 2 - Differentiation (Coursera)

Calculus is one of the grandest achievements of human thought, explaining everything from planetary orbits to the optimal size of a city to the periodicity of a heartbeat. This brisk course covers the core ideas of single-variable Calculus with emphases on conceptual understanding and applications. The course is ideal for students beginning in the engineering, physical, and social sciences.

Nov 23rd 2026
3 Weeks
Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera)

This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Advanced Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of Three Dimensional (3D) Motion (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Advanced Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of Three Dimensional (3D) Motion (Coursera)

This course is an advanced study of bodies in motion as applied to engineering systems and structures. We will study the dynamics of rigid bodies in 3D motion. This will consist of both the kinematics and kinetics of motion. Kinematics deals with the geometrical aspects of motion describing position, velocity, and acceleration, all as a function of time. Kinetics is the study of forces acting on these bodies and how it affects their motion.

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Analyzing the Universe (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

Analyzing the Universe (Coursera)

Using publicly available data from NASA of actual satellite observations of astronomical x-ray sources, we explore some of the mysteries of the cosmos, including neutron stars, black holes, quasars and supernovae. We will analyze energy spectra and time series data to understand how these incredible objects work. We utilize an imaging tool called DS9 to explore the amazing diversity of astronomical observations that have made x-ray astronomy one of the most active and exciting fields of scientific investigation in the past 50 years.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Foundation of Structural Dynamics (Coursera) Coursera
ISAE-SUPAERO

Foundation of Structural Dynamics (Coursera)

A course with variable geometry where everyone, we hope, will find personal benefits. The parts can be studied sequentially or independently; and inside each part, elementary learning items can be picked up. Globally, this course proposes a deep knowledge of fundamental dynamics, with possible explicit and implicit applications in structural dynamics, but also in physics and control of any dynamic system (automatics, …).

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Finite Element Method for Problems in Physics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

The Finite Element Method for Problems in Physics (Coursera)

This course is an introduction to the finite element method as applicable to a range of problems in physics and engineering sciences. The treatment is mathematical, but only for the purpose of clarifying the formulation. The emphasis is on coding up the formulations in a modern, open-source environment that can be expanded to other applications, subsequently.

Nov 30th 2026
13-24 Weeks