Physics is the science of how the world -- really the whole universe -- works.
And I don't know if you've noticed, but in the world I live in, things tend to move around a lot. So that's what we're going to study first: the science of motion.
And it turns out to be incredibly useful -- for figuring out things like where you are, or where you've been, or how you're moving through the world. Why is that worth knowing?
Well, for one thing: The police use physics to decide how exactly how fast you're moving through the world, and if that motion happens to break the law.
So if you're gonna understand how and why you got that ticket they gave you -- and maybe even know enough to dispute it -- you have to know the science of motion, too.
And in order to do that, you'll need to understand a few essential conditions that describe your physical place in the universe. Conditions like time, position, velocity, and acceleration.
So to talk about all of these things at the same time, you'll need a set of equations that links all of them together. These are called the kinematic equations.
So, for the next few minutes, let's talk about how you can figure out your place in the world -- literally -- which just might help you beat that speeding ticket.
Let's say you're driving on a straight stretch of highway. Say, someplace nice and flat, on the wide open spaces of the Northern Plains of the United States.
Say…North Dakota. You come across a red light, and even though there are no cars in sight, you stop. Because you're a good driver who obeys traffic laws.
