Introduction to middle school physics | Khan Academy

- [Narrator] Have a look at this balloon

as you bring it close
to the stream of water.

Whoa, what's happening over there?

Now, check out this other balloon.

These bits of paper look
like they're under some

kind of a spell.

Now, these ordinary objects
seem like they're doing magic,

but they are not.

The world around you is full
of things that seem magical

until you understand how they work.

I mean, how are you
hearing my voice right now?

How does the sound from your computer

or the phone even reach your ears?

And how are you even seeing this video?

What even is this light that's
coming off of your screen?

And what about our planet?

What's keeping the Earth
moving around the sun?

We dig into all of this

and more in our "Middle
School Physics" course.

Physics is the science of how
things happen in the universe.

It's about observing the
world, spotting various kinds

of patterns and building models

that help explain what's going on

and what's going to happen next.

We will explore how things
interact with each other,

and we'll see that some interactions

don't even need contact,

objects can simply affect
each other across space.

Then we'll dive into
energy, trying to understand

what it really is

and how does it flow from
one object to another,

because it helps explain
everything from tennis to rockets.

And finally, we look
at waves, what they are

and how they travel, and
how we even use them.

We'll dive into sound waves

and explore how the ears hear them

and investigate electromagnetic waves,

which carry light signals

and images to our eyes and screens.

But in this course, you won't
just sit back and watch.

You'll roll up your sleeves

and dive into problems

that sharpen your scientific thinking.

You'll practice spotting patterns,
building your own models,

and using them to make
sense of complex behavior,

just like what real scientists do.

What feels like magic is often

just something we don't understand yet.

Welcome to "Middle School Physics."

Let's uncover the magic

and discover how the
universe really works.