ScienceThe BestieBeginner
The Rules of the Physical World, a free science course on Tomo

The Rules of the Physical World

Discover the invisible forces that govern everything from your morning walk to the stars above. Learn to see the world through the lens of motion, energy, and gravity.

Like Duolingo, but for The Rules of the Physical World. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

A short one: 9 levels across 2 sections, about 18 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Mechanics of Motion and Energy and Impact. It starts from scratch.

9 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Newton the Newt, the guide who teaches the Rules of the Physical World course
The Rules of the Physical World
with Newton the Newt
9
Levels
2
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in The Rules of the Physical World

  • Objects in motion stay in motion unless a force acts on them
  • Friction occurs when two surfaces slide against each other
  • Your body continues moving forward because the brakes only act on the bus wheels
  • Friction acts as a resistance that slows things down
  • No force is 'pushing' you forward; you are simply resisting the change in speed
  • The 'lost' energy of motion is released as heat
  • The tendency of objects to maintain their current state of motion (inertia)
  • Understanding that friction converts kinetic energy into thermal energy
  • To move in one direction, you must apply force to something else in the opposite direction
  • Heavier objects (more mass) resist changes in motion more than light ones
  • The water pushes the boat forward only because the oar pushes the water backward
  • More force is required to accelerate a heavy object
  • The relationship between mass, acceleration, and momentum
  • Air is a physical substance that objects must move through
  • The necessity of an equal and opposite reaction for propulsion
  • Objects with more surface area collide with more air particles
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives The Rules of the Physical World the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

The Resistance of Reality

What is required for friction to happen between two objects?

Get it right to open this lesson and 8 more in the app.

Course map

Where The Rules of the Physical World takes you

  1. 1

    The Mechanics of Motion

    • Predicting How Things Move
    • Mastering Gravity and Balance
  2. 2

    Energy and Impact

    • Managing Energy and Collisions

2 sections · 3 units · 9 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

New

Tomo is in ChatGPT

Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.

Add Tomo to ChatGPT
How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Bestie

The Rules of the Physical World is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

Keep going

More Science on Tomo

How the World Moves course icon

How the World Moves

Professor

Discover the hidden forces that govern your daily life, from why your coffee spills in the car to how you stay grounded on a spinning planet.

12 levels24mBeginner
Matter in Motion: Phase and Energy course icon

Matter in Motion: Phase and Energy

Professor

Move beyond the basics of solids and liquids to understand the invisible energy exchanges that power our world. Discover how pressure, heat, and atomic structure dictate the behavior of everything around you.

9 levels18mIntermediate
How the Physical World Works course icon

How the Physical World Works

Professor

Discover the hidden rules that govern everything from a falling apple to the stars in the sky. Learn to see the forces, energy, and waves that shape your daily life.

27 levels54mBeginner
The Hidden Rules of Motion course icon

The Hidden Rules of Motion

Bestie

Discover the invisible laws that govern everything from a falling apple to a speeding car. Learn to see the world through the eyes of a physicist by understanding how objects move, collide, and stay connected.

12 levels24mBeginner
The Laws of the Universe course icon

The Laws of the Universe

Explain Like I'm 5

Discover the mathematical elegance and physical laws that govern everything from falling apples to distant galaxies. Learn to calculate the forces of nature and see the world through the eyes of history's greatest thinkers.

40 levels1h 20mBeginner
Physics of Motion and Energy course icon

Physics of Motion and Energy

Bestie

Move beyond plug-and-chug formulas to analyze the hidden budgets of the physical world. Learn how momentum, rotational inertia, energy landscapes, and entropy govern everything from vehicle collisions to orbital mechanics.

12 levels24mIntermediate
Start free

Start The Rules of the Physical World today.

Download Tomo, search The Rules of the Physical World, and play your first lesson in under a minute.