This high school study guide is part one of a three-part course in high school physics. In this study guide, students will learn how broad the scope of physics is, including measurements and their uncertainties, the difference between weight and mass, and the laws of motion, pressure, and light.

The study guide includes reading assignments from the spine text, narration prompts, and open discussion questions. Experiments related to the reading are also included. Optional supplemental activities, such as current events, videos, and article suggestions when there is time, are also included. Finally, you will find a link to an exam for each course in the introductory material.

Pages: 59
Prerequisites: It is useful (but not absolutely required) for a student to complete Form 3-4 Physics before beginning this book unless the student has completed a comparable text, such as general or physical science in middle school.
This study can be used as one-third of a high school physics credit. Learn more about high school transcripts in this article.
If your student has completed Algebra 2, they will be able to complete the “optional math sets” provided in the guide. If not, they will still learn a great deal, but you should list “Conceptual Physics” on their transcript. Walter Lewin explains: “Most high school and college students hate taking physics because it is usually taught as a complicated set of mathematical formulas. That is not the approach I use at MIT, and it is not the approach I use in this book. I present physics as a way of seeing our world, revealing territories that would otherwise be hidden to us…” (For the Love of Physics, p. 261)

Spine Text

This study guide accompanies the living book For the Love of Physics by Walter Lewin (Free Press, 2011, ISBN: 145160713X), which must be purchased separately.

284 pages, 15 chapters (102 pp, 5 chapters completed in this guide.)

Reading Level: grade 9 and up
For the Love of Physics is also available as a well-read audiobook which might be helpful if your student would benefit from reading along. Look for it on Everand.com or Audible.com.

Walter H. G. Lewin (1936) is from The Hague, Netherlands. As a boy he adored art, even giving talks in high school that were extremely well received. He also enjoyed math and the sciences and then found that he loved physics, saying he was “made for physics” and that “physics is at the heart of everything”.

That boy who loved to show his friends around museums grew to be a man that delights to show us around the science of physics. With demonstrations and examples from the real world, he inspires us with a new way to look at things from the everyday to the stars in the universe. Because of today’s technology, almost anyone in the world can virtually sit in his classroom and watch many of his filmed lectures, making him a star in his own right with one lecture being viewed online over 12.7 million times. Professor Lewin thinks the technology that helps to educate the world is brilliant and the “best thing since sliced bread!” —Michele Jahncke (source)

Other Necessary Items to Complement This Course

Review the Supply List for this course.

Schedule:

This study guide includes 33 lessons, each requiring approximately 30-40 minutes. You can either schedule it:

Three times a week for 11 weeks allowing for exams during the 12th week, or
Once a week for an entire year, allowing time for exams at the end of each term, and including other science subjects on the other days of the week.

I love the guides from SMH! So far I’ve used 5 guides from form 2 & 3, and I plan on using all of them as we progress. As a former analytical chemist & high school physics teacher, I know I *could* make my own curricula, but when Nicole has done such an amazing job of pulling all the resources to make science come alive, I choose to spend my planning time in other areas!!

—Carmen M.

Sample Lessons

A digital version can be purchased below, but the paperback copies of this study guide must be purchased on Amazon.

The study guide includes religious content, though the accompanying spine text does not. If you require a secular version, please choose that option below.

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