This high school study guide is part three of a three-part course in high school physics OR one part of high earth science. In this study guide, students will learn about astrophysics, including X-rays and X-ray bursts, neutron stars, black holes, blueshifts, and redshifts.

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: 43
Prerequisites: HS Physics, part 1 and HS Physics, part 2 AND Form 3-4 Astronomy. However, if you wish to combine students, your younger student can jump into the middle and return to the beginning in time.
This study can be used as one-third of a high school physics credit OR one-third of a high school earth science credit. Learn more about high school transcripts in this article.

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 (72 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.

My two high schoolers did the physics course and loved it. Neither are “science geeks” but this they enjoyed and learned so much. I’m doing some of the lower levels and subjects with my middle schoolers now and we are really all enjoying them so much more then the other “CM” style curriculum.

—C. Rodgers VA

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.