Welcome to LearnPhysics1

This course is the video learning curriculum I have built and refined over 18+ years of tutoring physics students. What you will find here is the minimum a Physics 1 student needs to be successful, and no more than that.

How the course is built:

Learning physics is like learning how to use all of the tools in a toolbox. The goal is to learn each tool one at a time: how to use it, when to use it, and why. Each topic builds on the one before it - you cannot expect to succeed in Unit 5 without understanding Units 1 through 4 first.

This curriculum is designed with the AP Physics 1 exam in mind, but it also serves any high school or introductory college physics student. I do not follow College Board's AP Physics 1 sequencing exactly, as I have split some of the longer units into smaller, more manageable chunks.

How to use each lesson:

Every lesson follows the same six steps. Once you know the rhythm, you can move quickly.

1. Watch the teaching video. Each video teaches a small set of tools - these can be equations, diagrams, terminology, or physics laws. Watch the whole thing and make sure each key point lands. If a video asks you to pause and try a problem, do it. You learn more by doing physics than by watching it.
2. Attempt the practice worksheet. My worksheets are designed to test you on all of the tools discussed in the content video. The included problems are not the hardest you will see - rather, the goal is to find holes in your understanding related to the connected video. Problems marked “challenging” are optional, while the “standard level” problems represent those that are commonly seen in Physics 1 courses.
3. Check the quick answer key. Answers only, no explanations. If you got a problem correct, move on. If you missed one, don’t give up so quickly. Try these problems another time or two. Students who can revisit a problem and correct their own mistakes are more likely to remember what to do in similar situations later on.
4. Watch the video solutions. For any problem you could not solve correctly, watch me work through it start to finish. Students should then attempt these problems again on their own to make sure that all steps are understood. Watching me do physics will make you feel like you understand. Repeating the steps on your own will ensure your understanding.
5. Take the unit exam. At the end of each unit, it is time to be challenged. Each practice exam contains both multiple choice and free response questions that mix all of the unit topics together. Exams come with a recommended time limit and reflect what will be seen on your class assessments.
6. Still stuck? Get help. If a concept did not fully click, book a 1-on-1 tutoring session and I will walk you through it. For a quick question, email me at Scott@LearnPhysics1.com. A photo of the work that did not get you to the right answer is one of the best ways for me to help.

The first 13 lessons, through 3.03, are free. When you are ready to keep going, the full course opens up from there.

Let's get started.