High School Physics: Free Course

About this course

Build a connected understanding of motion, forces, electricity, light and nuclear processes in this free high-school physics course from Khan Academy. All thirty-nine source videos remain in the classroom, beginning with an introduction and moving through mechanics, gravitation, electrostatics, energy, electromagnetic radiation and nuclear physics. The recorded explanations support a learner who wants to connect a physical model with an observation and check the reasoning behind a calculation.

Course at a glance

What you’ll learn

• Interpret position, velocity, acceleration and motion data.
• Apply Newton’s laws and connect momentum, impulse and conservation arguments.
• Explore gravitation, orbital motion, electric charge, voltage and current.
• Explain energy relationships and the behavior of light and electromagnetic waves.
• Study atomic spectra, radioactive decay, half-life, fusion and fission.

Skills you’ll gain

• Physics models
• Motion analysis
• Forces and momentum
• Energy reasoning
• Electromagnetic concepts
• Nuclear processes

Course Overview

The complete recorded sequence links several major areas of high-school physics. Mechanics introduces motion and forces before momentum, gravitation and orbital motion. Electrostatic concepts connect charge with electric interactions, followed by energy, voltage and current. The radiation section explains light behavior, atomic spectra and related effects. The final group covers radioactive decay and nuclear processes. All introductions and examples remain available in the source order. The page contains the video edition; practical work and school assessment depend on a learner’s own study setting.

How to study the course

• Videos 1–9: this part of the source list includes “Introduction to high school physics” through “Newton's second law calculations”. Identify quantities and units. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 10–19: this part of the source list includes “Newton's third law” through “Static electricity”. State the assumptions of a physical model. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 20–29: this part of the source list includes “Kinetic energy” through “The photoelectric and photovoltaic effects”. Connect an equation with the situation represented. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 30–39: this part of the source list includes “Atomic spectra” through “Nuclear fission”. Check the interpretation of a result. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.

Who is this for?

This course suits students and interested readers studying the physics named in the title. It also provides a recorded reference for revisiting a topic after an earlier lesson or study attempt. Choose examples appropriate to your background and allow time to work through the method instead of judging understanding only by how familiar the terminology sounds.

Before you start

Basic arithmetic and algebra are useful. Keep track of units and distinguish the assumptions of a model from an observation.

Put the lessons into practice

Create a small study set with one motion problem, one force or momentum example and one energy comparison based on techniques in the recordings. State quantities and units before calculating. Change a mass, velocity or time interval and predict how the result should change. For a radiation or nuclear topic, draw a simple conceptual study map and explain the relationships shown in the lesson. Check the result against the assumptions and write a short explanation that connects the mathematics with the physical situation.

This optional study activity is provided by WikiFree for independent practice. Keep your working notes and use the relevant classroom recording to check a step, definition or interpretation. It is not an instructor-marked assignment.

Certificate / Assessment

Watching the public videos and using WikiFree completion tracking does not award a certificate, academic credit, an examination voucher or instructor assessment. Use your practice output to review what you can explain and repeat independently. The recorded lessons provide study material; completion tracking records your progress through that material.

Frequently asked questions

Provider: Khan Academy. Videos play from the Khan Academy channel on YouTube.