Free Physics Help
Introductory physics punishes one specific habit harder than any other course: reaching for an equation before understanding the situation.
Why physics grades actually slip
The students who struggle in physics are usually the ones searching the formula sheet for an equation containing the symbols in the question. It works on homework, where the chapter tells you which equations are in play, and it fails on exams, where it does not. The alternative — draw the situation, label the forces, decide what is conserved, then pick an equation — feels slower and is dramatically faster.
Physics is also the course where maths weakness is most often misdiagnosed as physics weakness. Vectors, trigonometry and basic calculus are assumed, not taught, and a student who is shaky on components will fail problems they conceptually understand.
Finally, partial credit in physics is unusually generous and unusually under-claimed. A correct free-body diagram and a stated principle earn marks even when the arithmetic goes wrong, and students who write only a final answer throw those marks away.
Free resources worth your time
Everything below is free to use without payment. The note on each one says when to reach for it, because the usual problem is not a shortage of material — it is picking the wrong kind of material for the stage you are at.
- Khan Academy — Physics Free course Solid for mechanics fundamentals. Use it to repair specific topics rather than as a full course.
- Michel van Biezen Video channel Thousands of short worked examples organised by topic — probably the deepest free problem library in physics.
- MIT OpenCourseWare — 8.01 Classical Mechanics Free course Full course with problem sets, exams and solutions. The gold standard if you want to actually learn it.
- OpenStax — University Physics Volume 1 Free textbook Calculus-based. Use College Physics instead if your course is algebra-based.
- OpenStax — College Physics Free textbook The algebra-based alternative. Check your syllabus — taking the wrong one wastes weeks.
What to do with the time you actually have
If you have the rest of the term
Draw the diagram before touching an equation, every single time, including on problems that seem too easy to need one. This one habit is worth more than any resource on this page.
If you have a week
Work problems from the concept down: say out loud which principle applies — Newton's second law, conservation of energy, conservation of momentum — before writing anything. If you cannot name the principle, no equation will save you.
If you have tonight
Practise setting up problems rather than finishing them. Do fifteen setups instead of five full solutions; setup is where the marks and the difficulty both are.
Work out what you actually need first
Before you spend a weekend on this, get the number. If the final is worth 20% and you are sitting at 88%, an A needs 98% and a B needs 48% — those two facts call for completely different weeks. Run your real numbers through the final grade calculator, then come back and pick the plan that matches the gap. The finals-week triage guide covers how to split time across several courses at once.