Course notes · first-year university physics

Physics, step by step

Twenty-four chapters over two semesters: mechanics, waves and heat, then electricity, magnetism, optics and modern physics. Each chapter explains the ideas from the ground up, works examples in full, and ends with practice problems.

By Pratik Bhanuse, PhD Physics candidate, Western University · pratikbhanuse.github.io

A complete two-semester, calculus-based first-year university physics course. Every chapter builds the ideas step by step with diagrams, works examples in full between topics, and ends with graded practice problems: Level A concept checks, Level B standard problems and Level C challenge problems. Read each chapter online, or download its notes as a PDF. The full step-by-step solutions to its practice problems come as a separate PDF.

The same notes serve teachers and students. A teacher can lecture straight from the sections and examples. A student can read them alone, trying each "Think first" question before reading on.

Syllabus, weekly schedule and how to study →

Semester 1Mechanics, Waves and Thermal Physics
  1. 1Measurement, Units, Dimensions and VectorsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  2. 2Kinematics in One and Two DimensionsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  3. 3Newton's Laws of MotionNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  4. 4Friction and Circular MotionNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  5. 5Work, Energy and PowerNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  6. 6Centre of Mass, Linear Momentum and CollisionsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  7. 7Rotational MotionNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  8. 8GravitationNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  9. 9Simple Harmonic MotionNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  10. 10Elasticity and Fluid MechanicsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  11. 11Mechanical Waves and SoundNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  12. 12Heat, Kinetic Theory and ThermodynamicsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
Semester 2Electricity, Magnetism, Optics and Modern Physics
  1. 13Electric Charge and Electric FieldNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  2. 14Gauss's LawNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  3. 15Electric PotentialNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  4. 16Capacitance and DielectricsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  5. 17Electric Current and DC CircuitsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  6. 18Magnetic Field and Magnetic ForcesNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  7. 19Sources of the Magnetic FieldNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  8. 20Electromagnetic InductionNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  9. 21Alternating Current and Electromagnetic WavesNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  10. 22Geometrical OpticsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  11. 23Wave OpticsNotes PDF · Solutions PDF
  12. 24Photons, Atoms and NucleiNotes PDF · Solutions PDF

References and further practice →