OCR Foundation Physics learning books by topic
Nine free PDF learning books for OCR GCSE Physics A (Gateway Science), one for every topic from P1 Matter to P9 Practical skills, that teach the Foundation course from scratch: 81 lessons across P1 to P8, each with a teaching page, worked reasoning and three practice questions, with answers at the back, written for grades 1 to 5.
Use them as revision notes that do something. Every lesson names the OCR learning outcomes it covers, every book has practical pages and an end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers, and the P9 book takes you through all eight Practical Activity Groups.
Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources aligned to OCR GCSE (9-1) Physics A (Gateway Science) J249, not produced, approved or endorsed by OCR or Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Which Foundation topics can I learn?
You can learn all nine OCR Gateway topics, grades 1 to 5, from these Foundation books. P1 to P4 are examined on Paper 1, P5 to P8 on Paper 2, and P9 on both. Aiming higher? See the OCR Higher Physics learning books. Taking AQA instead? Use the AQA Foundation Physics learning books.
Matter
9 lessons, 27 practice questions with answers, 2 practical or workshop pages and a 18-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Matter bookForces
11 lessons, 33 practice questions with answers, 2 practical or workshop pages and a 18-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Forces bookElectricity
10 lessons, 30 practice questions with answers, 3 practical or workshop pages and a 28-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Electricity bookMagnetism and Magnetic Fields
6 lessons, 18 practice questions with answers, 3 practical or workshop pages and a 22-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Magnetism and Magnetic Fields bookWaves in Matter
11 lessons, 33 practice questions with answers, 5 practical or workshop pages and a 27-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Waves in Matter bookRadioactivity
11 lessons, 33 practice questions with answers, 4 practical or workshop pages and a 29-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Radioactivity bookEnergy
10 lessons, 30 practice questions with answers, 4 practical or workshop pages and a 28-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Energy bookGlobal Challenges
13 lessons, 39 practice questions with answers, 5 practical or workshop pages and a 41-mark end-of-topic assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Global Challenges bookPractical Skills
Four working-scientifically lessons on planning, measurement and uncertainty, tables and graphs, and conclusions and evaluation, with 12 practice questions, then a page of illustrative data and a record sheet for each of the eight PAGs, and a 26-mark practical skills assessment with suggested answers.
Download the Practical Skills bookHow does each lesson work?
Each lesson is two pages: a teaching page with worked reasoning, then a practice page with marked questions. Answers to every practice question sit at the back of the book, followed by suggested answers for the practicals and the end-of-topic assessment.
The learning cycle in every lesson
- Learn: the OCR learning outcome codes at the top of the page, a short explanation and a labelled diagram where it helps
- See: a worked reasoning box that shows the method or the chain of evidence before the questions start
- Do: three practice questions per lesson, each with its marks shown
- Check: full answers at the back of the book, then an end-of-topic assessment with suggested credit points
What else is inside
- a tier note at the start of each book listing the Higher-only outcomes it leaves out
- practical investigation and workshop pages in every topic from P1 to P8
- an end-of-topic assessment in every book, 18 to 41 marks, with suggested credit points
- a revision or equation bank and a final checklist at the end of every book
- a P9 book with illustrative data and a personal record sheet for each of the eight PAGs
- 25 to 46 printable A4 pages per book, 323 pages in all
What does each book teach?
The eight Foundation topic books teach 81 lessons with 243 practice questions, and the P9 book adds four skills lessons and eight PAG pages. P8 Global challenges is the longest, with 13 lessons, and P4 Magnetism the shortest, with 6. Lesson titles follow each book.
P1: Matter
- Atomic structure and changing models
- Particles, states and density
- Measuring density accurately
- Changes of state and internal energy
- Specific heat capacity
- Specific latent heat
- Gas motion, temperature and pressure
- Gas volume and Boyle’s relationship
- Atmosphere and pressure differences
P2: Forces
- Speed, displacement and measurement
- Motion graphs and acceleration
- Uniform acceleration and kinetic energy
- Interactions and Newton’s first law
- Newton’s second law and linked calculations
- Work, stored energy and power
- Newton’s third law
- Deformation, springs and elastic energy
- Gravity, weight and gravitational energy
- Moments, levers and gears
- Fluid pressure and hydraulics
P3: Electricity
- Charge and electron transfer
- Electric fields and sparks
- Current, charge and time
- Circuit diagrams and meters
- Potential difference and resistance
- I-V characteristics
- LDRs and NTC thermistors
- Series circuits
- Parallel circuits
- Electrical power and energy
P4: Magnetism and Magnetic Fields
- Magnets and induced magnetism
- Magnetic fields and field maps
- Earth and the dipping compass
- Fields around a straight wire
- Solenoids and electromagnets
- Using and testing electromagnets
P5: Waves in Matter
- Describing waves and reading graphs
- Transverse, longitudinal and energy transfer
- Wave speed calculations
- Sound at boundaries and echoes
- Measuring water-wave and sound speeds
- The electromagnetic spectrum
- Uses of electromagnetic waves
- Radiation hazards and informed choices
- Reflection and refraction ray diagrams
- Convex and concave lenses
- Colour, filters and surfaces
P6: Radioactivity
- Nuclei, isotopes and nuclear notation
- Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron emission
- Balancing nuclear equations
- Electron energy levels and ionisation
- Random decay, activity and detection
- Half-life and decay graphs
- Penetration and ionising power
- Contamination, irradiation and protection
- Uses of radiation and choosing a half-life
- Nuclear fission and chain reactions
- Nuclear fusion and energy release
P7: Energy
- Energy stores, transfers and conservation
- Explaining common energy changes
- Work done and gravitational energy
- Kinetic and elastic energy
- Electrical energy and domestic supplies
- Heating and thermal calculations
- Power, time and kilowatt-hours
- Dissipation and energy efficiency
- Reducing unwanted energy transfers
- Buildings, walls and cooling
P8: Global Challenges
- Everyday speeds, acceleration and units
- Human reaction time
- Thinking, braking and stopping distances
- Large decelerations and vehicle safety
- Energy resources and generation
- Resource choices and changing trends
- The grid and transformer power balance
- Domestic supply: a.c. and d.c.
- Live, neutral, earth and insulation
- The solar system and satellites
- Formation and life cycle of stars
- Red-shift and the Big Bang
- Thermal radiation and temperature
P9: Practical Skills
- Planning a valid investigation
- Measurements, units and uncertainty
- Tables, graphs and gradients
- Conclusions and evaluation
- PAG P1 Materials: density
- PAG P2 Forces: springs
- PAG P3 Motion: trolley acceleration
- PAG P4 Measuring waves
- PAG P5 Energy: specific heat capacity
- PAG P6 Circuit components: I-V curves
- PAG P7 Series and parallel circuits
- PAG P8 Interactions of waves
How should a student use these?
Work one lesson at a time, in order. Read the teaching page, cover the worked reasoning and redo it, answer the practice questions without looking back, then mark them against the answers at the back before moving on.
Starting a topic
Work through the lessons in order, one or two a sitting. Redo the worked reasoning with the solution covered, then answer the practice questions from memory before checking.
Revising before mocks
Use the lesson list at the front of each book to skip lessons already mastered, then sit the end-of-topic assessment and mark it against the suggested credit points. Every question dropped points back to a lesson to redo.
Practical questions
About 15% of the marks in the papers test practical skills. Work through the P9 book alongside the topics, and use its PAG data pages to practise processing results, drawing graphs and evaluating methods.
Guide: GCSE past papers
Where to find real past papers and mark schemes to practise with alongside these books.
Read the past papers guideGuide: maths skills for Physics
The equations, rearranging, graphs and standard form that physics questions expect, in one checklist.
Read the maths skills guideGuide: GCSE Science resits
How Combined and separate Science resits work, and how to plan the months before the exam.
Read the resits guideLearning book questions
The books are free for personal use, every practice question has an answer, and they are written for the OCR Gateway Foundation tier, grades 1 to 5. These answers cover tiers, practicals, papers, answers and licensing.
Is Higher-only content included?
No. OCR prints its Higher-only learning outcomes in bold, and each Foundation book lists the ones it leaves out on its second page. For example, work done on gases, upthrust and liquid pressure are left out of P1, and all of P4.2, the motor effect, induction and transformers, is left out of P4. Those lessons appear only in the Higher books.
Are the practice questions different from the Higher books?
Almost all are shared. 329 of the 330 numbered questions in the Foundation books, across lesson practice, P9 skills practice and the end-of-topic assessments, also appear word for word in the Higher book for the same topic. The Higher books then add their own lessons and extra questions.
Do the books cover the PAG practicals?
Yes. OCR asks every student to complete at least eight practical activities across eight Practical Activity Groups: P1 Materials, P2 Forces, P3 Motion, P4 Measuring waves, P5 Energy, P6 Circuit components, P7 Series and parallel circuits, and P8 Interactions of waves. The P9 book has a page of illustrative data with exam-style tasks and a record sheet for each one, and topics P1 to P8 add practical investigation pages. The data is illustrative and is no substitute for the activities done at school.
Which topics are on which paper?
Students sit either Foundation, Papers 1 and 2 (J249/01 and J249/02), or Higher, Papers 3 and 4 (J249/03 and J249/04). Each paper is 1 hour 45 minutes, 90 marks and 50% of the GCSE. Papers 1 and 3 assess topics P1 to P4 and P9. Papers 2 and 4 assess topics P5 to P8, with assumed knowledge of P1 to P4 and P9, and include synoptic questions.
Do the books include answers?
Yes. Answers to every lesson practice question are collected at the back of each book, followed by suggested responses for the practical pages and suggested credit points for the end-of-topic assessment. The marks are guidance written for these original questions, not official OCR mark schemes.
Are they free? What is the licence?
The books are free to download for personal and household educational use. Tutors and schools need permission before copying them for learners, and resale, paid redistribution and third-party uploading are not permitted.
My child reads the lesson but still gets the questions wrong. What next?
That usually means the idea needs explaining a different way, not more reading. Try the worked reasoning again with the solution covered, then the first practice question. If the same lesson still goes wrong, get the method retaught by a teacher at school or a tutor. Five of our tutors teach Physics and the first 30 minutes are free.
Practice finds the gaps. A tutor closes them
Five of our tutors teach Physics, led by a doctorate in Physics and two engineering degrees. Lessons are one to one on Zoom, £30 each, and the first 30 minutes are free with no card details. If a lesson still does not make sense after the worked reasoning, that is usually the sign to have the idea explained a different way.