Edexcel Higher Physics learning books by topic
Seven free PDF learning books for Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics, topics 1 to 7, that teach the Higher course from scratch: 78 lessons, each with a short teaching page, a worked example, five or six practice questions and worked answers at the back, written for grades 4 to 9.
Use them as revision notes that do something. Every lesson is mapped to the Pearson specification statements it covers, and every book closes with a topic assessment with answers and a one-page reference sheet. Topics 1 to 7 are the topics examined on Paper 1.
Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources aligned to Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics 1PH0, not produced, approved or endorsed by Pearson or Edexcel.
Which Higher topics can I learn?
You can learn all seven topics examined on Paper 1, grades 4 to 9, from these Higher books. Topic 1 also appears on Paper 2, and topics 8 to 15 are not in the library yet. Download one book per topic below. Need the basics first? See the Edexcel Foundation Physics learning books. Taking AQA instead? Use the AQA Higher Physics learning books.
Key Concepts of Physics
4 lessons covering physical quantities and SI units, prefixes and powers of ten, converting units and rates, and significant figures and standard form.
Download the Key Concepts of Physics bookMotion and Forces
13 lessons covering scalars and vectors, speed, distance-time and velocity-time graphs, acceleration and free fall, Newton’s first and second laws, mass and weight, stopping distance, then the Higher-only equation of motion without time, circular motion, Newton’s third law, and momentum and force. Includes the force, mass and acceleration core practical.
Download the Motion and Forces bookConservation of Energy
10 lessons covering gravitational potential and kinetic energy, energy stores and transfers, conservation and closed systems, dissipation, insulation in buildings, efficiency, energy resources and energy trends.
Download the Conservation of Energy bookWaves
10 lessons covering wave transfer and evidence, wave quantities and types, the wave equations, measuring wave speed, reflection and refraction, then the Higher-only echo depth, hearing, ultrasound and infrasound, and sound crossing media. Includes the waves in a solid and a fluid core practical.
Download the Waves bookLight and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
12 lessons covering reflection, refraction and total internal reflection, colour and filters, lenses, the electromagnetic spectrum, thermal radiation, hazards and uses, then the Higher-only radiation balance and Earth temperature, and how electromagnetic radiation is produced and absorbed. Includes the refraction in a glass block and surface radiation and absorption core practicals.
Download the Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum bookRadioactivity
17 lessons covering atoms, isotopes and ions, detection, alpha, beta and gamma, nuclear equations, half-life, uses, hazards and medical uses, nuclear power, fission and fusion, then the Higher-only links between half-life and hazard, PET production, controlling a reactor and the conditions for fusion.
Download the Radioactivity bookAstronomy
12 lessons covering weight and gravitational fields, the Solar System, circular orbits, the Big Bang and Steady State models, the life cycles of stars and observing the Universe, then the Higher-only orbital speed and radius, red-shift, competing cosmologies and the cosmic microwave background, and stellar equilibrium.
Download the Astronomy bookHow does each lesson work?
Each lesson has a teaching page, a worked example and five practice questions, six in Topic 1. Answers sit at the back of the book, two lessons to a page. Every book ends with a marked topic assessment, answers and guidance.
The learning cycle in every lesson
- Learn: learning goals mapped to the specification, the big idea, a labelled diagram panel and one or two short explanations
- See: a worked example solved in three steps, so the method is visible before the questions start
- Do: five practice questions per lesson, six in Topic 1, mixing recall, calculation and explanation
- Check: worked answers at the back of the book, then a topic assessment with marks, answers and guidance
What else is inside
- a front-matter lesson map listing every lesson with the Pearson statement numbers it covers
- a tier note marking which statements are Higher tier only, with those lessons labelled in the lesson map
- the four core practicals that fall in topics 1 to 7 taught as their own lessons
- a topic assessment of four to six marked questions, with answers and guidance
- a one-page reference sheet at the end of every book
- 22 to 49 printable A4 pages per book
What does each book teach?
The seven Higher books teach 78 lessons and carry 394 practice questions. Topic 6 Radioactivity is the longest, with 17 lessons, and Topic 1 Key Concepts the shortest, with 4. Lesson titles below follow each book’s own lesson map.
Topic 1: Key Concepts of Physics
- Physical quantities and SI units
- Prefixes and powers of ten
- Converting units and rates
- Significant figures and standard form
Topic 2: Motion and Forces
- Scalars, vectors, distance and displacement
- Speed, distance, time and typical values
- Distance-time graphs
- Acceleration and free fall
- Velocity-time graphs
- Measuring speed and reaction time
- Newton’s first law and resultant force
- Newton’s second law, mass and weight
- Core practical: force, mass and acceleration
- Stopping distance, reaction time and road safety
- Motion without time (Higher only)
- Circular motion and Newton’s third law (Higher only)
- Momentum and force (Higher only)
Topic 3: Conservation of Energy
- Gravitational potential energy
- Kinetic energy
- Energy stores, transfers and diagrams
- Conservation and closed systems
- Dissipation and reducing unwanted transfers
- Buildings: thickness, conductivity and cooling
- Efficiency
- Energy resources
- Energy trends and evidence
- Suggested investigation: conservation of energy
Topic 4: Waves
- Wave transfer and evidence
- Wave quantities and wave types
- Wave equations
- Measuring wave speed
- Interfaces: reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption
- Core practical: waves in a solid and fluid
- Echo depth and distance (Higher only)
- Sound conversion and the ear (Higher only)
- Ultrasound and infrasound (Higher only)
- Sound crossing media (Higher only)
Topic 5: Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Reflection, refraction and total internal reflection
- Specular and diffuse reflection; colour and filters
- Lenses, power and images
- Electromagnetic waves and the spectrum
- Core practical: refraction in a glass block
- Wave-material interactions and speed
- Thermal radiation and temperature
- Core practical: surface radiation and absorption
- EM hazards and protection
- Uses of the electromagnetic spectrum
- Radiation balance and Earth temperature (Higher only)
- Origins and interactions of EM radiation (Higher only)
Topic 6: Radioactivity
- Atoms, nuclei, isotopes and ions
- Unstable nuclei, background and detection
- Alpha, beta and gamma properties
- Development of the atomic model
- Nuclear decay and balanced equations
- Activity and half-life
- Uses of radioactivity
- Radiation hazards, dose and safe working
- Medical treatment and diagnosis
- Nuclear power: benefits, risks and energy
- Fission and chain reactions
- Reactor energy pathway and radioactive products
- Fusion and fission compared
- Half-life and hazard (Higher only)
- PET production nearby (Higher only)
- Controlling a reactor (Higher only)
- Fusion conditions and engineering challenge (Higher only)
Topic 7: Astronomy
- Mass, weight and gravitational fields
- Our Solar System
- Changing models of the Solar System
- Gravity and circular orbits
- Big Bang, Steady State and evidence
- Life cycle of a Sun-like star
- Life cycle of a massive star
- Observing the Universe
- Orbital speed and radius (Higher only)
- Moving sources and red-shift (Higher only)
- Competing cosmologies and CMB (Higher only)
- Stellar equilibrium (Higher only)
How should a student use these?
Work one lesson at a time, in order. Read the teaching, cover the worked example 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 example with the solution covered, then answer the practice questions from memory before checking.
Revising before mocks
Use the lesson map at the front of each book to skip lessons already mastered, then sit the topic assessment and mark it against the guidance. Every question dropped points back to a lesson to redo.
Stuck on equations
Physics papers reward confident rearranging and substituting. Use the reference sheet at the end of each book, and Topic 1 for units, prefixes, conversions and standard form.
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: last-minute revision
What to do with the final weeks when there is no time left to cover everything.
Read the last-minute guideLearning book questions
The books are free for personal use, every practice question has a worked answer, and they are written for the Edexcel Higher tier, grades 4 to 9. These answers cover tiers, core practicals, equations, papers and licensing.
What does the Higher course add?
The Higher books teach every Foundation lesson and add 17 lessons on content that Pearson marks as Higher tier only: motion without time, circular motion, Newton’s third law and momentum in Topic 2; echo depth, hearing, ultrasound and infrasound and sound crossing media in Topic 4; radiation balance and the origins of electromagnetic radiation in Topic 5; half-life and hazard, PET production, reactor control and fusion conditions in Topic 6; and orbital speed, red-shift, competing cosmologies and stellar equilibrium in Topic 7. Topics 1 and 3 have no Higher-only content.
Are the practice questions different from the Foundation books?
Mostly shared. In Topics 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 the Higher books contain every Foundation practice question with the same answer, which is 235 of the 394 Higher questions, and then add the Higher-only lessons. Topics 1 and 3 have their own separate Higher practice questions.
Do the books cover the core practicals?
Edexcel sets eight mandatory core practicals across the course, and four fall in topics 1 to 7. All four are lessons here: force, mass and acceleration in Topic 2, waves in a solid and a fluid in Topic 4, and refraction in a glass block and surface radiation and absorption in Topic 5. Each has practice questions on variables, controls, errors and improvements. The other four are in topics 10, 14 and 15. Topic 3 ends with a suggested energy investigation that is not a core practical.
Which equations do I need to learn?
Pearson splits the equations into two lists. Students must recall and apply the first list, for example force = mass × acceleration and weight = mass × gravitational field strength. They only select and apply the second list, which is printed on the formulae sheet at the end of each paper. Higher tier only equations, such as the momentum equation, are not required at Foundation.
Do the books include answers?
Yes. Worked answers for every practice question are collected at the back of each book, two lessons to a page, and every topic assessment has answers with guidance on what earns the marks.
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.
Which topics are on which paper?
Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics has two papers, each 1 hour 45 minutes for 100 marks, with ten questions, worth 50% of the GCSE, and both must be sat at the same tier. Paper 1 covers topics 1 to 7, which are the seven books here. Paper 2 covers topic 1 plus Energy: forces doing work, Forces and their effects, Electricity and circuits, Static electricity, Magnetism and the motor effect, Electromagnetic induction, Particle model, and Forces and matter, which are topics 8 to 15 and not in the library yet. There is no Edexcel exam practice book at the moment, so use Pearson’s past papers for timed practice after each topic.
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 example again with the solution covered, then the first two practice questions. 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 with no premium for Higher tier, and the first 30 minutes are free with no card details. If a lesson still does not make sense after the worked example, that is usually the sign to have the idea explained a different way.