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Physics - Waves, Sound, & Optics - High School & AP Physics
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(96 ratings)
838 students

Physics - Waves, Sound, & Optics - High School & AP Physics

Master waves, sound, light, reflection, refraction, lenses, mirrors, interference, and optics in physics
Created byCorey Mousseau
Last updated 6/2026
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Master the concepts of waves, sound, and optics.

Course content

5 sections • 23 lectures • 3h 32m total length

  • Introduction1:05

    Explore waves, sound, geometric optics, and physical optics through video lessons for high school and AP physics. Learn with demonstrations and example problems from Corey Mousseau.

  • Physics Course Online Course Map
  • Waves and Sound Workbook0:10
  • Wave Characteristics16:27

    Explore mechanical waves, including longitudinal and transverse types, and how amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period, compression, rarefaction, and sound waves relate to energy transfer and speed through media.

  • Phase8:02

    Analyze phase, interference, and standing waves using 0, 90, 180, 270, and 360 degrees. See how full wavelengths yield in-phase alignment, half-wavelength shifts yield out-of-phase, with partially in-phase cases.

  • Interference and Standing Waves12:49

    Explore how waves reflect at boundaries, compare fixed and non-fixed reflections, and understand interference and standing waves, including constructive and destructive interference, and the role of resonance, nodes, and antinodes.

Requirements

  • It is helpful to have completed Geometry and have a basic foundation of Trigonometry.

Description

This course is one of several Mousseau Physics courses designed for students in high school physics, AP Physics, and introductory algebra based college physics. In this course we focus on waves, sound, and optics. Students will study wave properties, frequency, period, wavelength, wave speed, standing waves, sound, resonance, light, reflection, refraction, mirrors, lenses, and basic optical systems.


The videos and resources use clear explanations, demonstrations, diagrams, simulations, and worked out example problems. Students will learn how to connect wave behavior to equations, how to interpret ray diagrams, and how to decide whether a situation involves reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, or resonance. The goal is to make both the conceptual side and the mathematical side of waves and optics easier to manage.


This course is a strong fit for high school physics students, AP Physics students, and introductory college physics students working through algebra based wave and optics material. It does not require calculus. Students can use the course as a full unit, a supplement to class, or a review resource before quizzes, tests, or exams.


By the end of the course, students should be better prepared to solve wave and optics problems, explain the behavior of sound and light, draw and interpret basic ray diagrams, and understand how everyday phenomena like echoes, lenses, mirrors, and color connect to physics principles.


Students can work straight through the course as a full unit or use individual lessons as targeted support alongside a class. The videos are built to be paused, rewound, and practiced with pencil and paper, so the course works well for homework help, test review, exam preparation, or rebuilding a topic that did not fully click the first time.

Who this course is for:

  • Students in High School, AP, and Introductory College (Algebra Based) Physics.

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