Friendly Physical Science
Physical science made readable—straightforward lessons with just the right depth.
$9.99
Quantity:
In a Curriculum Kit
Multiple Grades
Nonreligious
Spiral Learning
Please note: The video license is designed to accompany the course text, and is not a stand-alone curriculum. The audio and video portions of this course are non-refundable.
2026 Eighth-Grade Curriculum Kit
Friendly Physical Science Set
Physical science explains how the world works—from why objects move to how electricity flows to what happens when matter changes form. Friendly Physical Science makes these concepts approachable through clear explanations, hands-on experiments, and plenty of opportunities to apply what your teen is learning.
Covering topics such as motion, forces, energy, electricity, magnetism, light, sound, heat, and introductory chemistry, this course provides a broad foundation in physical science while helping teens develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. More than 300 illustrations and diagrams support the text, making complex concepts easier to understand and visualize.
The course doesn't stop with reading. Hands-on experiments and engineering challenges encourage your teen to test ideas, observe results, and apply scientific principles in practical ways. Most activities use common household materials or inexpensive supplies that are easy to obtain.
The set includes a student-friendly textbook filled with real-world examples, a consumable workbook with practice activities for each lesson, and a separate Tests and Solutions Manual. Together, these components provide instruction, reinforcement, assessment, and review in one complete program.
Friendly Physical Science is commonly counted as one high school science credit and serves as an excellent introduction to the physical sciences for teens who learn best when concepts are explained clearly and reinforced through hands-on application.
Want to make the course even more independent? The optional Friendly Physical Science Video License allows author Joey Hajda to teach the material directly while your teen follows along in the text. The publisher describes the videos as the "teacher" and the textbook as the "classroom book," making the video license a valuable support for families juggling multiple students or teens who benefit from hearing concepts explained aloud. Please note that the video license is not a stand-alone curriculum and requires the Friendly Physical Science text.
How to Use Friendly Physical Science Set
- Plan on completing about one lesson each week. With 22 lessons total, you'll have enough flexibility to finish early or allow extra time for experiments, engineering challenges, and review when needed.
- If you prefer a more structured pace, complete two lessons every three weeks. This schedule keeps the course moving steadily while leaving room for hands-on activities.
- Have your teen complete the workbook pages alongside each lesson. Most lessons include one or two practice sheets that reinforce key concepts and provide an opportunity to apply what he's learning.
- Gather lab materials before beginning a new unit. Most experiments use common household items or inexpensive supplies, but having everything ready ahead of time makes science days run much more smoothly.
- Encourage your teen to spend time on the design challenges. These activities help connect scientific principles to real-world problem-solving and often become some of the most memorable parts of the course.
- Don't rush past the diagrams, photographs, and illustrations. The visual explanations are a significant part of the program and can make abstract concepts much easier to understand.
- Use the Tests and Solutions Manual for assessments throughout the course, and keep the Instructor Guide nearby for answer keys, teaching support, and additional guidance as questions arise.
In the 2026 kits this course earns high school credit:
1 credit of Physical Science
Science · 8th grade · Classic and Non-Religious kits
In the Complete and up kits.
Counts once with General Science 101, not twice.
High-school level work in a middle school kit.
- An introduction to the metric and English systems of measurement
- Calculation of surface area and volume of regularly and irregularly-shaped objects
- Mass
- Density
- Buoyancy
- Forms of energy
- Time, speed, velocity and acceleration
- Newton's laws of motion
- Work and simple machines
- Classes of levers
- The wheel and axle
- Pulleys
- The inclined plane, wedge, and screw
- Pressure
- Magnetism
- Electricity and electromagnetism
- Light-sound
- Heat energy
- An introduction to chemistry
Publisher: Friendly Chemistry & Create Space
Author: Dr. Joey Hajda & Lisa B. Hajda
Illustrator: Charlotte J. Hajda
Age Recommendation: 12+
Grade Recommendation: 7th+
Faith-Based: No
Lessons: 22
Student Edition (text):
Consumable: No
Pages: 255
ISBN: 978179048871
Format: Softcover
Student Workbook:
Consumable: Yes
Pages: 41
ISBN: 9781694758910
Format: Softcover
Tests and Workbook Solutions Manual:
Consumable: Yes
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9781694764607
Format: Softcover
Audiobook License:
Access: Text read verbatim by author, Joey Hajda, accessed via online listening portal. Access has no expiration and can be used by other members of your immediate family.
Video License:
Access: Unlimited viewing via online portal with no expiration date. An internet connection must be available for viewing.
License Covers: Current student and immediate family members. Co-op licenses are available from the publisher.
- Lesson 1: Measurement: Length
- Lesson 2: Surface Area
- Lesson 3: Volume of Regularly-shaped Objects
- Lesson 4: Volume of Irregularly-shaped Objects
- Lesson 5: Mass
- Lesson 6: Density
- Lesson 7: Buoyancy
- Lesson 8: Energy
- Lesson 9: Time and Speed
- Lesson 10: Newton's Laws of Motion
- Lesson 11: Work and Simple Machines: The Lever
- Lesson 12: Simple Machines: The Wheel and Axle
- Lesson 13: Simple Machines: The Pulley
- Lesson 14: Simple Machines: The Inclined Plane, Wedge, and Screw
- Lesson 15: Pressure
- Lesson 16: Magnetism
- Lesson 17: Electricity
- Lesson 18: Electromagnetism
- Lesson 19: Light
- Lesson 20: Sound
- Lesson 21: Heat Energy
- Lesson 22: Basic Chemistry
- Index
Click here to see Sample Lesson 1 (PDF)
Click here to see Sample Lesson 2 (PDF)
Click here to see Sample Lesson 3 (PDF)
Click here to see Sample Lesson 4 (PDF)
View a sample video of Lesson 1: Measurement and Length
View a sample video of Lesson 2: Surface Area
Listen to an audiobook sample of Lesson 1
Listen to an audiobook sample of Lesson 2
Download Friendly Physical Science List of Lab Supplies PDF
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this product below:
No, you need the text to accompany the video course. The publisher likes to consider the video to be like the "teacher" and the textbook to be like your required classroom book.
Friendly Physical Science counts as 1 credit of Physical Science on a high school transcript. In our curriculum kits it comes in the Complete kits and up. Its Physical Science credit is the same one General Science 101 earns, so count it once. To turn its grade into a GPA, use our free homeschool GPA calculator: it works out each letter grade from your student's scores, figures the GPA by year and for all of high school, and prints a grade record for the transcript.
Customers earn Doodle Dollars for reviewing products they've purchased, and some promotions add an entry in a prize drawing. Rewards never depend on the rating given.
- August 3, 2026
Elizabeth L.
The lessons are quick and concise. We also had the audio version so my daughter could follow along with it while reading.
- June 26, 2024
Great book
Heather J.
Easy to understand and overall just a good science book.
- June 26, 2024
Easy to understand
Heather J.
My child does not like to read but she enjoyed reading this science book. It was easy for her to understand.
- September 7, 2021
Awesome
Dissatisfied
Great program. Very descriptive, easy to follow. Easy to grade!
- July 25, 2021
Another exciting year of science
Kathleen W.
We have loved all our science kits from Timberdoodle and can not wait to get started on this one!
- April 2, 2021
Kristi D.
I had a friend mention this book. My son is excited for science.
