The short answer
Open Socratic Solve, tap Scan Question, and photograph the entire problem: the text and the figure. The AI reads both, extracts the givens (masses, angles, coefficients), identifies what's being asked, and returns a step-by-step solution: the physics principle, the equations, the substitution and the result with units.
A real example of the kind of problem it handles: block A (3.0 kg) hangs from a pulley while block B (2.0 kg) slides up a ramp with kinetic friction coefficient 0.11. Find the acceleration of each block and the tension in the string. That's a photograph, not twenty minutes of typing subscripts.
Scan your physics homework
Socratic Solve is free to download. Point it at the whole problem, diagram and all.
How the solver works a physics problem
- Given: lists the known quantities pulled from the text and diagram.
- Find: states the target (acceleration, tension, velocity…).
- Principle: names the law that applies: Newton's second law, conservation of energy, kinematic equations.
- Set up: writes the equations for each body (free-body style for force problems).
- Solve: does the algebra line by line, then substitutes numbers last, the same discipline your teacher grades for.
- Answer with units. A number without units is half a mark at best.
Reading that structure a few times does something no answer key can: it teaches you the ritual of physics problem solving, which is identical from mechanics through electricity.
We tested it on a diagram-only ramp problem
A solver that "reads the diagram" should get its numbers from the figure, not just from the text. So on November 9, 2026 we drew a ramp problem whose mass, angle and friction coefficient appear only in the diagram, and uploaded the image to Socratic Solve 1.2 from the photo library (on an iPhone simulator).
- What it read: a 4.0 kg block on a 30° incline with μk = 0.20, all three taken from the figure.
- What it answered: a = 3.20 m/s² down the ramp, by way of the normal force (mg cos 30°), the friction force (μkN ≈ 6.79 N) and the net force along the slope (12.81 N).
- Our check: a = g(sin 30° − μk cos 30°) = 9.8 × (0.500 − 0.173) ≈ 3.20 m/s². Correct. The only slip was rounding: it gave the normal force as 33.94 N, where 4.0 × 9.8 × 0.866 is 33.95 N, too small to change the answer.
One test is a spot check, not a benchmark. It shows the diagram reading works on a clean printed figure; a blurry photo or a rough hand sketch is harder, which is why the photo tips below matter.
How to solve any physics problem yourself: a 5-step method
On a test you're on your own, so learn the method teachers grade for. It works on almost every mechanics problem:
- List knowns and unknowns. Write every given with its symbol and unit (m = 5.0 kg, θ = 30°, v0 = 0). Hidden givens count: "starts from rest" means v0 = 0, "comes to a stop" means v = 0, "at the highest point" means the vertical velocity is 0.
- Draw a sketch and a free-body diagram. One dot per object, one arrow per force: weight (mg) straight down, normal force perpendicular to the surface, friction opposing the motion, tension along the string. If you can't name what exerts a force, it isn't a force.
- Choose axes and a sign convention. Pick which direction is positive and stick to it. On a ramp, tilt the axes so x runs along the slope; then only gravity needs splitting into components.
- Pick the equation from what's missing. Newton's second law (ΣF = ma) for forces, the kinematic equations for motion with constant acceleration, energy conservation when you know heights and speeds but not time.
- Solve with symbols, then plug in numbers and check units. Rearranging first shows you when mass cancels and keeps rounding errors out. Finish with a sanity check: is the sign right, is the size believable?
Which kinematic equation to use
Each constant-acceleration equation leaves out one variable. Pick the one that leaves out the quantity you neither know nor need.
| Equation | Leaves out | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| v = v0 + at | displacement (Δx) | No distance given or asked |
| Δx = v0t + ½at2 | final velocity (v) | You need a position at a given time |
| v2 = v02 + 2aΔx | time (t) | No time given or asked |
| Δx = ½(v0 + v)t | acceleration (a) | Acceleration is unknown and not needed |
Worked example 1: a ball thrown straight up
A ball is thrown straight up at 15 m/s. How high does it go, and how long until it lands back in your hand? Use g = 9.8 m/s2.
- Knowns: v0 = +15 m/s (up is positive), a = −9.8 m/s2, v = 0 at the top.
- Max height: no time involved, so use v2 = v02 + 2aΔx. Then 0 = 152 + 2(−9.8)Δx, so Δx = 225 ÷ 19.6 = 11.5 m (about 11 m to two significant figures).
- Time to the top: v = v0 + at gives 0 = 15 − 9.8t, so t = 1.53 s.
- Total time: the trip down mirrors the trip up (same height, no air resistance), so t = 2 × 1.53 = 3.06 s. Check: Δx = 15(3.06) − ½(9.8)(3.06)2 ≈ 0, back where it started.
The whole problem hinges on the sign of a. Write +9.8 instead and the equation says the ball never stops rising.
Worked example 2: a box sliding down a ramp with friction
A 5.0 kg box slides down a 30° incline. The coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.20. Find its acceleration.
- Free-body diagram: weight mg down, normal force N perpendicular to the ramp, friction f up the ramp (opposing the slide). Tilt the axes: x down the slope, y perpendicular to it.
- Split gravity: along the slope mg sin θ = 5.0 × 9.8 × sin 30° = 24.5 N. Into the slope mg cos θ = 5.0 × 9.8 × cos 30° = 42.4 N.
- Normal force: no motion perpendicular to the ramp, so N = mg cos θ = 42.4 N.
- Friction: f = μkN = 0.20 × 42.4 = 8.48 N.
- Newton's second law along x: ma = mg sin θ − μkmg cos θ, so a = g(sin θ − μk cos θ) = 9.8(0.500 − 0.173) = 3.2 m/s2 down the slope.
Notice the mass cancels in the symbolic answer. A 50 kg crate on the same ramp accelerates at the same 3.2 m/s2, which is exactly the kind of insight you miss if you plug in numbers on line one.
Worked example 3: energy conservation on a frictionless slide
A skateboarder starts from rest at the top of a frictionless ramp 3.2 m high. How fast is she going at the bottom?
No time, no angle, no ramp shape: that's the signal for energy. Potential energy at the top becomes kinetic energy at the bottom: mgh = ½mv2. Mass cancels again, leaving v = √(2gh) = √(2 × 9.8 × 3.2) = √62.7 = 7.9 m/s. The ramp's shape doesn't matter without friction.
Common physics mistakes (and how to catch them)
- Mixed sign conventions. Taking up as positive for velocity but writing g as +9.8. Decide once, write it at the top of the page.
- Sin and cos swapped on inclines. The component along the slope is mg sin θ. Quick check: at θ = 0 (flat ground) the along-slope pull must be zero, and sin 0 = 0.
- Forgetting components. A force at an angle has an x part and a y part. A rope pulling at 25° above horizontal also lifts the box a little, which lowers the normal force and the friction.
- Assuming N = mg everywhere. That's only true on flat ground with no other vertical forces. On a ramp it's mg cos θ; in an accelerating elevator it isn't mg at all.
- Unit mix-ups. km/h to m/s (divide by 3.6), cm to m, grams to kilograms. Convert everything to SI before you substitute.
- Calculator in the wrong mode. sin 30 in radian mode gives −0.988 instead of 0.5. If a ramp problem gives a negative acceleration for a box that obviously slides, check this first.
- Mass versus weight. Mass is in kg, weight is a force in newtons (W = mg). A "20 N block" has a mass of about 2.0 kg.
How to photograph diagram problems for a physics problem solver app
For diagram-heavy questions, the scan is only as good as the photo:
- Keep the question and the figure in one frame. The text often says "the block shown" and the mass is only printed on the diagram.
- Shoot straight on, in even light. A tilted photo can make a 30° ramp look like 45°, and glare hides small labels like μ or θ.
- Crop out neighboring problems so the solver doesn't mix up givens from question 6 and question 7.
- Make sure the labels are legible: angle marks, arrows showing direction, and units. If the figure is hand-drawn, write the numbers clearly beside it.
- Type the question if the diagram is decorative. For a word problem where the picture adds nothing, typing the question works just as well.
More photo tips that apply to every subject are in the take a picture of your homework guide.
Topics you can scan
- Kinematics: projectiles, free fall, constant acceleration.
- Forces: inclined planes, friction, tension, pulley systems, connected bodies.
- Energy and momentum: work, conservation problems, collisions.
- Waves, circuits and more: anything you can photograph or type.
The algebra inside a physics solution is often the sticking point. If isolating a variable in a two-equation system is the wall you hit, the algebra solver with steps guide covers that layer.
Looking for Socratic Q&A physics answers?
socratic.org used to run a free question and answer site, with a physics section where contributors wrote out worked answers to student questions. Those pages are gone: when we checked on October 19, 2026, socratic.org, socratic.org/physics and individual question pages all redirected to Google's Lens page. Google hasn't said it moved the answers anywhere else.
Three ways to get the same kind of physics help now:
- Find an old answer: if you saved the original link, the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) may have a copy of the page.
- Solve your own problem step by step: photograph or type the question in a physics problem solver app like Socratic Solve, or work through the 5-step method above.
- Quick lookup: Google Lens, where socratic.org now points, finds explainers, videos and web results for a photographed question.
Socratic Solve is an independent app and isn't affiliated with Google or the former Socratic. For the full story of what happened to Socratic, see our Socratic app alternative guide.