Determined were the kinds of physics study items used, and the emphasis placed per item, by both the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) teachers and the teachers of traditional physics materials in the state of Nebraska. A questionnaire was sent to teachers from the largest 100 schools, ranked by total enrollment, and to fifty other teachers from schools chosen at random. For analysis the items were separated in the categories of (1) theoretical, (2) technological, and (3) humanistic. The findings indicated that (1) traditional materials were being used by 86 teachers and PSSC materials by 39; (2) the same text and materials were being used in 71 per cent of the traditional courses; (3) items stressing the humanities were used negligibly in both approaches; (4) theoretical items received the greatest emphasis in both approaches; (5) both approaches used a great majority of the technological items, but the traditional approach used them to a significantly greater extent; (6) new areas of physics such as aerospace technology received little emphasis in either program; and (7) students were not being exposed to the biographical sketches of scientists or to the social implications of science. (RS)