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One important skill that can support the success of learning physics for students is problem solving skills. This study explores the level of problem solving skills of 54 first semester students (11 men and 43 women, age range 16-18 years) in the basic physics course in the science education study program, Bengkulu University. In the first lecture, students are given irregular straight motion concept, without being given examples of problems and how to solve them. In the second lecture, students are given essay tests that contain quantitative problems related to concepts that have been studied previously. Based on their answers, it was found that: none of the students sketched a picture to represent the problem; they wrote down what was known and asked of the problem; none of the students mentioned the physics principles that would be applied to solve the problem; none of the students explained what important things were to be controlled, the limits that had to be met, and the special principles of physics that can lead to the right equation; they write physics equations and do mathematical calculations; none of the students who write justifications of the results obtained as a representation of checking back on the results obtained; only 43 percent of students have correct calculation results on question number one, and 17 percent on question number two. Based on these results it was concluded that the students physics problem solving skills were still at a low level. These results can be used as consideration for the selection of learning methods that can develop students problem solving skills in subsequent lectures