Rating: 
Summary: a good physics review
Review: First things first, I don't know physics...ok I had a year of it last year but what we got through didn't even get to chapter 5 of this book. I did, however, get a 730 on the real test by working my tail off. I worked for literally one month straight using just this book and a private tutor twice a week to teach me most of the basic physics concepts. I wasn't even able to get through the entire book and had to cram in the the last two days before the test (12/01). This book is a VERY thorough review of an entire years of physics, but beware this book is very hard. I found many of the questions in this book to be very difficult, and some even my tutor had to take some time on. If you're looking for a book that will get you results this is it, but you have to put in the work to get them. I was only expecting to score in the 600's so getting a 730 is a great achievement. As for grammar and spelling, it seems ok. And the layout is also good. If you have the time and desire, and also don't have to learn physics in one month, then this is the best you can get. But make sure you have someone around that actually knows what there talking about, so you can ask questions. As for only giving this book 4 stars, I would have to say that this book is much too difficult for my tastes and would have preferred a less mind bending approach to learning physics. And including proofs of concepts!! What was he thinking? After using this book that real thing was almost a piece of cake.
Rating:
Summary: a good physics review
Review: First things first, I don't know physics...ok I had a year of it last year but what we got through didn't even get to chapter 5 of this book. I did, however, get a 730 on the real test by working my tail off. I worked for literally one month straight using just this book and a private tutor twice a week to teach me most of the basic physics concepts. I wasn't even able to get through the entire book and had to cram in the the last two days before the test (12/01). This book is a VERY thorough review of an entire years of physics, but beware this book is very hard. I found many of the questions in this book to be very difficult, and some even my tutor had to take some time on. If you're looking for a book that will get you results this is it, but you have to put in the work to get them. I was only expecting to score in the 600's so getting a 730 is a great achievement. As for grammar and spelling, it seems ok. And the layout is also good. If you have the time and desire, and also don't have to learn physics in one month, then this is the best you can get. But make sure you have someone around that actually knows what there talking about, so you can ask questions. As for only giving this book 4 stars, I would have to say that this book is much too difficult for my tastes and would have preferred a less mind bending approach to learning physics. And including proofs of concepts!! What was he thinking? After using this book that real thing was almost a piece of cake.
Rating:
Summary: Great, clear, yet containing more than the real SAT2
Review: Great book for SAT II Physics, though a bit too much for the test.
Rating: 
Summary: Consider the Barren's one
Review: I bought this book because I read the five-star reviews and I thought it would really help me do well on the SAT II: Physics subject test. I bought this book last year and I did not regret until I have taken the test in October. The lessons in the book were unclear, the problems were way too easy, I ran out of time on the actual test and got a 710. It's not very satisfying. If you really want to ace the test, consider barrens, harder but better.
Rating:
Summary: Eat this book = 800
Review: I strongly recommend this prep to highschool students in the US. Since it has a very proper difficility level and pretty complete material. I got 730 in its practice test and scored 800 in the real SAT 2 physics.
However, I found the modern physics and atomic physics part doesn't cover all the conceptual topics in the real test. Fortunately, one can left about 13 problems blank and still score a 800. When I met the modern physics problems that I don't know in the real test, I just left it blank.
This book covers 90% of the real test. If you eat it, you will score 800.For people who had strong physics background in Asian countries, I suggest Barron's Physics. It is much harder,and if you can manage it, guarantees a high score. Tips:
Leave the long physics problems blank, don't even read it. Hurry up in the real test. You can hardly have enough time. I left 9 problems blank when I took it. From the "Real SAT IIs" i figure out I can have 800 even though I leave 9 blanks and have 2 wrongs.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: I took the June 04 SAT II Physics after taking a freshman Honors Physics course. In this class we did not cover electricity, magnetism, nuclear physics, particle physics, or relativity. I studied for about two and half months prior to the exam, maybe half an hour every day, and in the last month, an hour a day, and the last two weeks, two hours a day. This book is very good as it is extremely thorough, and I found its explanations of uncovered topics to be quite helpful. However, there was a lot of unnecessary material that was in the book. Rotational Kinematics and a lot of particle/nuclear physics were not covered in the least on the actual exam. I don't know if this is the standard for all tests or if the edition I took was an exception. The practice tests were much harder than the actual thing. I received a 720 and 760 on the Princeton, and an 800 on the actual thing. In addition to the Princeton Review, I used the Kaplan and Sparknotes books and studied them thoroughly, and I glossed over the Barrons. My suggestion for doing well? Use the Kaplans and work through that in the first month or so (it is not indepth, just provides the basic ideas, and the practice tests are a joke). Then, move onto the Princeton, and perhaps take a look at some of the Barrons problems as they are extremely hard and good. However, I would advise those not to use the Sparknotes as it is plagued with errors, although the material is very good. Good luck to all those who take the Physics SAT II. If you are any good at Physics I would advise taking it as it is one of the more lenient SAT II's (Get 8 wrong, and you can still pull off an 800 or 790).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent review, but too much
Review: I used the Princeton Review Physics before taking the SAT II in December. The book covered literally everything I had learned in physics, down to the smallest detail. However, it also contained added sections that were not on the test, nor are they ever on the test, according to my physics teacher. The sections on vector multiplication are not needed until you take the AP Physics exam, nor are a number of other sections. However, it is better to have too much than not enough. The one thing that annoyed me most, however, was the practice tests. These were infinitely more difficult than the real thing. There was no score conversion, but I figured my score to be somewhere in the high 600s, and on the actual test, I got an 800. So, if you don't do well on the tests in this book, don't be discouraged, and if you do well, you should easily be able to get 750+.
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the worst SAT II Physics book ever written...
Review: I would probably get something below 700 if I didn't get help from my Physics Teacher. The way this book explains things is just unclear, it over simplies the topic, and when I take the actual test, I found many problems that the book did not even mention. Don't buy any of the Princeton Review books, buy Barren's.
Rating:
Summary: Publisher Says No Errors Reported
Review: I'm giving this review a decent score sight unseen because the publisher monitors errors, and none has been reported (per Random House Customer Service, 800-733-3000). All the SAT prep books are surely produced under tight time and budget constraints, and so the availability of errata is an important attribute. I ask others to consider this in their reviews. Random House's system is cumbersome; many publishers could learn from O'Reilly's handling of this issue.
Rating: 
Summary: Bridge to High Score
Review: Let this book be the guardian of your hope to score high. As I was in a miserable state searching for help, a celestial light came from beneath the clouds and this book, Cracking the SAT II Physics, descended from the heavens above and landed into my hands. The hallowed scene filled me with blessing. The book came to me as an angel who pulled me out of hell and fed me with knowledge.
Actually, the truth is that I bought this book. It didn't descend from heaven, but it did gave me hope and helped me a lot. To summarize this book in terse terms will not express my adulation for it. Nevertheless, I only have a thousand words to spare therefore I must try my best to convince you that this is an excellent book.
The print of this book is very good. The use of spacing makes sentences very easy to read. Physics drags me into a hypnotic state, but this book manages to keep me awake for at least an hour.
The materials are properly the most important part of the book. If you don't know any physics, this book might be hard for you. However, if you do have some physics background, this book is perfect for reviewing and studying. It clearly explains the answeres and details yet concise enough so it wouldn't turn into a textbook. The exercises are helpful and prepares you for all sorts of tricky questions.
A major concern of a lot of test takers is the amount of time they need to spend to prepare for the test. If you don't know any physics but have a fair amount of intelligent, this book will help you advance your knownledge within a month assuming that you will review everyday. If you do know some physics or have done some physics 12, you can properly run through this book in two weeks and be comfortable with all the material. (This is what I have done). If you are so "sm_rt" and have done some physics AP, this book should be easy for you and you can properly run through it within a week.
Lastly, if you find some of the questions in the book hard don't worry about it. The tests in this book over prepares you by a little (not much).
Hope this review helps and good luck to all you test takers. If you are wondering about the crediblity of my words, I hope the fact that I got 800 in this exam will convince you =) Yes, I have been through the hard exam times too.
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