Physics: Principles and Problems

Rating:
Summary: 34%*(65)*&##354*#(76^7)(216)=
Review: Exactly. This is what the book looks like if you go to a store right now and open it. This book is virtually a math book although physics is about 60% math and 30% science information, this book is like 95% to 5%. Not only that the explainations for some of the problems are really bad. The reason why people think physics is hard is b/c of books like these that make it hard. THEIR are even mistakes in the formulas they use and they dont round numbers to significant digits. Im the top of my class in physics only b/c i like science, this book can change your mind real fast. The book does not explain who and how which is vital in learnig and passing any science test. For example Isaac Newton proposed the law of gravity. It just tells you concepts and terms that came from nowhere. The only good part about it is webassign that lets you practice problems online. d.

Rating:
Summary: Weak book
Review: I am a highschool senior and am using this text for my honors physics class. I would consider myself a strong science student but this textbook is making physics extremely frustrating. We have only covered the first six chapters, but I am already noticing serious problems. The book is far from strait forward, with pages dedicated to superflous examples of things that seem to be common sense, while other pages are filled with silly diagrams that do little to help me understand the material. In many chapters the author dedicates more space to explaining how to draw diagrams of problems than he does explaining how to solve them. Consequently I often find that after reading a chapter I understand little more than how to draw pictures. The book is clearly oriented towards visual learners with little left over for the rest of us. In other chapters the material is organized in a way that seems irrational. Newton's Laws, for example, are not placed together as one would expect, rather they are scattered out of order over a 20 page chapter, making it more difficult to put the pieces together and get the big picture. The books one redeeming feature (and the reason it got the second star) is that it contains plenty of practice problems with more available online. Some of the problems even have detailed explanations and answers in the back, but often these answers are wrong, which only adds to my frustration. As I said I have only been through the first six chapter but if they are any indication, this is not a good text for an honors physics class.

Rating:
Summary: Poor choice for a physics text
Review: I am a highschool senior and am using this text for my honors physics class. I would consider myself a strong science student but this textbook is making physics extremely frustrating. We have only covered the first six chapters, but I am already noticing serious problems. The book is far from strait forward, with pages dedicated to superflous examples of things that seem to be common sense, while other pages are filled with silly diagrams that do little to help me understand the material. In many chapters the author dedicates more space to explaining how to draw diagrams of problems than he does explaining how to solve them. Consequently I often find that after reading a chapter I understand little more than how to draw pictures. The book is clearly oriented towards visual learners with little left over for the rest of us. In other chapters the material is organized in a way that seems irrational. Newton's Laws, for example, are not placed together as one would expect, rather they are scattered out of order over a 20 page chapter, making it more difficult to put the pieces together and get the big picture. The books one redeeming feature (and the reason it got the second star) is that it contains plenty of practice problems with more available online. Some of the problems even have detailed explanations and answers in the back, but often these answers are wrong, which only adds to my frustration. As I said I have only been through the first six chapter but if they are any indication, this is not a good text for an honors physics class.

Rating:
Summary: Many Errors
Review: My high school physics class used this one back in 91-92. The class had a lot of fun going through it and correcting the MANY errors. I'm a physics teacher now and just had to get that off my chest.

Rating:
Summary: Basic Physics
Review: This book did a good job describing basic physics in a simple manner. I summarized the topics very well.

Rating:
Summary: Weak book
Review: This book is very colorful and full of wonderful photos. Yet photos and color alone will not help you learn physics. The example problems they give are not explained step-by-step in a way that makes the application clearer. Worse yet the problems may be wrong some of the time. There are a few chapters that could be combined instead of splitting them up. Also, Newton's Laws are totally isolated from each other instead of being grouped together. The only way (at least that I know) to suceed in phyiscs is to work the problems. The book has a wonderful assortment of problems- yet no solutions or even answers are found in the back. Since most physics teachers won't give credit without work I don't see why putting the answers in the back could hurt. Overall the book is weak. I would read this book and do the homework assigned from the book, but my preparation for a test would come from a review book and a practice book with hundreds of solved problems (Schaum's or REA). That seems to work best for me. Oh and the last part in any physics course that determines how good you do is the teacher. For me I am not so lucky. But to you I wish the best of luck. You may have the same problems with this book that my whole class and apparantly other schools have had, or you will do well.

Rating:
Summary: Physics Principles and Problems
Review: This is acually Jonathan Ray of Midlothian Virginia. I have spent many a late night pondering over the absutities I have read in my physics book. I am atempting to learn physics from this book but it seems that all I am learning is how to draw silly little pictures. The answers in the back of the book to the practice problems are wrong tothe point that I am woried when I get an answer that agrees with the the back of the book. On top of this there are numerous typeos on the text. On top of this there is no actual organization in the book as one has to read several chapters to understan Newton's laws which are presented out of order I might add. Overall a very confusing text that is not worth the paper it is printed on.