General Books

Physics

John D. Cutnell, Kenneth W. Johnson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Improving the Game

When it comes to teaching and learning physics, most pedagogical innovations were pioneered in Cutnell and Johnson's Physics--the number one algebra-based physics text for over a decade. With each new edition of Physics, Cutnell and Johnson have strived to improve the heart of the game--problem solving. Now in their new Seventh Edition, you can expect the same spirit of innovation that has made this text so successful.

Here's how the Seventh Edition continues to improve the game!

AMP Examples (Analyzing Multi-Concept Problems)

These unique new example problems show students how to combine different physics concepts algebraically to solve more difficult problems. AMP examples visually map-out why the different algebraic steps are needed and how to do the steps.

GO (Guided Online) Problems in WileyPLUS

These new multipart, online tutorial-style problems lead students through the key steps of solving the problems. Student responses to each problem step are recorded in the grade book, so the instructor can evaluate whether the student really has mastered the material.

WileyPLUS

WileyPLUS provides the technology needed to create an environment where students can reach their full potential and experience the exhilaration of academic success.

WileyPLUS gives students access to a complete online version of the text, study resources and problem-solving tutorials, and immediate feedback and context-sensitive help on assignments and quizzes.

WileyPLUS gives instructors homework management tools, lecture presentation resources, an online grade book, and more.

Visit www.wiley.com/college/wileyplus or contact your Wiley representative for more information on how to package WileyPLUS with this text.

College Physics

Raymond A. Serway, Jerry S. Faughn, Chris Vuille

Amazon Price: $130.24 List Price: $187.95 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Brooks Cole Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $130.24

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Editorial Review:

While physics can seem challenging, its true quality is the sheer simplicity of fundamental physical theories--theories and concepts that can enrich your view of the world around you. COLLEGE PHYSICS, 8e, provides a clear strategy for connecting those theories to a consistent problem-solving approach, carefully reinforcing this methodology throughout the text and connecting it to real-world examples. For students planning to take the MCAT exam, the text includes exclusive test prep and review tools to help you prepare.

Physics: Principles with Applications

Douglas C. Giancoli

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

outstanding 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

I used Giancoli as my primary text in high school, and found it to be a superb text. I think those complaining of a lack of worked problems are missing the entire point of this text and the essence of studying physics. This book is about understanding physics principles and the equations you use to solve physics problems. You will find that with this understanding (certainly provided by this excellent text), the need for mindless ploughing through physics problems is lost. You will be able to solve physics problems on the basis of your conceptual understanding of the problems. So many students rely on rote learning and repetition by doing hundreds of questions. Sure, you might be able to attack similar problems for the next week or so, but as soon as you stop practicing, the skill is lost. True mastery of physics comes from appreciation of principles, not mere recognition of patterns in problems...this text will help you achieve such an appreciation.

Learn to Run Before You Can Walk with Giancoli's "Physics" . . . 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 7 people found this review helpful.

While I wouldn't call this a bad book, I find myself rather frustrated with it. It seems to me to be most ideally suited for those who either have a natural inclination for physics or those who have plenty of spare time in which to contemplate solutions for the problems. (Unfortunately, I have neither.) The chapters themselves are actually fairly well done, but, in my opinion, not well enough to provide all the necessary information and insights to successfully solve the problems. I've opted to discontinue my attempts to work through this book in favor of Cutnell and Johnson's text of the same title.

Enhanced College Physics (with PhysicsNOW)

Raymond A. Serway, Jerry S. Faughn, Chris Vuille, Charles A. Bennett

Amazon Price: $139.25 List Price: $200.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Brooks Cole Amazon Marketplace: 110 new & used starting at $39.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Still Waiting 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I still have not received my book and it has already been 4 weeks.
I also don't have a tracking number so I cannot even go to the post office to locate the book.
I am very disappointed.

Still a good, sound text for college general physics... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Updaated: Fall 2008. Still using this text. Still no complaints, verbal or otherwise, from students. Will continue using it for another year. Gave it five stars, because of the other review here about amazons slow delivery. Didn't order mine from amazon, so I can't comment about that, just the quality of the text. But I have noticed that all my orders from amazon seem to have been slow in arriving this Summer. (4 to 6 weeks - but then I don't use a charge card or have an account.)

Updated: Fall 2007. Still using this text. The new enhanced version is better. More mediacal and biological examples. Still no complaints, verbal or otherwise, from students.

Updated: Fall 2006. I've been teaching from this text (ed 7) for two years now. Still no complaints from students on my reviews, nor any verbal complaints, about this text. We are changing to the "enhanced" version next year since this version is no longer available from the publisher. The enhanced edition has more MCAT and biological applications, so we're looking forward to it. (One thing I've done is rewrite the PowerPoints to support this text and put them online locally, as well as other support materials.)

Previous Post: We changed from the Cutnell text. We use it in a two (2) semester (15 weeks each) course in "general physics." The text is much better than many of the reviewers suggest. It is a college level text - which means you should have some previous experience with physics (high school or fundamental ?) and you must have the math background - trigonometry and college algebra (through exponentials, logarithms and analytic geometry). The topics are presented and organized well, and the examples and problems complement the content. The conceptual questions are, for the most part, easy and very direct. While some problems are difficult, (most color coded blue and red), others play from the numerous, contemporary and historical examples. Photos and diagrams are well done with portraits of historical figures included. There are many biological applications and each chapter ends with a summary of equations, units and important concepts. The modern physics chapters are particularly interesting - relativity, atomic and nuclear physics. (If too much time is spent in the early chapters, you'll miss this in the last five.) No complaints about the text, like some mentioned here, were received from students on my reviews. (About half my students did ask frequent questions about solving problems in my discussion sessions, as expected, but about half required little or no help at all.)

Many of the negative reviews here apparently come from some who may not have the math background for this text. Many are "one title" reviewers who may have not read other similar texts in detail like those by Gimabattista, Walker, Cutnell, Sears and Haliday and Resnick. It's interesting that most of these texts have an average rating only between 2.5 and 3.5 stars out of 5. What this may show is that some reviewers just don't have the math backround for physics and so unfortunately try to rely on "concepts." This is not a "conceptual physics" text - it applies algebra and trionometry to problem solving in physics as it relates also to other sciences. One reason why a course in physics is required for most science majors.

I've also logged into the supporting web site as a student to check the claims made by some that "personal information" is apparently required to use the "free" site. The only "personal information" requests I saw were for name, email address and an answer to a security question selected from a list of options, to use in case you loose your password. These are typical questions asked for creating and maintaining user accounts on many such similar websites.

Editorial Review:

Open the door to the fascinating world of physics! The most fundamental of all natural sciences, physics will reveal to you the basic principles of the Universe. And while physics can seem challenging, its true beauty lies in the sheer simplicity of fundamental physical theories--theories and concepts that can enrich your view of the world around you. ENHANCED COLLEGE PHYSICS, VOLUME I gives you a clear and logical presentation of the basic concepts, and with its integrated media resources, you have the maximum opportunity for success! Each new text includes access to PHYSICSNOW, the ultimate web-based homework and tutorial system! This interactive learning system tailors itself to your needs in the course. It's like having a personal tutor available whenever you need it!

Conceptual Physics Package Edition

Paul G. Hewitt

Amazon Price: $91.47 List Price: $132.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Addison Wesley Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $77.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not conceptual 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 9 people found this review helpful.

My daughter used this textbook in her HS physics class and I was apalled with how much useless information it contained. Little to no historical information about who, what and when it was discovered and how it brought about changed. Her teacher used the chapter on the conservation of energy to talk about energy conservation, an entirely different subject. I agree with teaching the concepts of physics in HS before diving into the math in college, but there are much better texts available!

Editorial Review:

Conceptual Physics, Tenth Edition helps readers connect physics to their everyday experiences and the world around them with additional help on solving more mathematical problems. Hewitt's text is famous for engaging readers with analogies and imagery from real-world situations that build a strong conceptual understanding of physical principles ranging from classical mechanics to modern physics. With this strong foundation, readers are better equipped to understand the equations and formulas of physics, and motivated to explore the thought-provoking exercises and fun projects in each chapter. Included in the package is the workbook. Mechanics, Properties of Matter, Heat, Sound, Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics, Relativity. For all readers interested in conceptual physics.

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

Michio Kaku

Amazon Price: $17.79 List Price: $26.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Doubleday Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $13.48

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible—from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks—revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future.

One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the Impossible, the renowned physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction that are deemed equally impossible today might well become commonplace in the future.

From teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals—and the limits—of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories—Class I, II, and III, depending on when they might be achieved, within the next century, millennia, or perhaps never. In a compelling and thought-provoking narrative, he explains:
· How the science of optics and electromagnetism may one day enable us to bend light around an object, like a stream flowing around a boulder, making the object invisible to observers “downstream”
· How ramjet rockets, laser sails, antimatter engines, and nanorockets may one day take us to the nearby stars
· How telepathy and psychokinesis, once considered pseudoscience, may one day be possible using advances in MRI, computers, superconductivity, and nanotechnology
· Why a time machine is apparently consistent with the known laws of quantum physics, although it would take an unbelievably advanced civilization to actually build one
Kaku uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it. An extraordinary scientific adventure, Physics of the Impossible takes readers on an unforgettable, mesmerizing journey into the world of science that both enlightens and entertains.

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines

Richard A. Muller

Amazon Price: $17.79 List Price: $26.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: W. W. Norton Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $16.42

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Learn the science behind the headlines—the tools of terrorists, the dangers of nuclear power, and the reality of global warming.

We live in complicated, dangerous times. They are also hyper-technical times. As citizens who will elect future presidents of the most powerful and influential country in the world, we need to know—truly understand, not just rely on television's talking heads—if Iran's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if nuclear power should be encouraged, and if global warming is actually happening. This book is written in everyday, nontechnical language on the science behind the concerns that our nation faces in the immediate future. Even active readers of serious journalism will be surprised by the lessons that the book contains. It is "must-have" information for all presidents—and citizens—of the twenty-first century. 50 illustrations.

Fundamentals of Physics Extended

David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker

Amazon Price: $130.11 By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 75 new & used starting at $89.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Knowledge Does Not Come Easy 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

It is unfortunate that there exist two groups of people who might read this textbook at some point: Those who enjoy physics and those who need only to pass a physics class (or three) in college. It is easy to appeal to the former, because this book is comprehensive and reads like a novel for the physics-minded. It covers all of the standard topics thoroughly and clearly without getting into overly-specialized topics, hence the title (notice the word 'fundamentals.')

However, sad as it may be, most people are not 'physics-minded.' Even more unfortunate is that almost all criticism will come from disgruntled college students who do not like the textbook because it does not give a fully-worked example for every type of problem ever considered or because they had a hard time in the class. There is a great deeper level of knowledge acquired in finding out for oneself the true nature of a physics concept. The contents of this book allow perfectly for such rewarding study, but let me be clear: YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. An engineering-based physics textbook may give its readers all the material explicitly and easily, and maybe even completely outline how to solve all of the book's problems, but it really doesn't teach anything that pertains to physics as a pure and THEN applied science.

One final note: Some of the problems in this book are very challenging, and are designed to promote thinking beyond the level required from the content of the book's explanations. However, no one expects you to do the 100-or-so problems at the end of every chapter. The first few problems for every subsection are straightforward enough and sufficient to reinforce the concepts of that section. So don't be deterred by the nature of the problems! You could never look at a problem in this book and still get more than from other elementary physics textbooks.

Editorial Review:

No other book on the market today can match the 30-year success of Halliday, Resnick and Walker's Fundamentals of Physics! In a breezy, easy-to-understand style the book offers a solid understanding of fundamental physics concepts, and helps readers apply this conceptual understanding to quantitative problem solving. This book offers a unique combination of authoritative content and stimulating applications.

Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd Edition)

David J. Griffiths

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Outline of E & M 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This book is typical of most E&M text books on a purely theoretical level. They present E&M as a collection of symbols and rules for manipulating them. The development is full of incomplete, unintelligible statements with gaps in between, without any indication that these occur. I find this at best inconsiderate, and at worst nasty and arrogant.

In chapt 1 Griffiths "stumbles" across the problem of integrating over the origin with 1/r^2 in the integrand and then uses this to define the dirac delta function. In chapt 2 the problem of integration with 1/r^2 (and 1/r) is ignored and Gauss' law (divergence theorm) is "derived" by a combination of poor intuition (field lines improperly explained) and half-baked math, finishing with, "Evidently the flux through any surface enclosing the charge is q/eo." No one could possibly "get" this, but they could accept it, depending on their style of learning. "Double Vectors" are introduced later in the book. Wow! Cutting edge science? No, just the old, still very useful, dyadics with a new name.

I am reminded of books on Windows Server. The words are there but somehow they don't make sense. Then you look at the authors who it turns out are in marketing or sales.

To the good, honest, students who genuinely want to understand and learn E&M. Don't be intimidated by the E&M textbooks written for quantum physics (?), or the other reviews. The presentation is incomplete and often unintelligible, and the underlying message of the authors and the reviewers seems to be "I'm smart, and you are dumb if you don't understand this." Somehow struggle through the course knowing that the lack of understanding is not your fault. If after the course by some miracle you are still interested in E&M, teach yourself.

I appreciate that there is a school of thought that doesn't really care where the equations come from or what they mean, that just wants to get E&M out of the way and get on with quantum physics or partial differential equations, ie, learn the language of E&M without the grammar. You will get the words in this book.

A major problem with E&M textbooks is they use vector calculus with total disregard of the content, so that the results don't make sense.

I will try to fill in some of the math gaps. E&M here is the study of continuous charge and current distributions.

Math Prerequisites:
Intuitive notion of continuity, convergence, partial derivatives (lim [f(x+e,y,z)-f(x,y,z)]/e as e-> 0), Definitions of U & E (potential and electric field vector) as volume integrations over charge distributions. A vector is continuous and differentiable if its components are. E&M integrals are improper at 1/r and 1/r^2 when r=0. Because U is an improper integral inside V, you can't assume E = delU. To get this write U and then delU by taking del under the integral sign. This is the same as formula for E. But you have to prove this is OK because normally you can't differentiate under the integral sign if integral is improper.

E&M

U & E due to a volume distribution of piecewise continuous charge rho in the bounded volume V exist at points of V and ARE CONTINUOUS THROUGHOUT SPACE. U is everywhere differentiable and E=delU THROUGHOUT SPACE.

Where U and E are continuous, U has continuous second derivatives (E has continuous first derivatives) and then from the divergence theorem:
del^2U = -4pirho.
del^2U is discontinuous at the boundaries because it has different values on either side.

A lighter requirement for del^2U to exist at an interior point of V is that U be piecewise continuous and satisfy a Hoelder condition (believe me, you don't want to go there).

Similar theorems apply for surface charge.

Model Problem in Electrostatics: Charged conducting sphere of radius a:
a) U=constant 0=a
b) U everywhere continuous
c) first order derivatives everywhere continuous except at r=a where dU/dn+ - dU/dn- = -4pisigma where sigma is surface charge density.
d) rU -> E as r becomes infinite.

c) is from Gauss' theorem and pillbox. I don't get d).

Appendix

Given a vector field with components X,Y,Z and Normal region N:
Divergence Theorem. Assume X,Y,Z and first partial derivatives are contiuous within and on the boundary of N.
Extension: X,Y,Z are continuous in the region R and on its boundary, and R can be broken up into a finite number of regions for which divergence theorem holds, and in each of which X,Y,Z have derivatives which are continuous, the boundary included. This means that as P approaches the boundary from one of the partial regions, each derivative approaches a limit, and that these limits together with the values in the interior form a continuous function. The limits, however, need not be the same as P approaches a common boundary of two partial regions from two sides.

Stokes" Theorem
X,Y,Z and their partial derivatives contiuous in a region of space with S in its interior. The surface S is two-sided, and can be resolved into a finite number of normal surface elements. The functions X,Y,Z are continuous at all points of S, and their partial derivatives are continuous at all points of the normal surface elements into which S is divided. (See above)

References:
Phillips, Vector Analysis, 1933, pg 122 and on.
Kellog, Foundations of Potential Theory, 1929, pg 126 and on.
Kaplan, Advanced Calculus, First Ed 1952. Beautiful, Classic Text. THE book for mathematical background if you want it.

Don't bother trying to learn the proofs in Kellog- they are impossible if you are not a born mathematician. They are not hard, but you have to keep in mind the steps as you go along which is difficult if you can't associate an image with them (remember them, what do you register in your mind if you can't recall the printed image?). Also, the algebra of limits gets monstrous.

With that said, you can forget the above and read an E&M book knowing that it's not you, its the book, and learn the language and hopefully figure out a few problems.

Editorial Review:

Features a clear, accessible treatment of the fundamentals of electromagnetic theory. Its lean and focused approach employs numerous examples and problems. Carefully discusses subtle or difficult points. Contains numerous, relevant problems within the book in addition to end of each chapter problems and answers.

Fundamentals of Physics

David Halliday

Amazon Price: $126.63 By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 84 new & used starting at $82.09

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Caution to fellow students 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Thie DOES NOT include the wileyPLUS online accompaniment. If your professor requires wileyPLUS do not order this unless you intend to order the wileyPLUS seperate.

Editorial Review:

No other book on the market today can match the 30-year success of Halliday, Resnick and Walker's Fundamentals of Physics! In a breezy, easy-to-understand style the book offers a solid understanding of fundamental physics concepts, and helps readers apply this conceptual understanding to quantitative problem solving. This book offers a unique combination of authoritative content and stimulating applications.
* Problem-solving tactics are provided to help the reader solve problems and avoid common errors.
* This new edition features several thousand end of chapter problems that were rewritten to streamline both the presentations and answers.
* Chapter Puzzlers open each chapter with an intriguing application or question that is explained or answered in the chapter.