Physics: Probeware Lab Manual: Exploring Physics with PASCO Technology

This is the textbook we use in my HS honors physics class. Obviously, since this is an algebra-based physics book, it should be reviewed as such. For what it does, it's really good. The examples are definitely useful, the fundamental equations and theorems are stated succinctly, and the text is neither terse nor verbose. So it's good in this regard. What I really find valuable, though, is the set of problems given. There are three levels: non-starred, single-starred, and double-starred. The non-starred problem are the ones representative of the tests in the test bank that the teachers use for the test (made by the textbook makers) and really give you a good understanding of the material. The starred and double-starred problems are fun for those who like challenges. If you can get those, you're practically guaranteed an A on any exam your teacher gives you (if he/she uses the included test bank, that is). Anyway, I think the most valuable thing about this book is that it teaches physics as well as problem solving. Sure, some of the exercises are simply "plug 'n chug", but after a course using this book, you should be a lot more adept at mathematical problem solving as well as physics.

It is curious to see how ratings on 'science-text-books' can differ from absolutely devastating reviews to the ones that tend to praise the same book to the skies. Goes to show that learning is a very individual experience subject to substantially different requirements. Therefore it is my practice to buy multiple books on a subject. Preferably all different in approach and level. Nonetheless I scrutinize each book for adequate structure, transparency of approach and use, and overall quality. There simply is no 'one-book' that will cover all requirements and levels of detail. As for me, being Dutch, English is not my native tongue. Also I am very keen on visual presentation of the issues at hand. I basically do not like to read, unless the combination of wit and pictures is continuously stimulating to hold my interest. Having said all that, I love this book on Physics. It covers most topics in a way that will enable anyone really interested in physics to form a substantial body of knowledge. Although on some issues the author(s) cut some really tight math-corners, anticipating the lack of higher-mathematics skills. The ends justify the means, I guess. Structured-ness 90%, Ease of use and transparency 100%, Self explanatory pictures 100%, Completeness of Calculus 80% (book), Website examples on learning how to approach problems 90% (detail overkill for me, might be o.k. for others though). Really an asset to your book cabinet. All to the level of starting a university eduction I would say.

This is an excellent book for a high school level physics course or a less than rigorous Physics I course at the college level. It contains no math beyond algebra/trig. For a more rigorous treatment, the book to get is the Serway/Beichner text.

While struggling with Giancoli's terrible book, I looked for a better textbook online, and found three other candidates. After buying them all and reviewing them, I returned all of them except for this one. This is a great physics textbook for those preparing for the MCAT on their own, or for those in an algebra-based physics class. Compared to Giancoli's text, it is fantastic. Why?1. Plenty of example problems while reading, fully explained in an intelligent and careful manner. Not two or three per chapter, but sometimes ten or more. Again, with exhaustive descriptions.2. Clear, concise text that truly educates you as you read. Not a rehashed summary of familiar concepts, with important "givens" left out. Some text book authors are simply capable of writing text that teaches (Ege is a great example, for Organic Chemistry). Some should not be writing at all. To be good at physics problems, you first have to understand the concepts. Really understand them. This book explains them the way they need to be explained. 3. Excellent diagrams and tables. At first, I thought the ubiquitous graphics were just eye-candy, as they are (as always, refer to the worst example) in Giancoli's book. But every diagram is useful, and clearly explains a concept.4. Student Solutions Manual. The most frustrating thing about physics seems to be the unavailability of solutions manuals to go with textbooks. Why this is so, for a field of study that relies so heavily on detailed explanations of problems, makes no sense to me. For all of the other sciences I've studied for preparation for medical school (including calculus), I've easily been able to get my hands on manuals detailing all problems and their solutions. In the realm of physics, though, there seems to exist an elitist attitude that only instructors should have these 'magic books', from which they will dole out a solution or two to desperate students. How colossaly stupid. This textbook is somewhat subject to this failing, in that the Student Solutions Manual contains answers to "selected" problems (roughly 21% per chapter). However, the fact that it has a solutions manual at all lifts it above the other offerings, especially -- you guessed it -- Giancoli's horrible book, which offers no manual to speak of (the "Study Guide" is a useless piece of garbage with no solved problems; don't buy it). In addition, though the solutions manual lacks all the answers, the ones it does have are well-explained and well-drawn, similar to what's in the text. Hopefully one day a physics textbook author will decide to stop treating students like monkeys and publish a great book that educates via giving as much information as possible, not rationing it. This is surely an antiquated practice whose time should end now.For a fuller understanding of some of the concepts, I also recommend buying a calculus-based text to supplement this one. "Fundamentals of Physics" (same publisher -- Wiley) is a good (and p

While reading Johnson and Cutnell, I felt that they were actually guiding me through beginning physics. There were many, well thought out problems that were challenging, but were also interesting making the concepts easier to grasp. Many of the problems were application based. I know for a fact that Johnson and Cutnell went out of their way, talking to students, teachers, and other specialists; making the book very, very user-friendly.