Physics Principles and Problems

I've noticed that the same reviews keep coming up for three different books - so let me say that I'm referring to the 1999 Glencoe Physics book, with the lightning on the cover. It's a very good physics text for the entry level high school student. Many of the negative reviews above were written by students who obviously either slept during class or had a crash-test dummy for a teacher. All physics education researchers will tell you that 'worked example problems' are the worst way to 'attempt' to learn physics. It is the logic behind these problems and the skills acquired from testing and exploring that make one learn physics. This book does a better job than most at explaining these skills. I used to teach out of this book - but now only ask students to use it as an optional reference, because I write my own stuff to use in class. If you are aiming to take the AP, then I would suggest something like College Physics by Serway and Faughn. Otherwise, this is your best bet.

2005 Edition if VERY Different from earlier editions -- reviews that pre-date 2005 are not talking about the current edition of this book--- More than half of the book was rewitten for the 2005 editon, and it now follows the Modeling Instruction in Physics curriculum more closely than any other current textbook. Note: Modeling Instruction in Physics was recognized in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Education as one of two exemplary programs in K-12 Science Education.

This book did a good job describing basic physics in a simple manner. I summarized the topics very well.