Physics- Second Edition Description:

Physics, Second Edition review:
3 stars (Didn't think that much of it ) - Of course, that may be because I didn't like the course all that much. I thought that the text was too wordy and did not present concepts well enough. The example problems are good to have and so are the chapter summaries. All in all, I thought the concepts could have been explained much better and with less words.
3 stars (I've neven seen a book used less by students that this book.) - The better book lets you get ahead of the class by simply devoting your time on it, in some cases, you don't even need to attend lecture. This book, doesn't allow you that--your pace is limited to the pace of the class. (Students in my class don't rely on this book--only on the lecture--our prof doesn't even refer to the book!)



The worked out examples are too simple. I know what you're thinking...you just need to synthesize key concepts from simplier problems to solve the complicated ones...but imagine solving complicated assignments and the book doesn't even explain --at all-- how to approach that kind of problem?



The book should deal more with larger number of exercises with varying difficulty.



The book should extend key examples in like "what if scenarios," (i.e. if this variable is missing this is how to approach it; if that is missing, this is how you aproach that . . .)



The publisher should think about cutting more of the introductory section to each chapter and devote that to added worked out problems.



For $150 each, shouldn't the book at least come with a multimedia cd with more worked out problems? Come on!




3 stars (Decent but not great) - I used this book for my first class in college physics. The book is a decent text for learning physics, but I think that several improvements could be made.This book is Volume 1 of a two volume set. It includes topics about kinematics, Newton's Laws, Energy, Waves and Sound, Fluids, and Thermodynamics, among other topics. To tell the truth, I don't really see the point of splitting the book up into two volumes since most people will take both classes anyway.First, the good aspects of the book. This text is intended for an algebra-based (no calculus) college physics course. I does do a good job of limiting the mathematical details and instead presenting the underlying physical concept that is to be understood. There are also numerous illustrated examples and practice problems that are very helpful.Next, the bad aspects of the book. If you are like me and go to a large state university, then it is quite likely that your professor will be a physicist that may be more interested in his or her research than your class. Since real physics majors do not take this class, your professor may not enjoy teaching it. But even if you have the best professor in the world, it is likely that many of the problems in this book are a bit more simplistic than ones that your professor will give on an exam. The book does include simple problems, but does not illustrate how to work out more difficult ones. If you are considering buying the study guide/answer book, don't. It is terrible. It only shows how to do about ten out of the fifty+ questions per chapter. I've had biology answer key books that included more problems.Basically, this book is not bad for the basic principles but not very good for more advanced ones. How well the course goes depends on the instructor. I'd recommend taking physics first in high school if you are planning on taking it in college because this book is intended for one semester and it covers 18 chapters. It wouldn't hurt to have some prior knowledge of the subject.