Head First Physics

A learner's companion to mechanics and practical physics (AP Physics B - Advanced Placement)

By Heather Lang
September 2008
Pages: 940
Series: Head First
ISBN 10: 0-596-10237-2 | ISBN 13: 9780596102371
Press Release
(3) (Average of 2 Customer Reviews)

Description

Do most physics books make your eyes glaze over quickly? Get ready for Head First Physics. This book takes the stress out of learning mechanics and practical physics by providing an engaging experience, especially for students who "just don't get it." Full of visuals and activities, this fun, engaging, and inspirational book brings physics to life through real-world scenarios, simple experiments, and hypothetical projects. You'll quickly discover that physics isn't a dry subject after all.
Full Description

Wouldn't it be great if there were a physics book that showed you how things work instead of telling you how? Finally, with Head First Physics, there is. This comprehensive book takes the stress out of learning mechanics and practical physics by providing a fun and engaging experience, especially for students who "just don't get it."

Head First Physics offers a format that's rich in visuals and full of activities, including pictures, illustrations, puzzles, stories, and quizzes -- a mixed-media style proven to stimulate learning and retention. One look will convince you: This isn't mere theory, this is physics brought to life through real-world scenarios, simple experiments, and hypothetical projects. Head First Physics is perfect for anyone who's intrigued by how things work in the natural world.

You'll quickly discover that physics isn't a dry subject. It's all about the world we live in, encompassing everything from falling objects and speeding cars, to conservation of energy and gravity and weightlessness, and orbital behavior. This book:

Helps you think like a physicist so you can understand why things really work the way they do
Gives you relevant examples so you can fully grasp the principles before moving on to more complex concepts
Designed to be used as a supplement study guide for the College Board's Advanced Placement Physics B Exam
Introduces principles for the purpose of solving real-world problems, not memorization
Teaches you how to measure, observe, calculate -- and yes -- how to do the math
Covers scientific notation, SI units, vectors, motion, momentum conservation, Newton's Laws, energy conservation, weight and mass, gravitation and orbits, circular motion and simple harmonic motion, and much more

If "Myth Busters" and other TV programs make you curious about our physical world -- or if you're a student forced to take a physics course -- now you can pursue the subject without the dread of boredom or the fear that it will be over your head. Head First Physics comes to rescue with an innovative, engaging, and inspirational way to learn physics!

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Successive refinement = part of thinking like a physicist., January 01 2009
Submitted by Heather Lang |

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Thanks for the review. I think my main response would be to agree that the book won't "make you a physicist", as that isn't the book's intention - it's not an advanced tome.

As you rightly say, "successive refinement is a good thing for people to learn". The book's about learning to "think like a physicist" (page 3 :-) - with the idea that the style of thinking will help people pass physics - and also help with problem solving in real world situations. (Of course, physicists do not have a monopoly on this problem solving / thinking style, but in this book it's being applied to physics.)

In response to the specific criticisms:

* I hope that the kilograms-force issue is dealt with in chapter 11, pages 438-446, and throughout the rest of the book, especially chapter 17 (e.g. pages 664-672).

The order of introducing momentum first (chapter 10), then writing Newton's 2nd Law as Fnet = delta(mv)/delta(t) was very deliberate. First of all because it allows a learner to see and work out the connections between momentum, force and impulse, without doing the typical "student memorisation" thing of treating them as three separate, unrelated equations to be stabbed at. And secondly, because it avoids writing down "F = ma" with no context, which I think is the main source of the "kilograms-force" sloppy thinking you mention.

I would hope that the memory of working on the phoney "weight loss" machine in chapter 11, plus the reinforcement of mass vs weight vs force when designing the space station in chapter 17, would prevent a learner from making this kind of error.

* I agree that mentioning guard digits would have been nice. Practically speaking, with a book of finite size, it was difficult to decide what to include in depth, what to mention in passing and what to leave out.

For guidance, I used the AP student performance reviews (which include typical student errors on actual exam questions) and AP scoring guidelines. The scoring guidelines say: "Numerical answers that differ from the published answer due to differences in rounding throughout the question typically receive full credit." Guard digits were never mentioned as typical errors in the student performance reviews - though items such as too many significant digits, units mistakes and algebra mistakes made regular appearances year after year, which is why these topics received proportionally more time than they would in a typical physics book.

* I'd hope that the memory of trying to extrapolate the curved graph on pages 219-221, and discovering that this doesn't work, then extensive exposure to displacement-time graphs for objects with constant acceleration, would make someone think twice before assuming that everything would be a straight line graph. I agree that looking for changes in behaviour or boundary conditions is a useful skill - and one that could be covered when doing something like charging a capacitor. I can just see Frank now, encouraging the learner to extrapolate that graph, with a "do you think this is sensible" component to the question, and a girl in denim when you turn the page, having worked out that it doesn't make sense to do it that way.

* Sorry about the typos - these should be fixed in a reprint.

Oh, and the cannon-firing hazard is (maybe) the reason that stickmen are the stars in that chapter. :-)

Good, but will not make a you physicist, December 31 2008

Rating:

Submitted by Edmonton Linux Users Group [Respond | View]

All of the Head First series are written in a new style, which is supposed to be more effective at teaching. There are many different kinds of things going on in the book, and for the most part the mix seems to work well.

I think this book provides a good background on physics, but it isn't going to make a physicist out of you. If we are lucky, maybe readers of this book will be better drivers on icy roads, as they will better appreciate how momentum works.

Successive refinement of models is a good thing for people to learn. Throwing in a little fluid mechanics was nice to see. Good assortment of demonstration problems.

Criticism:

* I think people who read this book will have a tendency to fall into the "kilograms-force" type of sloppy thinking.
* Significant digits is a good thing to learn, it might be nice to talk about guard digits in calculations.
* A person might get the idea that extrapolating of straight lines is okay. This would require discussing how to look for possible changes in behavior.
* There are a few inconsistencies, which are likely just typographical errors. For instance, while they discussed significant zeros in a number, at another place they say that "20" (without the explicit decimal) has 2 significant digits.

Ummm, there is a slight hazard involved in firing cannons at an angle that is depressed from the horizon. :-) But, that is probably more of an engineering problem.

http://elug.ca/reviews/head_first_physics.shtml (http://elug.ca/reviews/head_first_physics.shtml)

Resolution vs accuracy is covered in chapter 4, December 13 2008
Submitted by Heather Lang |

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Just a note to say that resolution (or precision as it is often known) vs accuracy is discussed in chapter 4, pages 112-113. It was originally slated to be in chapter 2, but would have been "just in case" at that point - not related to the scenario and tacked on, so not particularly memorable. In chapter 4 the topic is introduced "just in time" - it's something that's crucial at that point because you've just done an experiment and "keep on getting a different answer".

And as you say, elsewhere in chapter 4 (and in several other chapters) the scientific method of "hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion" is put into practise without these commonly-used headings being stated for the stages.

With hindsight, a brief summary of these headings would be useful, as you say. Though I'd hope that by the time the learner has reached the end of the book they'll have absorbed the process through doing it a few times, and would be able to say "guess, experiment, graph, equation" instead, which is roughly equivalent.

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I recommend this book to any physics student, December 02 2008

Rating:

Submitted by Anonymous Reader [Respond | View]

My introduction to physics occurred a long time ago. At that time, I had decided I wanted to be an engineer. I didn't really know what an engineer did, but I knew I wanted to be one.

I also knew that physics was a requirement for engineers. For me (looking back), physics was knowledge necessary to reach my end goal, plus I was fascinated with the subject.

That may not be the case for all students. For those students with a need for an introductory level of physics knowledge, the Head First Physics book will be a helpful supplement to any text associated with a formal course in physics, which can be initially intimidating--there are so many topics to cover. There is an interesting graphic on page 2 of the Head First Physics book that list over 60 topics. That graphic also appears on page 861--at the end of the book--and elsewhere throughout the book.

Most of the topics listed in that graphic are discussed in the Head First Physics book, in a way that is informal and non-threatening. To use the author's (and publisher's) words, the book is written in a "conversational style" and uses "multiple learning styles." This approach is effective, in my opinion, provided that the student recognizes that the book should be used as a supplement, as mentioned above.

I have two minor criticisms of this book. First, in Chapter 2, Units and Measurements, the author provides a useful discussion of significant digits and rounding for measurements. What is missing, in my opinion, is a least an introductory discussion of resolution versus accuracy.

Second, there is a discussion of experimentation in Chapter 5. However, what is missing, again in my opinion, is at least an introductory discussion of the scientific method: hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion, new hypothesis, etc. The book is, after all, a science text.

Despite those criticisms, I recommend this book to any physics student.

Media reviews
"As with any good teacher, this O’Reilly series attacks the material from a variety of angles. If you know it, or you’re a quick learner, you can breeze right through. If you’re like me, they try everything possible to make things comprehensible."
-- Dana Blankenhorn, Dana Blankenhorn & Paula Rooney, ZDNet.com

"Head First Physics is an excellent book within its scope--doing well on AP Physics Mechanics and solving mechanics problem sets both graphically and with a minimal of calculations."
-- Ira Laefsky, Amazon.com

"With memorable examples and various innovations of the Head First series on full exhibition, the book is one of the must reads taking away from drab text-books and learning by memory approaches to learning physics."
-- Ganadeva Bandyopadhyay, Desicritics.org

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