College Physics

Reviewed by Kriton Papavasiliou, Instructor, Virginia Tech on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5

It is hard to find topics that should be included in an introductory text such as this one that have been left out. All the standard topics are there as well as additional material not found in most introductory physics books. I especially like the brief biographical notes and references to application in fields such as chemistry and biology.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

No major errors or author bias are apparent with a quick first reading.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Most introductory physics courses do not cover topics that require up to date information on the progress of physics. Still this book includes topics such as nuclear and particle physics along with topics such as dark matter, general relativity and nonlinear dynamics. One can hope that students may find them interesting and explore them outside of their usual course work.

Clarity rating: 5

Excellent! Patiently worked examples with ample explanation of each step. Simple figures that remain to the point and do not try to be unnecessarily fancy distracting the students' attention from the problem.

Consistency rating: 4

There seems to be coherence between any two chapters. I could not detect any problems with consistency.

Modularity rating: 5

Again no problems here. The sections are of proper length and although there is a good amount of explanation and examples, it does not get irrelevant and tedious.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

This is probably the only objection I have with this book. First I believe some more treatment of vectors is necessary. Perhaps even an entire chapter on vectors would be a good idea. I also do not like the fact that the topic of gravity does not have its own chapter. Oscillations and simple harmonic motion should, in my opinion, also be moved a bit earlier in the book. These statements simply refer to my personal preference and I do not want to pretend that this is the absolutely best way to organize the material.

Interface rating: 5

I saw no problems of this nature. I commented earlier on the simplicity of the presentation and the figures, the lack of which I believe is a major flaw of most introductory physics books today.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors as far as I could tell.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This being a physics book makes this question rather irrelevant. Still I found no problematic points.

Generally a very good book with simple figures, a multitude of worked examples with all the steps shown, good check points for the students to consider, and a good variety of well chosen problems at the end of each chapter. The selection of topics is excellent. I would prefer a slightly different organization of the material, especially for the first half of the book, with more emphasis on vectors.