Get Ready for Physics

by Adelson, Edward

• ISBN13: 9780321556257
• ISBN10: 0321556259
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-22
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Get Ready for Physics helps you quickly prepare for your introductory physics course, whether it's algebra-based or calculus-based. Providing useful tools for future success, this book gives you tips on recognizing your individual learning style and helps you maximize your study time. It also features guided explanations and interactive exercises to help you get up to speed including:

Author Biography

Dr. Adelson received his M. Sc. and Ph. D. degrees at The Ohio State University.  Before concentrating on teaching, Dr. Adelson worked for 13 years in X-ray and neutron diffraction and in X-ray spectroscopy at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

 

After assisting a former Ohio State Physics Department Chair in managing the calculus-based course for science and engineering majors, and similarly assisting a former vice chair in a summer course for teaching assistants on teaching physics, Dr. Adelson taught the Ohio State summer course for many years and still continues as manager of the calculus-based introductory courses. After teaching short summer courses for minority students in the 1980s, he became concerned with the deficits in preparation of all non-traditional students. In 1989, he then started a “Preparation for Physics” course, which is still offered at Ohio State University. 

 

Dr. Adelson has followed the progress of Physics Education Research since its early years. He has co-taught with Alan Van Heuvelen in consultation with Eugenia Etkina, been fortunate in visiting and observing Lillian McDermott’s Physics Education group at the University of Washington, has worked together with Leonard Jossem at Ohio State University, and has attended almost all Physics Education workshops given at American Association of Physics Teachers meetings. He has given many talks documenting the progress of the Preparation for Physics course at AAPT meetings.

Table of Contents

Study Skills: Know Yourself
Why Should I Study Physics?	p. 3
To Thine Own Self Be True: Learning Styles	p. 5
Getting Ready	p. 12
I Hate to Lecture on This, but Can You Hear Me Now?	p. 18
Passing Notes	p. 20
How to Get the Most out of Recitations and Labs	p. 24
Strength in Numbers: The Study Group	p. 37
SQR Huh? How to Read a Physics Textbook	p. 38
A Place to Call My Own: The Study Environment	p. 41
My, How Time Flies!	p. 43
Putting It to the Test	p. 47
Through the Looking Glass: Individual Accountability	p. 52
Using Math: Keep It In Proportion
Do You Still Remember These?	p. 58
Math in Physics	p. 59
Basic Math Operations	p. 60
Scientific Notation	p. 66
Algebra	p. 68
More Complex Operations	p. 71
Graphs	p. 80
Trigonometry	p. 90
Exponents, Logarithms, and Exponentials	p. 100
Transferring Knowledge to New Contexts	p. 107
Physics Concepts, Part I
Kinematics	p. 116
Forces	p. 125
Work and Energy	p. 131
Physics Concepts, Part II
Electricity	p. 144
Magnetism	p. 165
Thermal Physics	p. 167
Oscillations	p. 172
Optics	p. 178
Atomic and Nuclear Physics	p. 182
Solving Problems
Systems, Models, Representations, and Strategies	p. 188
Systems	p. 191
Alternate Model: The Energy Model	p. 197
Momentum: A Conservation Law for the Force Model	p. 201
Sample More Complex Standard Physics Problem	p. 204
Other Forces	p. 207
Estimates	p. 211
Units and Dimensions: Another Way of Checking Answers	p. 220
Answering Conceptual Multiple-Choice Questions	p. 221
Index	p. 229
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.