Customer Reviews

Barron's AP Physics B

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I am a teacher of AP Physics B. I had my entire class purchase this for review preparation. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with mistakes--multiple-choice questions that have no correct answer, solutions done wrong, calculation mistakes, even questions that have two correct answers. This continually undermines the confidence of my students. I am having to check through every problem and example in the book. I don't know if the author or the publisher, or both, forgot to do any proofreading of the text, or if they were just plain lazy and sloppy with their work. Oh, did I mention the haphazard use of significant figures? ...like the question that gives data to one significant figure, but the answer is given to four significant figures. Go figure! I have used Barrons study guides for other courses in the past, and have been satisfied, but this has been a horrible experience. If someone knows of a truly good study guide for this material, please post it here.

This is the worst AP review book on the planet, if you want to fail your final exam or get a 1 on the AP exam, get this book. It has numerous mistakes, it is the absolute worst review book FOR PHYSICS. I don't know how Barron's does on other AP exams, but for Physics, it sucks. NO help at all, I wish I had not written on the practice test or I would return it.

This book is disastrous. It lacks any sort of editing and about 10 questions on the DIAGNOSTIC test have incorrect answers and/or have explanations that were probably mixed up with some other test. Look, do not buy this book or anything written by Jonathan S. Wolf. They just plain suck. If you want to waste your time with questions that are nothing like the AP, then please, by all means buy this book. Otherwise, spend your time and money on something better like the loads-better Princeton Review version.

This is the worst AP review book I have ever used. First of all, it seems like it has not been edited even once, as it is simply full of mistakes. Secondly, it even teaches a concept wrong. If you know physics, CollegeBoard says that the work done by a gas in a PV diagram, which is the area under the curve, is negative if the arrow is going left to right. Barron's teaches you the opposite. Also, I feel that it does not teach concepts well either. In my opinion, the Princeton Review guide does a much better, though not perfect, job of explaining the important concepts. This book for some reason also decides to include angular momentum, which is not required as stated on the CollegeBoard guidelines for the Physics B AP test. That chapter is a waste of time and has no reason to be in the book. Do not buy this book at all. It will not help you.

This book is good for the AP test, but if you are like most of us who use it as a study guide to supplement our textbooks, this book may not do the job. It is not detailed enough for class purposes.

Also, I don't know why they put problems you can't possibly do without a calculator for some multiple choice questions. They label those problems as possibly harder than real AP questions, but what's the point when there won't be any like it on there? I guess it's only good for midterm/final practice for you course.

Overall it's pretty good for a quick review before the AP or your midterm/final. I saw problems very similar to the ones in this book on mine.