231 of 234 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An useful introduction to physics, January 22, 2004
This review is from: Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides) (Paperback)
rating 4.5;
Dr Kuhn has made a somewhat different approach to the usual methods of teaching physics
1) Mathematically (formulas!)
2) Conceptually (no mathematics, just ideas, more like 'popular science')
Instead he has sought a pedagogically stronger middle ground (balancing act) between these two methods that don't always compliment each other: especially in the minds of those who can't do mathematics very well but commmunicate well, or do mathematics very well and not the communicating thing very well. This means he has effectively made physics more accessible and more applicable (by including optional mathematical treatments of some topics). SO you can learn the concepts and then move on to the introductory mathematics of these concepts.
Lets face it: the push with physics now, so it seems, is concept mastery before mathematical treatment (anybody can learn some equations, plug the numbers in and turn the handle...it's knowing what they meant that's far more important). Dr Kuhn does a good job of this. His language, style and setting are conducive to reading and gaining the concepts in a fairly standard progression (this can be seen in the table of contents). The level here is for the 10-11 grade student or somebody who has never seen physics before. This book will not make passing those university physics courses overly likely. But it will get you on the right track so you can confront the books that those courses require you to read (and work with mathematically). Dr Kuhn uses the tool of a small 'section' quiz - three, four five questions at the end of each section (very short!) to reinforce the point of that section. His presentation of material in small 'bite-sized' pieces is also good, as is the profusion of diagrams (albeit black and white, line diagrams for the most part).
I admire the Dr Kuhn has made 'real', formalized physics (rather than just pop science) more approachable, applicable and this can't be bad. Maybe it will take some of the tarnish of the bad name physics has as 'the geek science'. And yes, the book is mostly metric!
One annoyance (hence the loss of 0.5 stars): the answers are right after the questions so it' easy for the student to 'accidentally' catch a peak. Maybe next edition put them at the end of the chapter or in an appendix.
Another book that could be used to compliment (or follow on from) Dr Kuhn's book, having a higher level and depth and more mathematics, is Physics (Palgrave Foundations)by Jim Breithaupt (isbn: 1403900558). It is geared more toward the final year high school student/1st year university student. Followed by Physics by Hecht (isbn: 0534339859) if you want a serious physics books (and weighty one too!)
So in all, this book is a very good starting point for physics! It doesn't promise more than an introduction to the topic, but at least it will present you with enough concepts so you can move onwards and upwards through the subject (of course, with the comensurate rise in mathematics and the ability to do it). I think if I was facing learning physics from scratch (thank god I'm not -> I have an engineering degree), this is the book I would like to try with. I think it would make that both enjoyable and rewarding because making learning progress and gaining conceptual understanding is a major theme of this book.
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57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Start, March 11, 2002
This review is from: Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides) (Paperback)
This book is a great place to start for anyone wanting to learn the basics of Newtonian physics. I decided to read this book in preparation for my high school's Physics AP class that I'll be taking next year. Comparing this book to an outline of the course, I found that the book covers more topics than the class, but in less detail. Like I said, it's great for the basics, but that's about it. The approach is rather non-mathematical, but very clear and easy to understand. Kuhn has done a great job of making basic physics understandable. This book, in conjunction with a study text, such as Schaum's Beginning Physics I or a textbook, would be an ideal way to learn physics on your own.
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77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Good, September 19, 2002
This review is from: Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides) (Paperback)
Should bring you up to Grade 12 level in Physics or serve as a good primer for those middle age lovers of science whose occupations never test our knowledge of physics, but nonetheless who feel the need for a physics "fix" later in life.
This book is so good that I never have to ask my wife (an Engineer) for help. In that sense it is good for family relations as well.
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