Customer Reviews

Essential University Physics Volume 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I took summer courses in introductory physics over the summer, and the two volumes of this book were the prescribed textbooks. Never have I found it as easy to learn material from a textbook as with these two books. Most everything is explained in a clear manner (even if some figures are a little confusing), and mathematical justification is given for most of the claims in the book. It's also good about making sure you get the right idea of what's being learned right off the bat, introducing vectors and light calculus usage early. Honestly, I think these books even helped my understanding of Calculus grow, and I've already taken several upper division math courses. I would highly recommend these volumes (or, if they ever come together in one book, that) to anyone looking to learn introductory physics.

some odd 25 years ago i took an undergraduate course in physics based on the 3 volumes of Alonso-Finn "Fundamental university physics".

Keen to brush up on my rusty knowledge of classical physics i've been browsing the market searching for a present-day introductory university course on physics. This book more than fulfilled my expectations.

It's comprehensive, concise, well-structured, a joy to read, and above all, from an educational point of view, the best book on physics i've ever read. It's so easy as a student to get the wrong conceptions in your head, and once they're there, they usually stay there for a very long time. Richard Wolfson brilliantly avoids this pitfall - he knows exactly where students are likely to misinterpret certain equations or ideas in physics, and he does a splendid job making sure the students get all "the big ideas" right from the start.

I would not only recommend this book to students of physics, but to everyone interested in the most beautiful of all sciences. If only there were more educators the likes of R. Wolfson.

This book is great. Its simple and very useful. It is easy to read and follow so you won't have a problem understanding many of the concepts. The only downside of the book is that many of the answers in the back of the book are wrong so be careful and use common sense when looking up the answers in the back

This books seems easy and simple enough to understand, but I think it lacks depth. Which, is probably what makes it so simple. I feel there are some things that it could explain a little better though, in reading. Especially for a user who has no physics and a weak math background (which is pretty much why we're taking this course, yes?).

I am very pleased with the approach Dr. Wolfson takes in presenting basic physics. I have found his approach to Newtonian Mechanics to be enlightening especially in his presentation of mechanical energy and other basic "laws of the universe". If you are looking for a good foundation in physics with a mathematical (yet quite understandable) approach, look no further. This book has great explanations of concepts using great problems. The exercises are great for clarifying one's understanding and expanding one's understanding of the application of the ideas.

This book does a poor job teaching concepts and spends more time going through derivations and integration of equations than explaining what the equations really mean. I have actually been using another book by Randall Knight to learn the material since it does a far better job and using this book only to do the assigned homework problems. It also doesn't help that I have the worst professor I have ever had in the 4 schools, 3 degrees and 8.5 years of higher education. This book would be better if a quality professor can help to make sense of it.

This would be a good book for a high-school introductory physics class. However, if you are using this book for a more in depth, college class, than you are royally screwed. The book is very elementary and does not go over concepts very well. In addition, physics is heavily math based, and there is very little explanation of the math involved in this book. Not recommended for physics majors.

The book came within a couple of days (earlier than I had expected), in the used condition that was described.

Horrible book. Very boring to read, they just do derivations of equations most of the time instead of actually explaining the concepts. So if you have conceptual questions for your exams, the book's pretty much a waste. You are better off reading online notes than this book. Don't buy it unless your professor does problems from the book.

I have nothing but hatred for this poorly constructed book. I am a second year EE student with some prior Physics experience. This book has brought me nothing but frustration. Easy concepts are explained in detail, while advanced concepts get a short blurb. The information is poorly organized and structured and often takes other sources to understand the concept fully. I also found an error in Chapter 2 in one of the derivations of the equations. Though insignificant, it begs the question, what else was overlooked? In addition our professor has opted to use the "Mastering Physics" online tool as a daily homework assignment. This review will not delve into the infinite obscenities reserved for that component, as it is not part of the book as a reference, but let it be noted that it does nothing to save this book from the feelings I have already. If it's possible to avoid this book, I advise one to do so.