5 Steps to a 5 AP Physics B & C, 2008-2009 Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations Series) [Paperback]

Greg Jacobs (Author), Joshua Schulman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071497978 | ISBN-13: 978-0071497978 | Publication Date: December 14, 2007 | Edition: 2

A PERFECT PLAN FOR THE PERFECT SCORE

We want you to succeed on your AP* exam. That's why we've created this 5-step plan to help you study more effectively, use your preparation time wisely, and get your best score. This easy-to-follow guide offers you a complete review of your AP course, strategies to give you the edge on test day, and plenty of practice with AP-style test questions. You'll sharpen your subject knowledge, strengthen your thinking skills, and build your test-taking confidence with

• Full-length practice exams modeled on the real test
• All the terms and concepts you need to know to get your best score
• Your choice of three customized study schedules-so you can pick the one that meets your needs

The 5-Step Plan helps you get the most out of your study time:

Step 1: Set Up Your Study Program

Step 2: Determine Your Readiness

Step 3: Develop the Strategies

Step 4: Review the Knowledge

Step 5: Build Your Confidence

*AP, Advanced Placement Program, and College Board are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Greg Jacobs teaches both the B and C levels of AP physics at Woodberry Forest School in central Virginia.

Joshua Schulman earned his Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Princeton and is a student at Harvard Medical School.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (December 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071497978
• ISBN-13: 978-0071497978
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The DAY B4 AP Physics C...., May 10, 2009

By 

Kutang Kim "hyperkkt" (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 5 Steps to a 5 AP Physics B & C, 2008-2009 Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations Series) (Paperback)

Haha... just the day before AP Physics C Exam, I decided to give my brain a little rest from constant E&M preparation and surf the web for a while.
This book, based on my interpretations, lacks depth for AP Physics C.
Just like the Immortalix pointed out in the comments on author's review, there are not a lot of detailed descriptions or even some formulas on the curriculum for Physics C in the book. For instance, book only mentions inductors for a page and nothing more. Also, book doesn't even have a partial derivative (which is fairly simple) to get the electric field. If the difficulty of the AP Physics C question was just plugging the numbers in for the unknown variable, which is difficulty of AP Physics B, it would be fine. However, Physics C is not. I personaly found Princeton Review much better for AP Physics C than McGrawHill because it had lots of examples where you can get the GIST of doing the questions and also know more specific type of things that I must look for when using certain laws. 5 steps to 5 felt too fundamental oriented and lots of time I ended up searching somewhere else for an answer. As a result, McGrawHill book didn't even get a bent mark in the middle (Because I didn't open it enough).
If this book was just for the AP Physics B, hands down this book is better than Princeton Review. I found the explanations and tone of the writings much more friendly and easier to approach to.
However, I would not recommend it to AP Physics C students because you will not get anything out of it. Unless, you have no idea what Physics is about.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good one. Makes physics easy and fun!, February 23, 2009

By 

Roland Soltys "Polish expert" (Poland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 5 Steps to a 5 AP Physics B & C, 2008-2009 Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations Series) (Paperback)

I strongly recommend this book if you want to get ready for AP Physics exam. The only negative side of the book is the low number of practice problems.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Review Book, Lots of Typos, July 1, 2009

By 

John Scott (Houston, Tx) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 5 Steps to a 5 AP Physics B & C, 2008-2009 Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations Series) (Paperback)

The book had easy to understand chapters, difficult/concept-illuminating problems and is a pretty good start in studying for the exam.
However, it also has quite a few typos. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal but a few of the typos were pretty major. Then I kind of wondered if I missed other major typos then perhaps I didn't learn some things very well or wrong. So that's just another thing to think about. Perhaps next years version of this book will eliminate this problem.