Customer Reviews

Princeton Problems in Physics with Solutions

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a must for anyone preparting for their Physics Candidacy exam. The advanced graduate students traditionally pass this book down to the incoming graduate students. Nice challenging probelms with clear solutions. Good luck studying for the exams!

Thousands of physics graduate students can't be wrong. The problems in this book may be very challenging, but they include fully worked solutions. The topics cover a very broad range of physics, though the emphasis is on selection of interesting questions rather than comprehensive coverage.

While I am fascinated with this book, and believe that it is well worth the money it costs, I am very disappointed with the editing.

Just reviewing the "Problem 1.3," being the 3rd problem in this book, in the solution which begins on page 79 and continues to page 80, there is an error where it states:

"One way to remember this is to recall that the meter was first defined as one ten-thousandth the distance from the North Pole to the equator."

Unfortunately it is quite obvious that the distance from the North Pole to the equator could not possible be 10,000 meters, or 100 football fields.

Why can't the simplest of historical reference to distance be correctly listed?

In a field where measurements are so vital, how can such a basic bit of information escape the editor?

How should I proceed from here?

What other information in this book might possible be egregious and ultimately misinform me?

I got this book so that I could do problems and sharpen my skills.

I just did some of the problems in this book, starting with number 1, the first question is "how would you throw the ball to attain the following motion". I answered the question "you throw it forward but with a counterclockwise spin".

I then looked at the solution, it derived velocity =.4 radius * angular velocity. While that is a true relationship, the question did not ask me to derive that relationship. Furthermore, that doesn't really seem to answer the original question, the angular velocity is however I spin the ball. The tangental velocity of that spin will obviously depend on that angular velocity which I threw the ball at.

These questions seem very vague, and the solutions seem to have really read into the question that was actually being asked. This doesn't seem like the right book for me. I want a book that asks "calculate the velocity:angular velocity ratio of the ball" as opposed to "how are you going to throw it". I'll probably be selling this book soon.

I seriously recommend looking at GRE practice exams or other sources before picking up this book. Rating: 2.5 stars

This is a good book, which contains difficult and important problems in each part of physics. Problems are quite hard. One should attempt these problems after having a clear understanding of the subject matter. Don't look at the solutions first. Spend sometimes first solving the problem. Each problem is a collection of several short problems which are really important.
I strongly recommend this to anyone who is Preparing for Qualifier exam.