I have enjoyed the discussion of alternatives to Halliday. However, I'm
confused by the difference between Serway and Beichner's "Physics for
Scientists and Engineers" and Serway's "Principles of Physics". I got the
impression that the latter had more PER infused into it. Can anybody
provide more information comparing the two? Also, has similar changes
occurred in Serway's algebra-based text? In the same vein, can someone
provide some opinions on the algebra-based texts in general?
Speaking of texts, it seems that physics textbooks undergo a new edition
every three or four years or so. Personally, while I appreciate
improvements in the texts, in most cases I don't think the improvements
are worth the change. For example, when a new edition comes out, students
can no longer sell back used textbooks to the bookstore. Also, I write
study guides for the students and my references to page numbers and such
have to be redone for each new edition.
I'm sorry. I suppose I am just venting. Does anybody else share my
concern? Should I be concerned? Is there a textbook that
DOESN'T get revised every few years? Is there a solution?
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| Robert Cohen Department of Physics |
| East Stroudsburg University |
| bbq@esu.edu East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 |
| http://www.esu.edu/~bbq/ (570) 422-3428 |
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