Re: Creative back-of-the-chapter physics problems

[Tucker Hiatt <hiattu00@USFCA.EDU>]

I found Leigh's recommended Pippard book as "Cavendish Problems in
Classical Physics" selling for $4.00 at http://www.powells.com.  (Note:
Cavendish, not Cambridge.)  By the way, I located this book and the one
described below by using a very sweet price comparison shopping engine at
http://www.bestbookbuys.com.

Another good source of unusual problems is "Thinking Like a Physicist:
Physics Problems for Undergraduates" by N. Thompson (ed.) and the good
people at England's University of Bristol, 1987, ISBN 0-85274-513-3.  It
has a pretty number of questions (137), and, best of all, over two-thirds
of its 145 pages are devoted to solutions.  I could never have afforded
this book without those solutions!

- Tucker

At 3:43 PM -0700 7/6/00, Leigh Palmer wrote:

> I have always lamented the lack of creative, interesting back-of-chapter
> problems in modern textbooks. I treasure a little book I have by Brian
> Pippard. It is a collection of his problems* which have appeared on the
> Physics tripos at Cambridge. I use these problems, usually as lecture
> topics, to spice up my courses. I don't assign them as problems because
> today's students would not work hard enough on them to solve them, given
> other problems on the set which are much more easily done. When I get
> creative on a classroom exam I catch hell from them, but I have used my
> own creative problems on take home exams I've given.
>
> Does anyone wish to share other collections of creative problems?
>
> Leigh
>
> "The Cambridge Problems in Classical Physics", I believe.

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