Re: 10 yr old

[Michael Bowen <fizzbowen@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 18:56 2001/07/31, you wrote:
> For reasons only the pixies know a friend of mine wants to teach physics to
> a 10 yr old grandson this summer -- Don't laugh; I think that he is
> serious.  Of course he never had a physics class himself -- so he has no
> idea what to teach.  I think that this is an experiment for him to see if
> this can be done -- He is a graduate of Stanford's Ed School.
>
> Can someone please propose a sketch/outline of a syllabus?  Suggest a
> text?  If not for the student, at least for him.

For someone 10 years old, I can think of no better introduction to physics
than the one I got at about the same age by reading lots of the late Isaac
Asimov's works. Even though some of these are dated, I recommend the
following titles for the intelligent lay reader (in no particular order):

*  Realm of Measure (a relatively painless introduction to dimensional
analysis and mechanical cgs units)
*  Asimov's New Guide to Science
*  Asimov on Physics
*  The three-volume Understanding Physics series (which, I understand, is
now available as a single book)

Some of these are out of print, although there should be healthy online
used-book market through which one could obtain these titles. These aren't
texts, but I think they are much more interesting, while still containing
useful background information that would make future study of a
"traditional" text much more meaningful.

--MB