Re: AP Physics advice

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV>]

The Mechanical Universe (the edition with Olenick as first author) may be
exactly what you are looking for (omit the chapters on thermodynamics in a
first reading), and work all the problems.  The book is concept-oriented,
woven around a single topic (gravity), literately composed, gently
reviews calculus, and was written to explain the Feynman lectures in
language that students could understand.
When I used this for a text and used old AP exams for finals, the students who
mastered TMU also aced the AP's.

TMU is a great example of less is more.  Although it does not cover
moment-of-inertia, that omission extracted only a small penalty on the AP
scores.
                                Regards,
                                        Jack
On Thu, 4 Jul 2002, Diana Cobbe wrote:

> Thank you for your insights,Rick. I understand your frustration completely
> with teachers wanting to know "the bottom line" on teaching to the test. I
> think there are a lot of pressures on teachers today that were not there
> when I first started teaching 25 years ago. Teaching is not about teaching
> anymore...it's about 'containing' hormone-driven,unmotivated kids in 50
> minute increments...kids who want to be entertained, lack critical thinking
> skills and don't understand the value of hard work. Life is too easy, and
> unfortunately money is the root of all evil and the great distorter of
> kids'values. And now, I will get off my soapbox...
> My son is one of those kids who picks up concepts quickly and is very
> strong in math. He finished the Zitzewitz text this year. I guess I am
> looking for understanding of material vs. just passing the AP. Would this
> be a good scenario for using Sherwood and Chabay? We are not in a time
> crunch here, as he is not yet in high school(but takes several hs classes).
> Would you recommend taking the Physics B and C tests? Any problem with
> that? Do you think it would be realistic to cover the material in one year?
> He may want to work in mathematical physics someday so I am trying to cover
> the right bases for him. Do you think I could cover labs online/with texts.
> ANy recommendations? Thanks.

--
"But as much as I love and respect you, I will beat you and I will kill
you, because that is what I must do.  Tonight it is only you and me, fish.
It is your strength against my intelligence.  It is a veritable potpourri
of metaphor, every nuance of which is fraught with meaning."
                     Greg Nagan from "The Old Man and the Sea" in
                     <The 5-MINUTE ILIAD and Other Classics>