Re: Physics Textbook

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

        Well, I think that PSSC physics is too narrow.  It is a fine
introduction to mechanics, etc., but I think a broader, readable text that
gives a semi-quantitative overview of physics is needed to give students a
context in which to understand the grimier details.  I have had students
who had no picture of the solar system, stars and galaxies.
        Hewitt is popular with many high school teachers, but even his
book is IMO too narrow for a first course.
                                Regards,
                                        Jack

Adam was by constitution and proclivity a scientist; I was the same, and
we loved to call ourselves by that great name...Our first memorable
scientific discovery was the law that water and like fluids run downhill,
not up.
                          Mark Twain, <Extract from Eve's Autobiography>

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, SSHS KPHOX wrote:

> PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu writes:
> > We will be adopting new physics textbooks next spring.  Any suggestions
> > for
> > an algebra/trig based introductory physics class?  The course is typically
> > taken by juniors and seniors.  Marie
>
> I still want to recommend the PSSC text. It suits my philosophy and style
> wonderfully! Its labs are the best I know for guided inquiry. But the
> final answer must depend on the goals of the course and the instructor's
> comfort.
>
> Regretably, I find that few students really read the text unless forced to
> do so. They will use the assigned problems and then scan back through the
> text looking for the equation..
>
> Not too long ago the AAPT did a HS textbook review that I thought was
> quite fair. I hope someone can help direct to the proper edition of TPT. I
> cannot.
>
> Ken Fox
> AP/IB Physics Teacher
> Smoky Hill High School
> Aurora, CO