Difference between revisions of "Physics books"

(Advanced Textbooks (with calculus, useful for USAPhO, IPhO, and advanced study))
(Introductory Textbooks)
Line 16: Line 16:
 
* [http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Scientists-Engineers-Standard-Version/dp/0716783398/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5/103-7161656-8805468?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191019209&sr=8-5 Physics for Scientists and Engineers] by Paul A. Tipler and Gene Mosca
 
* [http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Scientists-Engineers-Standard-Version/dp/0716783398/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5/103-7161656-8805468?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191019209&sr=8-5 Physics for Scientists and Engineers] by Paul A. Tipler and Gene Mosca
  
 +
=== Studying for the F=ma Exam ===
 +
The F=ma exam is the first round selection exam for the US Physics team, which selects five travelers to compete in the International Physics Olympiad.
 +
 +
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=conceptual+physics&ref=nb_sb_noss Conceptual Physics] by Paul Hewitt. This book is a basic introduction to physics.
 +
* [https://smile.amazon.com/Thinking-Physics-Understandable-Practical-Reality/dp/0935218084/] by Lewis Carroll Epstein. This book contains hundreds of conceptual problems. Only some of the problems focus on mechanics.
 +
* [https://smile.amazon.com/Problems-Solutions-Introductory-Mechanics-David/dp/1482086921/] by David Morin. This is the single most-important book for F=ma training. A few of the problems require calculus (which the F=ma exam does not), but anyone who works through this entire book should be well-prepared for the test.
  
 
=== Advanced Textbooks (with calculus, useful for USAPhO, IPhO, and advanced study) ===
 
=== Advanced Textbooks (with calculus, useful for USAPhO, IPhO, and advanced study) ===

Revision as of 20:07, 30 July 2019

These Physics books are recommended by Art of Problem Solving administrators and members of the <url>index.php AoPS-MathLinks Community</url>.

Before adding any books to this page, please review the AoPSWiki:Linking books page.


Books by subject

Astrophysics and Cosmology

Chaos Theory

Introductory Textbooks

Studying for the F=ma Exam

The F=ma exam is the first round selection exam for the US Physics team, which selects five travelers to compete in the International Physics Olympiad.

  • Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt. This book is a basic introduction to physics.
  • [1] by Lewis Carroll Epstein. This book contains hundreds of conceptual problems. Only some of the problems focus on mechanics.
  • [2] by David Morin. This is the single most-important book for F=ma training. A few of the problems require calculus (which the F=ma exam does not), but anyone who works through this entire book should be well-prepared for the test.

Advanced Textbooks (with calculus, useful for USAPhO, IPhO, and advanced study)


Note: There are two introductory physics texts by Halliday and Resnick. This happened because after their first textbook had existed for a decade, some colleges began asking for an easier version.

  • Physics* by Resnick, Halliday, and Krane is in its 5th edition (published 2002). This book is often called "HRK". It is the recommended book for Olympiad preparation. The current editor is Paul Stanley, former academic director of the US Physics team. This edition has many challenging problems in it.
  • Fundamentals of Physics* by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker is in its 10th edition (published 2013). This edition describes the basic physics of the same topics as HRK. However, it goes into less detail, omits some of the interesting calculations, and has fewer challenging problems. Although this is a good book, it is not written to train students to the same level of problem-solving ability as HRK. So HRK is recommended for those interested in improving their problem-solving ability to the level of the USAPhO or similar olympiad physics competitions.

Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Particle Physics

Books of Problems

General interest

See Also