3 Review(s)

This second edition of Physics reflects the many helpful responses and suggestions from reviewers and users of the first edition. Like the first edition it is a textbook for the standard two-semester or three-semester elementary physics course for engineering and science majors. It is assumed that the students have taken calculus or are concurrently taking it. In the second edition the order of topics has been changed to correspond more closely to the structure of most courses in elementary physics. In particular two chapters on mechanical waves and sound (Chapters 14 and IS) now come right after mechanics so they can be taught in the first semester; and electricity and magnetism is now discussed before optics. The overall organization is now mechanics (Chapters 1-13) mechanical waves and sound (Chapters 14 and 15) thermodynamics (Chapters 16-19) electricity and magnetism (Chapters 20-31) optics (Chapters 32-34) and modem physics (Chapters 35-37). For those who prefer (as I do) to teach all waves together Chapters 14 153233 and 34 can be taught easily as a unit either before or after electricity and magnetism. Many chapters particularly in the mechanics portion of the book have been rewritten reordered and combined for greater clarity and ease in reading and teaching.