College Physics: A Strategic Approach - Hardcover

Building on the results of an extensive NSF-funded educational research program and detailed input from an unprecedented 4,500 students and 250 instructors, Randy Knight and Addison-Wesley publishedPhysics for Scientists and Engineersin 2003. Already the most widely adopted new physics text published in more than 30 years, this book has attracted widespread critical acclaim. InCollege Physics: A Strategic Approach, Randy Knight is joined by Brian Jones and Stuart Field to carefully apply the best solutions from educational research to the algebra-based introductory physics course.  Built from the ground up on a wealth of research into how readers learn physics and how they can be taught more effectively,College Physicsleads readers to more proficient and long-lasting problem-solving skills, a deeper and better-connected understanding of the concepts, and a broader picture of the relevance of physics to the world around them. Force and Motion: Concepts of Motion and Mathematical Background,  Motion in One Dimension, Vectors and Motion in Two Dimensions,  Forces and Newton's Laws of Motion, Applying Newton's Laws, Circular Motion, Orbits, and Gravity, Rotational Motion, Equilibrium and Elasticity. Conservation Laws: Momentum, Energy and Work, Using Energy. Properties of Matter: Thermal Properties Of Matter, Fluids. Oscillations and Waves: Oscillations, Traveling Waves and Sound, Superposition and Standing Waves. Optics: Wave Optics, Ray Optics, Optical Instruments. Electricity And Magnetism, Electric Forces and Fields, Electrical Potential, Current and Resistance, Circuits, Magnetic Fields and Forces, Electromagnetic Induction and Electromagnetic Waves, AC Circuits. Modern Physics, Relativity, Quantum Physics, Atoms and Molecules,  Nuclear Physics.  For all readers interested in algebra-based college physics.

Randy Knight has taught introductory physics for 25 years at Ohio State Univer­sity and California Polytechnic University, where he is currently Professor of Physics. Randy received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. It was at Ohio State, under the mentorship of Professor Leonard Jossem, that he began to learn about the research in physics education that, many years later, led to Five Easy Lessons: Strate­gies for Successful Physics Teaching, Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strate­gic Approach, and now to this book. Randy’s research interests are in the field of lasers and spectroscopy. When he’s not in the classroom or in front of a computer, you can find Randy hiking, sea kayaking, playing the piano, or spending time with his wife Sally and their seven cats.

 

Brian Jones has won several teaching awards at Colorado State University during his 17 years teaching in the Department of Physics. His teaching focus in recent years has been the College Physics class, including writing problems for the MCAT exam and helping students review for this test. Brian is also Director of the Little Shop of Physics, the Department’s engaging and effective hands-on outreach pro­gram, which has merited coverage in publications ranging from the APS News to People magazine. Brian has been invited to give workshops on techniques of science instruction throughout the United States and internationally, including Belize, Chile, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan and Slovenia. Previously, he taught at Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Mbabane, Swaziland, and Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Brian and his wife Carol have dozens of fruit trees and bushes in their yard, including an apple tree that was propagated from a tree in Isaac Newton’s garden, and they have traveled and camped in most of the United States.

 

Stuart Field has been interested in science and technology his whole life. While in school he built telescopes, electronic circuits, and computers. After attending Stan­ford University, he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, where he studied the properties of materials at ultralow temperatures. After completing a postdoctoral position at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology, he held a faculty position at the University of Michigan. Currently at Colorado State University, Stuart teaches a variety of physics courses, including algebra-based introductory physics, and was an early and enthusiastic adopter of Knight’s Physics for Scientists and Engineers. Stu­art maintains an active research program in the area of superconductivity. His hob­bies include woodworking; enjoying Colorado’s great outdoors; and ice hockey, where he plays goalie for a local team.