Fundamentals of Physics Part 5 by David Halliday

I used this book for college physics. What I like more about this particular edition is that every chapter opens with a particular topic of interest and throughout the chapter you learn the tools to solve it. For example, on the chapter dealing with vectors, the opening problem was how an ant, after zig zagging all over can return home in a straight line. You then learn how to work with vectors and somewhere in the chapter you'll learn the answer of how ants do it. This edition also goes beyond your typical college physics topics and dives into astrophysics and quantum physics.

I liked the fact that it covers almost every area of physics I could want to work on, except for quantum mechanics. The coverage of special relativity was light. There was one chapter (out of dozens) where the exercises seemed to be screwed up. The answers in the back of the book sometimes gave just a numerical value, and that was sometimes only given to one or two decimal places.

While there is probably no one text in any scientific discipline that covers all the bases for that branch of science, "Fundamentals of Physics Extended" comes close for the study of physics. Of course is does not go into the depth that a book on fluid dynamics or quantum mechanics would do for their respective disciplines, it does cover pretty much all subject areas well enough to make those more focused texts approachable while maintaining enough depth to be useful as both an undergraduate text and a reference text for professionals.

There are two facets of the book that really stand out in my opinion. First, if you simply open the book to a random page, you will encounter either a blend of textual material, pictures and diagrams, or problems, lots of problems. The instructive portion of the text looks more like a flashy High School physics text book rather than a dry but profound undergraduate text (sort of like comparing Giancoli with an older Sears, Zemansky, and Young text.) Don't let that distract you, the didactic text explanations are well thought out and focused. Additionally, text does assume that you can follow the math behind the physics and ties the theoretical concepts presented in the text with the necessary calculus based mathematics in lots of worked out examples. The concepts are then reinforced with problem for the student to work out, lots of problem that range from the simple to the more complex.

If there is one weakness, it would be the lack of mathematical rigor. As mentioned, it is assumed that can follow and understand the math. As a result, there are few areas were one can find a clear mathematical derivation from basic first principle relation to the more abstract expressions. Consider for example the presentation of the Doppler Effect; we go from a verbal explanation of what is happening physically directly to the equation that you need to know to calculate the Doppler shift for any case (moving or stationary, source or observer). For some subjects, this is fine, but is may require a secondary text if a more robust derivation is required. I suppose that it is assumed that by the time you reach those concepts you should 'see' the derivations as a matter of common sense.(ok, this is the role of the professor ;-)

Considering that the book itself is over 1200 pages in an 8.5 x 11 form factor (w/micro font)plus a number appendices, and has a fairly in depth treatment of modern physics too boot, the lack of mathematical rigor can be overlooked for the undergrad who needs to know how to solve physics problems and is not overly concerned with the finer details of why (which is the purview of the more specialized texts). Is this the standard physics text? Well perhaps not, but it comes close and is well worth the investment as either a reference text or a pedagogical text or both. This text has earned a permanent spot on my shelves.

The required text in my college physics class was extremely unclear, so I asked my professor what his favorite text was. He told me that in over 30 years of teaching physics at college he likes this one and the first edition of this text the best. He calls it the bible of physics, and still turns to it to prepare for lectures. I picked it up here on amazon for $1, and absolutely love it. It is clear, concise, and derives everything. I, and my awesome professor, highly recommend this text as a suppliment to whatever unclear muddled up text your course requires.

This is the textbook for my "physics with calculus" course. It is well written, well illustrated and has lots of depth. It also has lots of very good problems at the end of each chapter. Be aware that there are several versions of this book, all with almost identical covers. Be sure you're buying the right one.

If you are seeking a calculus based physics text, this may be the book for you. The author has a very entertaining way of presenting the material and creating examples. The problems covered in each section are increasingly difficult. So far, I have not been able to work all of the odd numbered problems (answers included) in any of the later chapters of the text, but I still feel that I am mastering the basics of the material. The problems prevent the learner from falling into the typical physics trap of plugging numbers into a formula without any understanding of the material. I am sure that I will be referring to this text frequently in the future.

The treatment is sound, thorough, and clear. I’ve owned the early editions of Halliday and Resnick for years. I’m very happy that I updated my library with this 10th edition. The topics are covered in a very logical order. The study features and worked examples are outstanding. Don’t hesitate to buy this book! Reading it is awesome on the Kindle app on the iPad.