after giancoli physics what other books can i try?

nobelium102

so...i have just finished my giancoli physics and i want to do more physics during summer
any recomendation?
Mind you that i have only done grade 12 advanced functions so if you want to recommend any math text books as well it will help me alot

brocks

We'll be glad to help, but you haven't been clear on where you are. Which Giancoli did you read, the algebra version, or the calculus version? And what math have you taken? "Advanced functions" could be anything. Try relating your level to something used outside of your high school, like Calculus AB.

But to save some time, if you haven't taken calculus, then that's your next step (or precalculus first, if you need it), and then you can read a calculus-based physics text. Calculus will allow you to actually derive physical principles, rather than just memorize them.

If you already know calculus, and you have finished Giancoli's calculus-based text, then you have several options. You should look at the websites of the physics departments of colleges you are interested in, and see what texts they use for second year students, but popular texts for the next level up in mechanics are Kleppner or John Taylor, and for E&M is Purcell (Berkeley Course Vol 2).

jtbell

Another common second-year course for students who have finished a calculus-based intro physics sequence is an "Introduction to Modern Physics" course, using something like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Physics...9475679&sr=1-1

nobelium102

oh my bad
its Giancoli Physics 5th edition (inside cover says principles with applications) with a skier on the cover

Thanks for the reply

jtbell

That's the algebra-based Giancoli book. The calculus based one is "Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics".

So it looks like your next step is to learn some calculus.

bcrowell

Giancoli is mostly a crappy plug-in book that teaches formulas rather than concepts, so I guess now the healing can begin :-)

Kleppner and Purcell are very good books for students who have extremely strong mathematical preparation, but it sounds like Nobelium doesn't know calculus, so I think that's a bad match.

Nobelium, if you're interested in learning some relativity, some books I like are (from easiest to hardest):
Takeuchi, An Illustrated Guide to Relativity
Mermin, It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity
Taylor and Wheeler, Spacetime Physics
The nice thing about relativity is that it can be understood with a minimum of math. Takeuchi and Mermin barely even use basic algebra.

If you can learn some calculus, you will have a much larger selection of higher-quality physics books you can use. Rather than wading through a 1000-page doorstop of a calc book, I'd recommend Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus Thompson.

nobelium102

ah gee thank you guys