Find Physics Textbooks for High-School Olympiad Preparation on Amazon

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A high school student in Romania is seeking recommendations for physics textbooks to prepare for regional and national olympics, focusing on topics like alternating current, optics (wave part), and relativity. They are considering the Demystified series but are open to other suggestions due to mixed reviews. Introductory university-level textbooks such as "University Physics" and "Fundamentals of Physics" are suggested, along with "Feynman's Lectures on Physics." Emphasis is placed on the importance of problem-solving skills, as these techniques are often not covered in textbooks. Recommendations include "Problems in General Physics" by I.E. Irodov for its challenging content and various contest papers available online. Advanced options like "A Guide to Physics Problems" and the "Problems and Solutions on Physics" series by Lim are also mentioned. It is noted that while these resources are valuable, they may not cover all required topics comprehensively.
hcm90
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Hi!
I'm in the final year of high-school in Romania and I am looking for some physics textbooks, for my training for the regional/national olympics, I have to prepare alternating current, optics (wave part) and relativity. I want to buy the books from Amazon. I am thinking about Demystified series, but the reviews from Amazon aren't to good, so I am open at any proposal!
 
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I don't know how far you want to learn and what kind of book you are looking for (e.g. textbook or physics problem book), but I think some introductory university-level physics textbooks, such as University Physics, Fundamental of Physics, might be helpful. Also, Feymann's Lectures on Physics is a very good one, but I'm not sure if you might need that for training.
However, to prepare for competition, you should concern more about solving problems. The solving techniques, most of the time, cannot be learned from textbooks. You should ask your teachers for advice :smile:
 
I need a physics problem book, especially solved problems.
I need for these topics:
-relativity (only restricted part)-lorentz transformations and consequences
-electromagnetic oscillations, Oscillating circuit
-wave optics: interference, diffraction, dispersion, polarization
-quatum mechanics: photoelectric effect
and about my teacher, she is retiring in November (2 months faster than the competitions), and the new teacher isn't so good, so I need the books to improve my techniques after my current teachers retirees.
 
I would strongly recommend you "Problems in General Physics" by I.E.Irodov, it's a little more difficult than introductory level, but not too hard. Some contest papers available on the internet, such as IPhO, USAPhO, might be helpful, but I'm not sure if it's suitable for contests at regional and national level in your country.
If you want some books that are really advanced, I would recommend you:
- A guide to physics problem
- The Problems and Solutions on Physics series by Lim
Again, I'm not sure about the level of the book you want...

P.S.: Those books don't cover all the topics you need. The topic might be there in the book under another bigger topic, or might not.
 
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