Good Beginner Book

There really aren't many good quantum mechanics books out there that don't involve a lot of calculus and differential equations. This is more or less unavoidable with regards to the physical sciences. In my opinion, you should have a firm grasp of classical mechanics before you even consider looking at quantum mechanics; it makes the subject matter flow more smoothly. Learning physics is a slow process, that requires that you follow the steps more or less in order. I know this probably isn't the answer you want to hear because I was the same way back in high school, but that's the best way to go about it.

 

The book I first read on quantum theory is "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics And Reality" by John Gribbin. The concepts are all here, and the required math is relatively basic. A knowledge of high school algebra will get someone started, and Gribbin does the rest. As far as "popular science" books go, Gribbin is good. His book is much more grounded in real science than most pop sci books are. I would recommend this book as a first start.

 

A nice modern book is The Strange Story of Quantum Theory by Daniel Styer.

Regards,
George

 

How about good old Halliday and Resnick? The math is minimal.

 

Try "Quantum Mechanics in Simple Matrix Form" by Tomas F. Jordan. It is a good introduction for people who want to get some concepts of QM without knowing calculus or deferential equation.

 

Sorry! Thomas F. Jordan is the author of “Quantum Mechanics in Simple Matrix Form”

 

I like "The Quantum Universe" by Tony Hey and Patrick Walters. The math is specifically aimed at high-school level and it is full of pictures. It really gives a feel for what doing quantum experiments is like and gives lots of applications. Of course, Schroedinger's cat et. al. also make an appearance, but the book is more about the successes of the theory than about it's conceptual difficulties. Every high school should have this book in their library in my opinion.

I also like "The Meaning of Quantum Theory" by Jim Baggott. It is aimed at explaining the conceptual problems of quantum theory to chemistry and physics undergrads. It has more math than a popular science book, and you may need a little calculus and linear algebra to follow some chapters. However, it's not as much as in a standard quantum physics textbook, so if your student is strong then they might enjoy the challenge.