I.E Irodov's Problems in General Physics

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the difficulty level of I.E. Irodov's "Problems in General Physics" and whether it is suitable for high school students, particularly those in 11th and 12th grades. Participants share their experiences with the book, express their feelings of discouragement, and discuss the skills required to tackle the problems presented in it.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the book is quite challenging and may be more suitable for advanced students, possibly at the university level.
  • Others argue that an exceptional 11th grader could solve many problems, depending on their background and understanding of physics.
  • Concerns are raised about the terminology used in the book, with some noting that it can be ambiguous or different from standard physics language.
  • A few participants emphasize the importance of developing problem-solving skills and encourage others not to be discouraged by the difficulty of the problems.
  • There are discussions about the availability of the book in English and the challenges faced by non-English speakers in understanding the material.
  • Some participants share their personal experiences with the book, indicating that while it is difficult, it can significantly enhance understanding of physics concepts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the appropriate level of the book. While some believe it is accessible to motivated high school students, others maintain that it is primarily suited for university students or those with exceptional abilities.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of familiarity with calculus and other advanced topics, which they believe are necessary to fully engage with the problems in Irodov's book. There are also references to the differences in educational systems across countries, particularly regarding grade equivalencies.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for high school students considering tackling Irodov's problems, educators looking for insights on student experiences with challenging physics material, and anyone interested in the preparation for competitive exams like IIT JEE or the International Physics Olympiad.

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I.E Irodov's "Problems in General Physics"

What level is this book supposed to be? Should a good 11th Grader be able to solve most of them? I am getting kinda discouraged because some of these problems take me more than an hour to solve.. and I can't even understand some of them.
 
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ok, so they are supposed to be hard. But still, what level? 12th grade? beginng university?
 
I can't tell you that. It depends on the person. An exceptional 11th class student could solve quite a few problems (atleast in India), whereas a university student could struggle. If you are really interested, you should attempt the problems irrespective of what level the book is supposed to be and see if you find it useful and can learn anything from it.
 
Ok, thanks.
 
is there any link so that i can get the ebook
 
@siddharth

Are you from IIT ?
 
Hey everyone! I'm in Class 12 & I think Irodov is a very good book if you want to strengthen your physics concepts & improve your problem-solving skills ... Though the book has some really tough problems, in my opinion, a class 11 student should be able to solve most of it .. don't be discouraged, though! Even if you take a lot of time to solve the questions .. it doesn't really matter, it all helps!

Irodov is a very good book if you want to get into IIT .. go ahead!
 
Thats true, but I don't get this "exceptional student" definition at all. Anyone who can decipher Irodov's wording and has a decent knowledge of and experience with theoretical mechanics can do the problems actually. There are many adhoc solution books around, don't trust them! Do it yourself!

Some of the problems are crazy and really long but they will give you a good time :smile:
 
  • #10
maverick280857 said:
Thats true, but I don't get this "exceptional student" definition at all. Anyone who can decipher Irodov's wording and has a decent knowledge of and experience with theoretical mechanics can do the problems actually. There are many adhoc solution books around, don't trust them! Do it yourself!

Some of the problems are crazy and really long but they will give you a good time :smile:
I agree. I am in 10th class but I have done all of the mechanics problems in the book. I am currently working my way in towards the other topics. Sometimes the terminology Irodov uses is different from the standard - especially with springs, as I recall. For other things, he uses the word "steady" a lot, and that is sometimes ambiguous.

(I'm trying to make it to the International Physics Olympiad, and that's why I'm doing the problems.)
 
  • #11
Saketh said:
I agree. I am in 10th class but I have done all of the mechanics problems in the book. I am currently working my way in towards the other topics. Sometimes the terminology Irodov uses is different from the standard - especially with springs, as I recall. For other things, he uses the word "steady" a lot, and that is sometimes ambiguous.

(I'm trying to make it to the International Physics Olympiad, and that's why I'm doing the problems.)

Wow, aren't you pushing a bit too far for a Class 10 student? I suppose you've done most of calculus and coordinate geometry already. What about your other subjects? The first time you take NSEP is in Class 11 and that should be an experience for you. You have a lot of time to do physics in Class 11 so you can safely postpone most of the stuff for that time. Besides, Class 10 physics doesn't teach you anything to be able to tackle Irodov or even Resnick/Halliday.

To understand "steady" and "transient" you have to know differential equations and analysis. I don't recommend you to burden yourself to do all this now (at the expense of demanding class 10 syllabus). Don't risk your board exams. But I won't discourage you from keeping up your interest in physics. By all means make sure your Class 10 concepts are rock solid. And remember that you won't understand most of the stuff in Irodov/JEE level until you know a lot of Class 11/12 math and then the physics.

Irodov's book in Russian might have been easier to comprehend if we knew Russian that is. I think these ambiguities got introduced during translation. Feel free to discuss the problems on the Science forums though. Or send me a message/email if you want to discuss them with me anytime :smile:
 
  • #12
what country are you guys in? and are these levels equivalent to US grades?
ie. do you graduate from high school when you finish the 12th grade?
 
  • #13
Guys,do you know where i can get that book for free on english? Because i have find that book on rusian but it is hard to understand. i slove problems that i can understand but moust of tham i can not translate on bosnian.Please help me if you know where i can find irodov on english.
 
  • #14
Wow, aren't you pushing a bit too far for a Class 10 student? I suppose you've done most of calculus and coordinate geometry already. What about your other subjects? The first time you take NSEP is in Class 11 and that should be an experience for you. You have a lot of time to do physics in Class 11 so you can safely postpone most of the stuff for that time. Besides, Class 10 physics doesn't teach you anything to be able to tackle Irodov or even Resnick/Halliday.
There's no such thing as "too far." :biggrin:

By 10th class I meant 10th grade in high school. Now I am in 11th, though, and I solved the first 100 E&M problems over my summer holidays. They take a very long time, but once I got them electrostatics made a lot more sense. We used Halliday/Resnick as our textbook for physics last year, in Mechanics.
Guys,do you know where i can get that book for free on english? Because i have find that book on rusian but it is hard to understand. i slove problems that i can understand but moust of tham i can not translate on bosnian.Please help me if you know where i can find irodov on english.
I searched before I finally purchased the book in English. I could not find it in English anywhere online, so you should either buy it or ask a friend fluent in Russian to translate the problems for you.
 
  • #15
Somebody who can independently solve all mechanics problems in Irodov in 10th grade is a genious.The theory is nothing, anybody can learn theory with a textbook. But devoloping problem solving skills to such an ultimate level is an unbelievable achievment. In high-school and undergrad physics, Irodov is the definition of difficult and interesting physics problems. All other problems are judged using Irodov as a benchmark.

Keep it up man! In any case, everyone should learn calculus within 10th grade: it makes a life whole lot easier, particularly when you are in 11th grade and all subjects esspecially physics are throwing differential equations in your face right from the beginning long before your math teacher covers them.

For americans, 12th grade is what you pass to get into college/university for your undergrad/bachelor course.
 
  • #16
students are now lucky enough to have data from the net about iit's and iit jee u guys have classes with big names but 87years before i didn't have these things but i still i made to iit and now pursuing MBA from IIM-A
its not on irodov but its on your preparation the self preparation only 3%hardly make it to itt after joining big classes but of no use they have a very low AIR
sae for the big famous book users
 
  • #17
dx said:
What level is this book supposed to be? Should a good 11th Grader be able to solve most of them? I am getting kinda discouraged because some of these problems take me more than an hour to solve.. and I can't even understand some of them.

hey man cool! I am an eleventh grader too...Irodov is an amazing book.Totally recommended.
 
  • #18


siddharth said:
Refer this thread.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=91835"
You are solving problems from Irodov in 11th grade ? I'm impressed!
Don't get put off by the difficult problems.
Which country are you from?

It is nothing special in my country in Indonesia. We used Irodov's 11th grade book for our homeworks. I'm serious and I'm not kidding.

Especcialy for the physics olympiad students, we do exercises from The Problems and Solutions in Mechanics, Major American University Problem Test -> the American Universtiy test for the Chinese students who takes Doctoral Program (MIT, Wisconsin, CUSPEA).
 
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  • #19


Dendi said:
It is nothing special in my country in Indonesia. We used Irodov's 11th grade book for our homeworks. I'm serious and I'm not kidding.

Especcialy for the physics olympiad students, we do exercises from The Problems and Solutions in Mechanics, Major American University Problem Test -> the American Universtiy test for the Chinese students who takes Doctoral Program (MIT, Wisconsin, CUSPEA).

Yeah i know, I'm from Indonesia too. But unfortunately, those guys are just like robots, solving those problems without even knowing the basics. Seriously, this is not good IMO. From my point of view, most of them don't even understand the basics and the joy of learning. Most of them are just looking for gold medal and other prizes. Prize is good, but actually, by doing this way, they are not being creative. They could solve problems if they are told how to do it, not because they are being creative of different. That's why students in our country won national competitions such as OSN or even international competitions such as IPhO but never won nobel prize which is basically not a competition where you have to sit down and solve problems in a limited time, but rather a competition of innovation and creativity ...

nuff said, sorry if I'm wrong. Btw where did you study?
 

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