Is AP French Necessary for Understanding Morin's Mechanics Book?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the necessity of studying AP French's mechanics book in relation to Morin's mechanics book. Participants explore whether prior exposure to AP French's material is beneficial or essential for understanding the more advanced concepts presented in Morin's text.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses intent to study Morin's mechanics book regardless of prior study of AP French's book, questioning if they would miss out on important concepts.
  • Another participant notes that Morin's book is considered challenging and contains advanced topics like Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, which may not be covered in AP French's book.
  • A participant mentions their background in AP Physics 1 and C, along with some experience with Kleppner's classical mechanics, suggesting they feel prepared to tackle Morin's material for physics Olympiad preparation.
  • One participant clarifies that they initially misunderstood the reference to AP French's book, indicating they thought it was about Newtonian mechanics rather than special relativity.
  • A participant shares their experience with the AP French series, stating it is well written but somewhat outdated, and suggests having the special relativity book on hand might still be useful.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether AP French's book is necessary for understanding Morin's mechanics. Multiple viewpoints exist regarding the relevance and helpfulness of prior study of AP French's material.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference their prior coursework and experiences, which may influence their perspectives on the necessity of AP French's book. There is also mention of the varying levels of challenge between the two texts, but no definitive conclusions are drawn.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in advanced mechanics, particularly those considering studying Morin's mechanics book or evaluating the relevance of AP French's materials for their understanding.

RubinLicht
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I'm planning to do Morins mechanics book either way, so I'd like to know if I'll be missing out on anything if I do not do the book by ap french.
 
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Have you had an introductory mechanics course before? Or would Morin be your first exposure?

I haven't worked through it myself, but according to many people Morin is a notoriously challenging book. It also contains more advanced material than AP French's book, such as Lagrangian/Hamiltonian mechanics.
 
Mondayman said:
Have you had an introductory mechanics course before? Or would Morin be your first exposure?

I haven't worked through it myself, but according to many people Morin is a notoriously challenging book. It also contains more advanced material than AP French's book, such as Lagrangian/Hamiltonian mechanics.
I'll be my third exposure (although my first two were far from complete) I've taken ap physics 1 and C, and did most of the classical mechanics chapters in kleppner other than the second angular momentum chapter, so I should be good enough to go into Morin. I'm doing this for physics Olympiad prep.

Just in case it's not clear, I'm referring to ap French's book that focuses completely on special relativity, Morin is a general mechanics book that goes through all the topics.
 
Oh okay, I thought you meant Newtonian Mechanics. While I have his book on SR, I couldn't comment on how good it is. I bought the entire series at a garage sale for 50 bucks, but I'm not at that level.

From my understanding, the series is well written, but somewhat outdated. I don't think it would hurt to have the SR book on hand though.
 

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