Is Halliday/Resnick: "Fundamentals of Physics"? good for me?

[sidgupta]

Hello there!

I'm a 17 year old high school student entering grade 12 in September, and I'm looking for something to quench my thirst for physics during my summer break. I have 6 weeks of vacation at the moment, and am currently teaching myself how to do calculus with hopes of working through AP calculus BC books. I wanted a calculus-based physics book that I can read alongside with what I'm studying, so I can hopefully learn more about physics, and apply the mathematics I've learned in a practical use. I was considering Halliday/Resnick: "Fundamentals of Physics", as it is calculus based, but I'm wondering if it's right for me.
My most recent physics course was grade 11, in which we covered kinematics, forces, waves and sound, electricity and magnetism, and work and energy. As for calculus, I will be going through mostly the grade 12 material involving geometric and Cartesian vectors, derivatives, rates of change, exponential and logarithmic functions, and lines and planes, which are all at a high school level.

I was wondering, if I were to purchase this book for my own reading, would I be able to understand the concepts discussed with my current knowledge and background? If not, what other books would you recommend to suit my current situation?

Thanks so much!

 

[The Bill]

If you are learning calculus well, then yes. Get an older edition of Halliday & Resnick, since they can be had for very little from online stores such as Amazon and Abe Books. Just make sure you get the same edition for each of volumes I and II.

Also, seeing applications in the physics text can help you to understand the calculus as you are learning it. Many university students take physics I concurrently with as calculus I, seeing both treated at university level for the first time.

 

[sidgupta]

If you are learning calculus well, then yes. Get an older edition of Halliday & Resnick, since they can be had for very little from online stores such as Amazon and Abe Books. Just make sure you get the same edition for each of volumes I and II.

Also, seeing applications in the physics text can help you to understand the calculus as you are learning it. Many university students take physics I concurrently with as calculus I, seeing both treated at university level for the first time.

Hey! Thanks so much for the reply! I was also told that Randall Knight's "Physics for Scientists and Engineers" was also a good book for my current situation. Do you know anything about that, and what do you think of it?

 

[mpresic]

I used RH as a undergraduate and taught from it as a graduate student throughout the 1970's. RH is hard to beat.
I recently looked at a copy of Knight that I bought. Of course I do not know as much about it as RH, but I also felt Knight was pretty good.
I do not think you can go wrong with either one. Seems like you have adequate background for either.

 

[TonyEsposito]

Yeah, HR book is very good in your situation, i used to study physics form there while in high school, the background that HR gived to me helped me a lot later in university :p