John R.Taylor Vs Marion Thornton For PGRE

[FrancisClinton]

Which book can i use for the preparation of classical mechanics for the PGRE exam , . Classical mechanics by John.R.Taylor has better review than Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, by Jerry Marion and Stephen Thornton . But many people recommend to use Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, by Jerry Marion and Stephen Thornton since this book has solution manual while there is no solution manual for Classical mechanics by John.R.Taylor but it explains the subject well.
So which book is better for PGRE exam?

 

[Dr. Courtney]

If you concern yourself with learning the test more than learning the subject, then you are approching it wrong.

Your goal should always be to do the best job learning the subject. Master the problems in Marion and Thornton and you will have mastered the subject for many needs and uses you will encounter downstream.

 

[FrancisClinton]

okay i will use marion and thornton book

 

[FrancisClinton]

If you concern yourself with learning the test more than learning the subject, then you are approching it wrong.

Your goal should always be to do the best job learning the subject. Master the problems in Marion and Thornton and you will have mastered the subject for many needs and uses you will encounter downstream.

Can you also suggest books for other subjects for PGRE and also which is good for learning the subject .

 

[Student100]

Can you also suggest books for other subjects for PGRE and also which is good for learning the subject .

Some good information about the exam from Stanford: http://web.stanford.edu/group/sps/PhysGRE.htm

The problems in the exam for mechanics are mostly freshman type question. I don't remember any problems that required a great deal of sophistication or cleverness. The biggest problem you may encounter is a lack of time.

 

[FrancisClinton]

Some good information about the exam from Stanford: http://web.stanford.edu/group/sps/PhysGRE.htm

The problems in the exam for mechanics are mostly freshman type question. I don't remember any problems that required a great deal of sophistication or cleverness. The biggest problem you may encounter is a lack of time.

Yes i have already visited this website but since i am from engineering background, i don't understand exactly what is 40 series or 120 series level and text is . So please recommend books for each subject which will be a great help for me.

 

[Student100]

Yes i have already visited this website but since i am from engineering background, i don't understand exactly what is 40 series or 120 series level and text is . So please recommend books for each subject which will be a great help for me.

Get a freshman physics book like University Physics/H&R/..etc that covers basic Mechanics/E&M/Waves/Thermo/QM and go through as many problems as possible.

 

[FrancisClinton]

I have H&R and i have read almost all the chapters in the textbook and the problems but still i can't able to solve some problems in the PGRE practice tests(5 practice tests) . So what additional books should i use now ?

 

[Student100]

I have H&R and i have read almost all the chapters in the textbook and the problems but still i can't able to solve some problems in the PGRE practice tests(5 practice tests) . So what additional books should i use now ?

Which problems can't you solve?

 

[FrancisClinton]

Which problems can't you solve?

mostly in atomic and quantum physics and some problem in statistical thermodynamics. These concepts are explained only briefly in this book . So for me difficult to solve the problems from this subject
but specialized topics are good and sufficient for PGRE .
for me EMT,CM, Optics and Special relativity no problem.
So please give your suggestions for the above three subjects ?

 

[Student100]

mostly in atomic and quantum physics and some problem in statistical thermodynamics. These concepts are explained only briefly in this book . So for me difficult to solve the problems from this subject
but specialized topics are good and sufficient for PGRE .
for me EMT,CM, Optics and Special relativity no problem.
So please give your suggestions for the above three subjects ?

Physics by H&R should cover the material needed for 90% of the problems. You can use:



as a reference and see if it helps, as it can be had for cheap used. I can't really recommend more advanced texts, as the amount of problems you'll see from them on the test isn't worth the initial time investment to go through them. Do you want to study for 90 percent of the test or some odd 10 percent? You need to focus your limited time here.

How quick are doing the physics practice tests? Are you timing yourself?

Now, from your posts I gather you weren't a physics major. Before graduate school (should you get accepted) you're going to have a lot of studying to do:

What level do you understand QM to? It should probably around the Griffiths level.
What level do you understand CM to? It should be around Taylor.
What level do you understand EM to? Should probably be around Griffiths.
What about thermo/statics? At least around Carter.

These are probably minimums to ensure you're somewhat prepared for your graduate studies, although I'm no expert in this sort of thing.

 

[FrancisClinton]

Physics by H&R should cover the material needed for 90% of the problems. You can use:



as a reference and see if it helps, as it can be had for cheap used. I can't really recommend more advanced texts, as the amount of problems you'll see from them on the test isn't worth the initial time investment to go through them. Do you want to study for 90 percent of the test or some odd 10 percent? You need to focus your limited time here.

How quick are doing the physics practice tests? Are you timing yourself?

Now, from your posts I gather you weren't a physics major. Before graduate school (should you get accepted) you're going to have a lot of studying to do:

What level do you understand QM to? It should probably around the Griffiths level.
What level do you understand CM to? It should be around Taylor.
What level do you understand EM to? Should probably be around Griffiths.
What about thermo/statics? At least around Carter.

These are probably minimums to ensure you're somewhat prepared for your graduate studies, although I'm no expert in this sort of thing.

Thanks for the wonderful suggestion ,
I will summarize what you said " To get good score in PGRE , read thoroughly H&R book and solve all its problems and then use Physics companion as a reference . After this i should solve all the problems in the Practice tests(5 tests) and i should improve my speed of solving the problems. Once i finished these things i will be prepared to take the PGRE exam .
Have i got your point ?
I will be taking the PGRE in April , and then in September if i didn't get a good score.
I will be probably having one year free time after the PGRE exam(september exam). In this time i want to get a solid grounding for my graduate studies .my level of knowledge in physics is up to H&R . and i have some knowledge in EM but not up to Griffith level.
can i use the books you have specified (Griffith for QM and EM, and Taylor for CM) , this is enough or some more books should i use ? and for the mathematics side can i use MATHEMATICAL METHODS FOR PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING book.?