Kleppner & Kolenkow: Solutions Manual for An Introduction

[Radic S]

[Note from mentor: These posts were split off from a thread about the Kleppner & Kolenkow book, because I think the topic deserves to stand on its own instead of being buried in the other thread.]

Is there a solutions manual for the An Introduction to Mechanics kleppner 2nd edition book?

 

[Student100]

Only for instructors. 2nd has solutions in appendix in the back for select problems.

 

[Radic S]

Only for instructors. 2nd has solutions in appendix in the back for select problems.

Do you know where I can get the instructors one?

 

[Student100]

Do you know where I can get the instructors one?

If you're a professor you can email the publisher.

 

[Radic S]

If you're a professor you can email the publisher.

Why is it so difficult to obtain a manuel for someone looking to compliment the main book? I'm just curious btw, I don't understand the harm in giving students more resources.

 

[Student100]

Why is it so difficult to obtain a manuel for someone looking to compliment the main book?

Because it's used in courses, if a detailed solution manual existed for everyone, professors couldn't use the book to assign homework with any kind of confidence the students just didn't use the SM.

There are answers provided for select questions in the back. If you're self studying you can ask questions here or verify answers.

 

[Radic S]

Because it's used in courses, if a detailed solution manual existed for everyone, professors couldn't use the book to assign homework with any kind of confidence the students just didn't use the SM.

There are answers provided for select questions in the back. If you're self studying you can ask questions here or verify answers.

It's a pretty intense book from my understanding, which isn't used for general intro to physics. Even if a student has all the solutions to the hwk, how does that help them for an exam or prepare them for second year? I get the idea in high school where some teachers walk around with a check list, to determine if someone is doing their hwk or not, but in higher education it seems a bit irrational. Just my opinion anyways, thanks for the response! :)

Yeah I like to have things on hand, makes it faster to double check something, and if I'm stuck I use the forms.

 

[MidgetDwarf]

It's a pretty intense book from my understanding, which isn't used for general intro to physics. Even if a student has all the solutions to the hwk, how does that help them for an exam or prepare them for second year? I get the idea in high school where some teachers walk around with a check list, to determine if someone is doing their hwk or not, but in higher education it seems a bit irrational. Just my opinion anyways, thanks for the response! :)

Yeah I like to have things on hand, makes it faster to double check something, and if I'm stuck I use the forms.

You should think of these problems in KK as challenge problems. How fun would it be to solve every problem in under five minutes with a solutions manual?

 

[Student100]

It's a pretty intense book from my understanding, which isn't used for general intro to physics.

It's an introductory mechanics text, I don't know if they use it in HS, but it is used for freshman mechanics.

Even if a student has all the solutions to the hwk, how does that help them for an exam or prepare them for second year?

It doesn't, that's what is trying to be avoided. Even for students who know better, the temptation is real. Professors generally don't even assign problems out of Jackson E&M, because the problems soultions are only a Google away. If they don't trust graduate students, they probably have even less faith in undergraduate freshmen.

I get the idea in high school where some teachers walk around with a check list, to determine if someone is doing their hwk or not, but in higher education it seems a bit irrational. Just my opinion anyways, thanks for the response! :)

Yeah I like to have things on hand, makes it faster to double check something, and if I'm stuck I use the forms.

Just ask here if you aren't sure to get feedback/work the problems with soultions/hints/clues.

 

[Radic S]

You should think of these problems in KK as challenge problems. How fun would it be to solve every problem in under five minutes with a solutions manual?

I really don't know anyone who studies something they enjoy and is looking for an easy solution. Even if you went through the whole book writing out the solutions from the SM without putting in effort, would benefits would you get from it? I suppose you could memorize every question/solution for an exam in the book, but why? Learning doesn't work without time spent tackling questions and challenging yourself.

It doesn't, that's what is trying to be avoided. Even for students who know better, the temptation is real. Professors generally don't even assign problems out of Jackson E&M, because the problems solutions are only a Google away. If they don't trust graduate students, they probably have even less faith in undergraduate freshmen.

It's something that sounds nice, but I'm not sure that it makes much sense. Professors can't turn lazy students into superstars, you can cheat your way up to a certain point. When it comes down to contributing to a field or a business with the knowledge you've obtained, you can't take out a solutions manual and hand in a paper to a journal.

 

[George Jones]

It's a pretty intense book from my understanding, which isn't used for general intro to physics. Even if a student has all the solutions to the hwk, how does that help them for an exam or prepare them for second year?

As an example, suppose the final mark for a course has the following breakdown: 20% for homework; 20 % for test 1; 20 % for test 2; 40% for the final exam.

Why should students get 20 % for copying from an instructors' solution manual?

 

[Radic S]

As an example, suppose the final mark for a course has the following breakdown: 20% for homework; 20 % for test 1; 20 % for test 2; 40% for the final exam.

Why should students get 20 % for copying from an instructors' solution manual?

The same student can google the solutions? Pay for the answers from students selling hwk on campus? Pay someone to solve them? Assuming they don't care to learn the material or challenge themselves. Which is a bit counter intuitive considering this specific book is not a general first year physics book.

Furthermore, let's say this student gets the 20 percent for copying the solutions manual. Finishes their 4 years as and then what? In the grand scheme of things it's still a first year course that's there to provide a good foundation for mechanics.

 

[Student100]

The same student can google the solutions? Pay for the answers from students selling hwk on campus? Pay someone to solve them? Assuming they don't care to learn the material or challenge themselves.

Because that takes more effort than simply looking at what you know is the correct answer in the soultions manual.

There is no one stop Google reference for K&K that I'm aware of.

 

[micromass]

Because that takes more effort than simply looking at what you know is the correct answer in the soultions manual.

There is no one stop Google reference for K&K that I'm aware of.

There is actually. I found a solution manual of K&K completely online. I'm obviously not going to link it though, but there is one. In either case, you can very easily find all the solutions of K&K online. So I understand the question of why they don't just sell a good solutions manual to everybody.

 

[Radic S]

Because that takes more effort than simply looking at what you know is the correct answer in the soultions manual.

There is no one stop Google reference for K&K that I'm aware of.

Couldn't have said it better myself! I'm glad we agree.

 

[Student100]

There is actually. I found a solution manual of K&K completely online. I'm obviously not going to link it though, but there is one. In either case, you can very easily find all the solutions of K&K online. So I understand the question of why they don't just sell a good solutions manual to everybody.

Ohhh, I guess it was bound to happen sometime. I remember looking to see if there was one a few years back for a stubborn problem I could never solve and had no luck.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

If only there were a solution manual for quantum gravity.

Believe me it's better to practice without a solution manual, but I know where you come from; it's a competition on the grades so if someone has the solutions why to work too hard on solving a problem.
:-)

 

[George Jones]

Off topic, but ...

I tried an interesting experiment last winter. I taught an upper-level course, and I used a well-known text. I mainly used problems from the text as homework questions, but I also included some questions of my own. All the students did well on the text questions. I was pleased with effort that some students put in on my questions, but there were some students who sometimes didn't even attempt my questions. I told the students that the second in-class test would be an open text test. What I didn't tell them was that two of the three test questions (each multi-part) would be problems from the text.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Off topic, but ...

I tried an interesting experiment last winter. I taught an upper-level course, and I used a well-known text. I mainly used problems from the text as homework questions, but I also included some questions of my own. All the students did well on the text questions. I was pleased with effort that some students put in on my questions, but there were some students who sometimes didn't even attempt my questions. I told the students that the second in-class test would be an open text test. What I didn't tell them was that two of the three test questions (each multi-part) would be problems from the text.

Yes, I took an exam in QFT with open book, the instructor has taken exercises from Peskin's and other texts (well one of the questions were scanned from the book :-D)
It seems that the solutions to Peskin's in the net are not perfectly accurate, and I assume the bloke that uploaded his solutions has copied them from somewhere else.
Anyway I remember my first two years in my undergraduate when I was naive and didn't think others had solutions to the problems assigned to us, I actually tried to solve all of my exercises by myself without any solution manual.
But now innocence has faded and I am ready for the competition with other students.
[youtube][/youtube]

BTW, there's a student solution manual to GR by Schutz, I wonder if anyone is apt to write SM for MTW. :-D

BTW2, in the early days of physicsforums there are posts of mine about questions from KK's first edition if anyone wants to look for.

BTW
If I had the time I would try to solve Peskin's text's problems by myself, but the competition calls me.

 

[Radic S]

Yes, I took an exam in QFT with open book, the instructor has taken exercises from Peskin's and other texts (well one of the questions were scanned from the book :-D)
It seems that the solutions to Peskin's in the net are not perfectly accurate, and I assume the bloke that uploaded his solutions has copied them from somewhere else.
Anyway I remember my first two years in my undergraduate when I was naive and didn't think others had solutions to the problems assigned to us, I actually tried to solve all of my exercises by myself without any solution manual.
But now innocence has faded and I am ready for the competition with other students.
[youtube][/youtube]

BTW, there's a student solution manual to GR by Schutz, I wonder if anyone is apt to write SM for MTW. :-D

BTW2, in the early days of physicsforums there are posts of mine about questions from KK's first edition if anyone wants to look for.

BTW
If I had the time I would try to solve Peskin's text's problems by myself, but the competition calls me.

Funny you mention that, I had a physics course that prepares you for university with a crazy physics lady. She gave us over 150 questions to finish in under a week with full solutions etc.. I worked my butt off, didn't finish the last 8 because of time, she gave me a 8/10, when I told her my life story that I worked at them all the available time I had when I wasn't running my business she told me that I should of worked with other people who completed it. I went to these people swallowing my pride to find out how they completed it, they had the solution manual at hand. A little bit later on when the class was withered away to 4 people, I told her about this solutions manual, she told me she knows they have it and I should of taken the initiative and used it to get full marks. So much for fair play.. regardless I hate her because of that approach and I will learn things fully. This is a side hobby of mine and I would have to be crazy to just use the solutions manual to finish a home work assignment.

On a side note, I noticed most physics courses are divided into two sections, a first semester mechanics and a second one electromagnetism etc. Is there a book that goes with the K & K book that is held to the same high standard for electromagnetism etc?

 

[Student100]

On a side note, I noticed most physics courses are divided into two sections, a first semester mechanics and a second one electromagnetism etc. Is there a book that goes with the K & K book that is held to the same high standard for electromagnetism etc?

Purcell, get the third edition.

 

[vanhees71]

Because it's used in courses, if a detailed solution manual existed for everyone, professors couldn't use the book to assign homework with any kind of confidence the students just didn't use the SM.

There are answers provided for select questions in the back. If you're self studying you can ask questions here or verify answers.

I never understood the problem. If the students just copy the solutions from the book, they won't learn the stuff and then fail in the exam. That's a good experience, I think. Then they learn that professors don't give homework problems to torment students but to help them learning the course content. You haven't understood anything in math or physics if you can't solve the problems!

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

I never understood the problem. If the students just copy the solutions from the book, they won't learn the stuff and then fail in the exam. That's a good experience, I think. Then they learn that professors don't give homework problems to torment students but to help them learning the course content. You haven't understood anything in math or physics if you can't solve the problems!

Well, if you understand the solutions and follow the logic then that's a different thing; but copying without understanding is a terrible thing to do. (I did it once in a course in which the lecturer was terrible in Algebraic Geometry, barely passed).

But that's the mentality of students, I wonder how these students become PhD students, what type of research are they conducting?