Preperation reading for a physics summer course

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on preparing for a BSc in Physics and Mathematics, specifically addressing the need for a summer physics course due to insufficient background. The course content includes kinematics, dynamics, and various laws of physics. The participant seeks recommendations for suitable textbooks and supplementary reading to familiarize themselves with university-level physics concepts. Giancoli's "Physics Principles and Applications" is mentioned, with some suggesting it may be more algebra-focused rather than calculus-based, which could be less beneficial for future studies. Alternatives like "Physics for Scientists and Engineers" and the Feynman Lectures are recommended for a more rigorous foundation. The reading list includes popular science books and works by notable authors such as Carl Sagan and Richard Feynman, but opinions suggest these may not adequately prepare one for the quantitative aspects of college physics. Overall, the emphasis is on building a strong conceptual understanding and readiness for advanced studies in physics.
raam86
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Hi,
As a prerequisite for Bsc in Physics+Math I have to take a summer course in physics since I do not have sufficient background for the course of studies.
My math background is high end high school level (complex numbers, trig', calculus etc')

However the scope of the course is : Kinematics (1 dimension, 2 dimensions), Dynamics (What is force, tension, Newtons' laws and Preservations laws (Momentum,Plastic and Elastic circulations,Work,Gravity,Preservation of energy) only.

I will not be able to get hold of the actual textbook used and in the course and I also thought a different perspective would be nice. My goal is to be some what familiar with the concepts and rigour I am about to encounter in a university level physics course.

Thanks,
 
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Will Giancoli Physics Principles and applications 6th edition be suitable for my goal?
Also what do you think about this reading list as a mental preparation for college?

Carl.Sagan.-.The.Demon.Haunted.World.-.science.as.a.candle.in.the.dark
Euler_The.Master.Of.Us.All_Dunham
Godel Escher Bach.
Journey through Genius
B. Green-.Hidden.Reality.Parallel.Universe
RICHARD P. FEYNMAN-SURELY YOU'RE JOKING MR. FEYNMAN
The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow
The.Man.Who.Loved.Only.Numbers

I am also thinking about adding:
Prime_Obsession_Bernhard_Riemann_and_the_Greatest_Unsolved_Problem_in_Mathematics-J_Derbyshire
and Thinking in Systems by MeadowsI am mostly interested in preparing my mind and reason to handle the concepts then actually learning the concepts themselves, This is the reason I am paying those busters all that money!
 
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any comments at all? Prime_Obsession is an amazing book. I think I will get into the golden braid later
 
raam86 said:
Will Giancoli Physics Principles and applications 6th edition be suitable for my goal?
Also what do you think about this reading list as a mental preparation for college?

Carl.Sagan.-.The.Demon.Haunted.World.-.science.as.a.candle.in.the.dark
Euler_The.Master.Of.Us.All_Dunham
Godel Escher Bach.
Journey through Genius
B. Green-.Hidden.Reality.Parallel.Universe
RICHARD P. FEYNMAN-SURELY YOU'RE JOKING MR. FEYNMAN
The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow
The.Man.Who.Loved.Only.Numbers

I am also thinking about adding:
Prime_Obsession_Bernhard_Riemann_and_the_Greatest_Unsolved_Problem_in_Mathematics-J_Derbyshire
and Thinking in Systems by Meadows


I am mostly interested in preparing my mind and reason to handle the concepts then actually learning the concepts themselves, This is the reason I am paying those busters all that money!

I think Giancoli's Physics Principles book is more algebra based (rather than calculus based), so if you're going into physics, a book that would be more useful in the long run would be Giancoli's Physics for Scientists and Engineers (or something similar). The latter worked well for me.
 
Popular science books won't really be usefull in preparing for college. I mean by all means read them if you think they're interesting but don't expect them to prepare you for what you're going to get in college.
I would recommend something that actually goes into quantitative analysis of physics. I don't have a lot of experience with different books though so I can't recommend anything specific.
Well maybe you could start with the first part of the Feynman lectures in physics or maybe Young and Freedman's "University Physics".
 
Feynman lectures! thanks
 
The book is fascinating. If your education includes a typical math degree curriculum, with Lebesgue integration, functional analysis, etc, it teaches QFT with only a passing acquaintance of ordinary QM you would get at HS. However, I would read Lenny Susskind's book on QM first. Purchased a copy straight away, but it will not arrive until the end of December; however, Scribd has a PDF I am now studying. The first part introduces distribution theory (and other related concepts), which...
I've gone through the Standard turbulence textbooks such as Pope's Turbulent Flows and Wilcox' Turbulent modelling for CFD which mostly Covers RANS and the closure models. I want to jump more into DNS but most of the work i've been able to come across is too "practical" and not much explanation of the theory behind it. I wonder if there is a book that takes a theoretical approach to Turbulence starting from the full Navier Stokes Equations and developing from there, instead of jumping from...

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