Review/refresher of college physics: textbook recommendations request

  • Thread starter Thread starter 1940LaSalle
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around recommendations for general physics textbooks suitable for someone looking to refresh their knowledge after many years, specifically targeting 200 or 300 level courses. A retired chemical engineer seeks resources, ideally free PDFs, to aid in self-education. Suggestions include checking OpenStax for free textbooks and using search queries like "(Introduction to) Classical Mechanics + pdf" to find university-level materials. There is some confusion regarding the classification of "general physics," with clarification that it typically refers to introductory courses (100 level) rather than the more advanced 200 or 300 levels, which cover specialized topics such as classical mechanics and electromagnetism. Notable textbooks mentioned include Halliday/Resnick/Walker’s "Fundamentals of Physics," with older editions recommended for cost-effectiveness. Additional resources include Yale's textbook forum and MIT's OpenCourseWare for comprehensive course notes.
1940LaSalle
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Largely what the title says. I'm a retired chemical engineer, but for my own re-education, I'd like to review my college physics courses. Those were more than 50 years ago, and a portion has slipped away from lack of need/use. So...how about recommendations for general (say, 200 or 300 level) physics textbooks? It would really be handy if such a book/books were available as free PDFs (yeah, I know...I'm cheap).

Thanks very much.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
1940LaSalle said:
Largely what the title says. I'm a retired chemical engineer, but for my own re-education, I'd like to review my college physics courses. Those were more than 50 years ago, and a portion has slipped away from lack of need/use. So...how about recommendations for general (say, 200 or 300 level) physics textbooks? It would really be handy if such a book/books were available as free PDFs (yeah, I know...I'm cheap).

Thanks very much.
Hello and Welcome!

I don't know what 200 or 300 means, but Rice University has a couple of books. They are free, so it might be worth having a look.
https://openstax.org/subjects

As far as I can tell from the Mathematics section, they are written to provide a somewhat uniform level of education to bridge the gap between the large variety of high school levels and college, so that everybody has the same understanding to begin with deeper studies.

If you want to find texts on university level, I suggest to search for <name of the course> + pdf, for example
"(Introduction to) Classical Mechanics + pdf". The +pdf part in the search key makes sure you will find texts on university servers and not someone's homepage.
 
  • Like
  • Informative
Likes dextercioby, hutchphd and berkeman
1940LaSalle said:
general (say, 200 or 300 level) physics textbooks?
This confuses me. To me, "general physics" means (in the US) first-year college/university level, often (but not always) with course numbers in the 100s. A single textbook (or a pair of them) covers all major physics areas at an introductory level. A common one is Halliday/Resnick/Walker Fundamentals of Physics. For self study, older editions are fine and are cheaper second-hand than new copies of the current edition.

"200 or 300 level" to me means second- and third-year level. Different courses with different textbooks cover different areas: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, ...

Here in our textbook forum you'll find separate discussions of textbooks for the various areas.
 
  • Like
Likes dextercioby and berkeman
For the following four books, has anyone used them in a course or for self study? Compiler Construction Principles and Practice 1st Edition by Kenneth C Louden Programming Languages Principles and Practices 3rd Edition by Kenneth C Louden, and Kenneth A Lambert Programming Languages 2nd Edition by Allen B Tucker, Robert E Noonan Concepts of Programming Languages 9th Edition by Robert W Sebesta If yes to either, can you share your opinions about your personal experience using them. I...
Hi, I have notice that Ashcroft, Mermin and Wei worked at a revised edition of the original solid state physics book (here). The book, however, seems to be never available. I have also read that the reason is related to some disputes related to copyright. Do you have any further information about it? Did you have the opportunity to get your hands on this revised edition? I am really curious about it, also considering that I am planning to buy the book in the near future... Thanks!
I’ve heard that in some countries (for example, Argentina), the curriculum is structured differently from the typical American program. In the U.S., students usually take a general physics course first, then move on to a textbook like Griffiths, and only encounter Jackson at the graduate level. In contrast, in those countries students go through a general physics course (such as Resnick-Halliday) and then proceed directly to Jackson. If the slower, more gradual approach is considered...

Similar threads

Replies
17
Views
6K
Replies
8
Views
4K
Replies
14
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
9
Views
4K
Replies
5
Views
11K
Replies
5
Views
1K
Back
Top