Wiley College: Reif

UNDERSTANDING BASIC MECHANICS:
A TEXT AND WORKBOOK SET

FREDERICK REIF, Carnegie Mellon University
0-471-10337-3, 480 Pages, Paper, 1995

Description:

UNDERSTANDING BASIC MECHANICS offers a new approach to the first, "Mechanics", portion of the traditional calculus-based physics course. This innovative text and its accompanying workbook, cover kinematics, motions and interactions of particles and systems. Explicit problem-solving protocols are provided that break problems into goals and decisions; making students active participants in problem-solving. The linkages between qualitative and quantitative explanations is central to the presentation.
UNDERSTANDING BASIC MECHANICS consists of two closely coordinated parts, a text and a workbook. The text is designed to present the basic subject matter, and also to facilitate reference and review. The workbook actively engages students in their learning to ensure that they have understood what they have read, can interpret it appropriately, and can apply it to diverse situations. The questions and problems in the Workbook are accompanied by hints and answers to help students learn without much outside help.

Features:

A coherent introduction to mechanics, built around a very few basic principles (rather than numerous equations)and the reasoning methods needed to interpret and use these principles appropriately.
The presentation requires only prior knowledge of college algebra, although some knowledge of calculus would certainly prove helpful to students.
Careful and explicit explanations of important definitions and principles.
Emphasis on qualitative as well as quantitative descriptions and reasoning methods.
Explicit teaching of a problem-solving strategy that is consistently used and practiced throughout the course (for both quantitative and qualitative problems).
Pedagogy, based on cognitive research, whose goal is to ensure that students acquire physics knowledge which they can properly interpret and flexibly use.
Judicious selectivity and sequencing of material so that students can learn without being overwhelmed, yet acquire centrally important knowledge on which they can reliably build further physics concepts.

Brief TOC:

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF PHYSICS
Physics and its relevance ... Mechanics ... Learning implications
DESCRIPTION OF PARTICLE MOTIONS
LENGTH, TIME, AND UNITS
Length ... Time ... Precision and errors
DISPLACEMENTS AND VECTORS
Position and displacement ... Vectors ... Multiple of a vector ... Sum of vectors ... Difference between vectors ... Symbolic properties of vectors ... Displacements and changes of position
VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION
Time variation of position ... Velocity ... Average velocity ... Velocity at an instant ... Applications of velocity ... Acceleration ... Average acceleration ... Acceleration at an instant ... Applications of acceleration
MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE
Component description of motion ... Alternate descriptions of linear motion ... Local information from global ... Changes and rates ... Calculating velocity or acceleration ... Global information from local ... Motion with constant velocity ... Motion with constant acceleration ... Gravity near the surface of the earth
PROBLEM SOLVING
Introduction to problem solving ... Initial analysis of a problem ... Construction of a solution ... Checking a solution ... Problem-solving practice
CURVED MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION
Constant acceleration and projectile motion ... Component vectors ... Numerical components of a vector ... Component description of projectile motion ... Prototype problem: Range of a projectile
CIRCULAR AND RELATIVE MOTIONS
Circular motion with constant speed ... Period and frequency ... General circular motion ... Projectiles and satellites ... Motion relative to different frames
MOTION AND INTERACTION OF PARTICLES
NEWTONIAN THEORY OF MECHANICS
Introduction ... Single non-interacting particle ... Two interacting particles ... Two particles: Mass and force ... Three or more interacting particles ... Newton's laws of mechanics ... Exploiting Newton's laws ... Comment: Composite particles
COMMON INTERACTIONS
Long-range interactions ... Gravitational interaction near the earth ... Contact interactions ... Contact interactions and interatomic forces ... Interaction with a spring ... Interaction with a string ... Strings of negligible mass ... Interaction between non-adhering touching objects
PROBLEM SOLVING IN MECHANICS
Systematic application of Newton's law ... Problem-solving method ... Further problem-solving suggestions
MORE ABOUT INTERACTIONS
Spring force for small deformations ... Friction force ... Gravitational Force ... Electric force ... Predictive power of mechanics
KINETIC ENERGY AND WORK
Kinetic-energy law for small displacements ... General kinetic-energy law ... Work done by some common forces ... Work and vector dot-product ... Superposition principle for work ... Power
POTENTIAL ENERGY AND THE ENERGY LAW
Potential energy ... Energy law ... Problem solving with the energy law ... Conservative property of central forces ... Gravitational and electric potential energies ... Potential energies of spring forces
MOTION AND INTERACTION OF SYSTEMS
MOMENTUM
Momentum law ... Conservation of momentum ... Momentum change in short collisions ... Motion of center of mass ... Location of center of mass
ENERGY OF A SYSTEM
Energy law for a system ... System energies and center of mass ... Energy of atomic systems ... Energy of macroscopic systems ... Energy transfers and transformations ... Friction and energy dissipation
ROTATIONAL MOTION
Angular description of motion ... Relations between angular and linear motions ... Rotational kinetic energy ... Moments of inertia of some common objects ... Moments of inertia about different axes ... Rotational work and torque
ANGULAR-MOMENTUM LAW
Angular-momentum law for a particle ... Angular-momentum law for a system ... Analogies between linear and rotational motions ... Problem solving ... Conservation of angular momentum
ROLLING AND EQUILIBRIUM
General motion of a rigid object ... Rolling motion ... Prototype problems involving rolling ... Static equilibrium
Appendices

UNDERSTANDING BASIC MECHANICS: A TEXT AND WORKBOOK SET

Description:

Features:

Brief TOC:

UNDERSTANDING BASIC MECHANICS:
A TEXT AND WORKBOOK SET