Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide

Bought this for my 15 year old son who has Aspergers and is home schooled. He really likes it and is blazing through it! On days that I let him choose subjects to work on he always wants to do physics first!

I really love physics, so now, having a workbook such as this to entertain my mind with, not being in school anymore, is perfect. I would just go to college again and take a class there but, social interaction ugh

Great bang for your buck. Easy read. Worth the money.
First couple chapters are, as you would guess, a little elementary, but that is to be expected.
My favorite chapter was involving the EM waves/electricity& magnetism relationship.

Should bring you up to Grade 12 level in Physics or serve as a good primer for those middle age lovers of science whose occupations never test our knowledge of physics, but nonetheless who feel the need for a physics "fix" later in life.
This book is so good that I never have to ask my wife (an Engineer) for help. In that sense it is good for family relations as well.

My husband wanted a physics book ("Not for Dummies"), so this seemed decent (Merry Christmas), but the reason I give it five stars is because my 12-year-old son has been carrying it around since Christmas with a notebook and a pencil. Anything that keeps him off electronics, is a five-star in my book. I haven't read it, nor do I have much interest in physics, but I do have interest in my child reading and not constantly fighting about him being on electronics. Has it replaced the electronics? No, but it is a win anytime I see him jotting in his notebook. I am not sure if my husband has even opened the cover, since my son has had possessive of it since it was opened on Christmas morning.

Never touched the subject in school. Now 20 years later I'm a little interested. It's an easy read. No higher math skills needed. The only change I'd make, the answers should be on the next page. You have to read with a piece of paper, line by line, to cover the answers, or you will accidently read them. Very interesting reading.

This book will help anyone who feels they do not comprehend as quickly as others it is a introduction to physics and provides a understanding what physics is. If your not sure what physics is and never took it in school this book will be helpful prior to you taking the course in college or highschool.

I know some about the subject of physics. I wanted to read this book for better clarity of the basics though.

From the start for example, on page 3 where the author is explaining acceleration: with my personal notes inserted in parentheses within apostrophes, I otherwise quote,

"... In this case, v0 is 0 since the car started from rest.
'(v is italicized and the 0 is subscript correctly in text. I noted however that he started out by stating that the vehicle in question is a truck, then he changes it to a car, but that's not my main issue. He goes on to say)'

Now solve the equation for v1,the unknown speed.

v1-at

'(Again the italicized v and subscript 1 is correctly formatted in text which is not a function available for
writing this review,)' Then the author continues by writing:

Substitute in the acceleration and time, and solve for v1" Unquote.

I was at first stumped. I puzzled over it for some time, and I'm still stumped. Substitute what for what???

I don't get it. I'm sure that had the author been more clear though that I would have quickly understood what he was saying.

The book is a little helpful, but in the future I know not to purchase or waste even a minute perusing one of Mr. Kuhn's books. I don't recommend this book. It appears as though the author rushed through it in an effort to get it to press as quickly as possible. There's enough books on the market already, some sold as college textbooks that just aren't that good. In my opinion, the book in question is one of them, it could perhaps easily have been done better. I feel that this book is not conducive to increasing the quality of education.

Can I do better? I'm working on it. It's going to be some time though because I am not in a hurry nor interested in getting something in print just so I can get paid. Hopefully more writers will foresee more reward in presenting material to others in a manner such as I do. But this review isn't about me. It's about the book you're considering spending your money for, a book that I feel is poorly written to an extent and should not be praised as some kind of helpful guide.

If you have a tutor or you've already passed phyics with flying colors and just want a refresher on the basics whereby you can read something such as what I cited by example and say to yourself, "Oh, I know what he means," or something to that effect, go ahead. Help the guy out and buy one of his books.

Otherwise, personally speaking, I might have been better served by getting "Physics For Dummies" or something. I may want to look at that still if there is such a book. You will most likely better serve yourself by checking to see if there is one for yourself, because in my opinion, to paraphrase and sum up: I don't like this book that much.

To re-iterate: clarity is lacking to some extent for the beginner, and either he didn't proof read his whole book which as it turned out then it got past the editor, or he/they just don't care. Too much is taken for granted. I could be wrong, but if you were to ask me, you'd hear me articulate that Mr. Kuhn just wanted to get the thing written, done (enough) and off to press, period.

At the same time, some of it is good. If you have some background, you could possibly breeze through it - but that background would have to include, again, to have already passed physics with flying colors, you just wanted a refresher, you already understand most of it and can say "Oh, I know what he means," every now and then and you just want to help the guy out and buy a book from him.

I gave it 3 stars, but make that 2 and 1/2, however not to imply that the author isn't knowledgable, eh, I just don't like books written that way. I want better clarity.

This is an update to the original review. I have been to Wikipedia for physics related curiosities. I've paged through this book since sitting down with it from the start and arriving at the conclusion that the book is just not that helpful, but that's the extent of it. It's not worth the money. It's now sitting in the same place I left it month's ago because it is just not interesting. It's not well-written, it doesn't make the subject matter jump out at you. No lights come on. Maybe more questions arise. But I've got my hands full of them without having to spend even more time trying to figure out what the author meant about this that or the other thing. Upon further review of this book, I have down-graded the original, generous 3 star rating to a more accurate 2 stars. It could only be slightly worse with its claim that you can teach yourself physics by reading this. Not without some sturdy footing or foundation to build from or upon on the subject: just learning physics, not this book, no way: you'll be sorry unless you like spending money on things you plan on never using. You might feel smarter just owning it, but you won't understand what's between the front and back covers of this one.

Depicts and explains physics in a nice broken down simple way. So far I'm getting it as I go. No real retention; but that is my issue, not the books! I'm reading it nibble by nibble for my own enjoyment - but I think it would be a really helpful companion for students as it makes physics less intimidating.

This book is just okay. I was hoping for more from it. I wanted to keep this in my Physics classroom for my students who need the concepts broken down further, but this book is missing many important concepts. There needs to be a new version to address all of the missing topics.

I am currently enrolled in an entry-level physics course. There is no calculus involved in this course, nor is it a "math" based physics course: Rather, it is an introduction to most topics fundamental to physics. For the purposes of academicia, this book is essentially useless. Its coverage of topics attempts to be too many things at once: As a student, I got the impression that it was an attempt to cover everything, but with as little complexity as possible.
Thus, one is left with a sense of surface understanding, but very few abilities for application.
This book was purchased as a method by which I could introduce myself to topics covered in class. The theory behind this was that if i learned the basics from an outside source, then when we covered them (more in-depth and mechanical, less layman's-terms). This book provides an overly-simplified, dumbed-down portrayal of physics.
If you've never taken any physics courses and have - literally - no background in mechanics (and a weak background in algebra-based math), then this book may be perfect for you: It is a gentle, superficial introduction to the most basic concepts of physics. There basic discussion of Newton's laws of motion, some kinetic/potential energy discussion, etc: All topics common to most non-math physics courses. Additionally, while brief explanations of major laws and motions are given, there are very few practice problems and application instances. Thus, you've learned - in theory - say, Newton's Second Law. But the book, in no way, guides you through an application of said law.
Simply, it is a gentle introduction - and very gentle, at that - to the world of physics. The simple language is easy to follow, though topics are hardly covered thoroughly. But it is a good starting-off point if you are easing yourself into the study of physics (on your own). I highly recommend finding another, more thorough (and in-depth) book in order to further examine topics.

I am very excited to practice with this book except there is a pretty big design flaw.

Why did the author write the answer to each question immediately below the blank? He should have put them at the end of the chapter.

On a lot of problems, the question is so short that you can't help looking directly at the answer.

Very well explained book. Easy to understand and very good illustrations!!
BUT I'm outraged a physics book can ever used the archaic imperial British system, even if it's only for simple examples... Fortunately for serious stuff it uses the proper civilized metric system.

This book is useless for a college intro physics course. Physics cannot be simplified. The author attempts to make physics into Cliff Notes and fails miserably.
For example the book glosses over vectors and projectile motion in a couple pages without any trigonometry! A college physics book contains 30 pages on vectors with applications like projectile motion and relative velocity.
If you need help in physics, this book is a complete waste of time.

I'm taking a conceptual physics class as a college requirement. I've taken algebra and statistics but know nothing of physics. Unfortunately my instructor chose a free textbook, available online, that is atrocious. I'm trying to bridge the gap with this book and it has done nothing to clarify the concepts for me.

While book is intended to be for beginners, more or less, it is surprising that it includes no discussion of special and general relativity. It discusses Einstein's discussion of the Photoelectric effect - but it iis as if that is his only contribution to physics.

If author elected not to discuss relativity, believing it, perhaps to be too advanced, he should have identified that and other theories not included in the book, so readers(like me) would not wonder why what other seminal theories and principles are missing.

A great disappointment - can cause me to doubt the efficacy of book, even for beginners

Because I was more into chemistry than physics in high school, I decided to brush up on physics and relearn the subject to help my kids in few years time. When the book arrived, I was truly disappointed. The book was almost like Physical Science class textbook which I took in 9th grade, which many of us had found it not difficult - and only requires light mathematical problem solving skills. I was rather looking for "Physics"-physics, not so "BASIC"-physics. I was looking for more mathematical problem solving guide, but, this book covers more of the basic theoretical questions and not enough of "heavy-math" involving problems which I had to deal with in my senior year physics class. And looking at the cover, well, I'll be darned, "BASIC Physics". duh... :P If only my 9th grade teacher had named the science class "Basic Physics", instead of Physical Science.

Below added on 5-26-2010

The other thing I do not like this book is that the answers to the questions are right below the questions. Unlike some textbooks which have answers in the back. It's pretty hard to work the problems and solve to sharpen your skills when the answers are staring in your face. I thought of putting on some tape with paper strips over the answers, but there's lot of questions and lot of work.

I bought several physics books for my husband, as he really wanted to learn physics. He never had it in school so he needed a basic physics book. Out of all the books I bought, this one is by far his favorite. It explains everything very well and truly works well as a self-teaching guide. Highly recommended if you are looking for a good book as a basic physics refresher or to learn about physics for the first time. It goes over all the areas of general physics, which provides a great overview of the subject.

I bought this because the other reviews said it downplayed the math. There is a lot of math in this, and the explanations are terse. What it leaves out, that you get in most physics texts, are all the conversions you need to do from miles to meters, hours to seconds, etc. It's probably good for a review or supplement to a college text but not so great as a first Physics book for a high school kid, tho it does cover a lot of topics they don't really cover in high school physics, like atoms and molecules, solids, liquids and gases, static electricity and electrical currents, electrical induction, electromagnetic waves, etc. I would have given it fewer stars but my high school student actually likes the book, and that counts for a lot.

It starts you at the very beginning and slowly moves one through the physics of numbers. It was bought to help me understand the way the ancients believed in the numbers and how man tries so hard to be like a god. The man god makes things so difficult to learn and understand but the Father offers peace and love. Nothing difficult in that.

I liked the book. It's very simple, quite organised. I belive it has about 23 chapters. Starts with velocity, speed, gravity, weight, then goes to more advanced areas for example waves, particles, etc. Sometimes it gives the background of a discovery. Newton liked to make people sad, I think I remember. It has the regular Einstein is the greatest mind of all times. I think it tries to explain the E=MC2 that everybody knows and few understand it.

It's pretty simple. Stripped out of all formulas but the most useful ones. I really liked the beginning of the book, dealing with gravity. For example, there is no such thing as Zero gravity. The cosmonauts are acutally in microgravity because they fall with the ship, and the ship falls continously in a straight line towards earth, but as it falls it spirals around the earth because of gravity, which makes it miss the target and be kept orbiting around the earth. There is not one place in space where there is no gravity.

What I like about this book is the way it teaches the reader. It continously asks questions. Why this, why that, and you have to figure it out yourself. Although it does give brief introductory substance, but what you have the job to expand it. Luckily, all the answers are right beneath wihch is very annoying. Somtimes I see the answer before, and now the question is useless. I had to cover the answers before reading the questions.

But I belive there is an equal amount of literature and formulas. You won't learn math from this book, but the general idea. I gave it 5 starts because it is what the title says: self-teaching, and basic.

I just got around to making use of this after I bought it a couple months ago. I wish I could return though because I don't understand why the answers to each question is just underneath it. I can't think about the answer if it's given to me right underneath the question. I don't learn thst way. Very disappointed.

I ordered the book for my grandson and he reported to me that it really helped him to get the baseline skills that he needed to work at the level of his current class. He had no previous learning in Physics, and his school only offered an honors class. I can't understand why a school would only offer honors classes, because baseline skills must be mastered before any student can get to honors. Nevertheless, we are grateful that this book was available, and I would recommend it for any students who find themselves in the situation my grandson was in. Thank you!

This book is a great place to start for anyone wanting to learn the basics of Newtonian physics. I decided to read this book in preparation for my high school's Physics AP class that I'll be taking next year. Comparing this book to an outline of the course, I found that the book covers more topics than the class, but in less detail. Like I said, it's great for the basics, but that's about it. The approach is rather non-mathematical, but very clear and easy to understand. Kuhn has done a great job of making basic physics understandable. This book, in conjunction with a study text, such as Schaum's Beginning Physics I or a textbook, would be an ideal way to learn physics on your own.

I do not recommend this as a textbook in any sort of way. You won't learn much detail from this book. BUTTTTT I strongly suggest u take a week or two to read through it (a chapter at a time).... before u start ur more intense study using your normal textbook. This book will give u the basic THEORY behind physics. This will come in handy once u start using weird formulas and whatnot during your course. So read it first. It's an easy read, so don't fear that it might take too long.

This book is good to get a grasp on physics however, physics is really a calculus driven course, so algebra in my opinion makes it harder. In retrospect its a good book for someone looking for a basic understanding in physics but not a deep one.

This is a first rate book for those people who are daunted by the very thought of physics, especially students who find math a challenge. I found the diagrams excellent and they would be easily understood. My only (small) criticism is that it would be a far better self-teaching tool if the answers were at the back of the book. This book is a fantastic start for the new student of physics. Highly recommended. It would make a good gift.

My main problem with this book is that the answers are stated directly below the exercises, forcing you to either try to cover up the answers with a bookmark or sheet of paper, or consciously try to not look at the answers, which is distracting. This format makes the book feel more like a trivia quiz than a book about a serious academic subject. Though the book throws some rudimentary equations at the reader, it doesn't explain them clearly enough. Overall, I felt the whole idea of the book was to rush the reader through the subject matter rather than giving the reader a meaningful knowledge of the fundamentals of physics. This book initially appealed to me because it was cheap, but trust me, you're better off paying the premium for a real textbook.

Used this to prepare for the Praxis exams. Took Physics in college 13 years previous. This baby covered me. Had enough questions and covered a broad enough range to get me ready.

Had tride Cliffs Notes for Physics and that lacked the substance, examples and breadth to prepare me for the test.

I,m big into Physics and my school didn't have a course on Physics and so i got this book and learned alot from it i,m not gonna say it didn't have alot of information but it got me started i learn so much on my own about physics from this book.You can take a Math or Non Math course it's clear and educational if you need more information on this book or website links about physics be welcome to email me at [email protected]

It supposed to be teaching physics not measuring systems. When studying the ideas in this book it, the book is no different from what you will here in public schools, 2 yrs colleges and 4yr colleges.

Instead of explaining the concept of acceleration the book gives the exact dinefinition of ecceleration. Giving the exact definition of an idea instead explaining the concept of the idea leaves the student confused and lost.