SallyMac Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I know about Saxon, Thinkwell (which looks good), and Apologia. Wondering what else is good for physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Add Keystone, k12, and NROC to your list to royally confuse yourself :) I keep changing my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 And then there are the homeschool online schools too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Add Giancoli, Conceptual Physics and Hippocampus. I recently discovered that Conceptual Physics has a middle school/ genral public book too called Conceptual Physics for Everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Giancoli is a wonderful book and doesn't require claculus. Also to consider is the Kinetic Books which has a homeschool deal, offers three versions and virtual labs. http://www.kineticbooks.com/products/homeschool.html Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 We're going to do Hewitt's Conceptual Physics. In part because it was recommended to us, and in part because my brother is sending me his copy since he teaches only mathy physics. It's hard to argue with a free book;) Plus, dd will do it in Gr. 10/sophomore year so if she is missing any math (she'll have at least some basic trig by then) she'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 LOL, I just wanted to add that I read this as, "What is available for psychics?" I own Hewitt's Conceptual, but haven't been brave enough to use it yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hewitt's Conceptual Physics for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallyMac Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Now, McConnellboys...if I was psychic, would I be asking for the answer?LOL Mary, I love the kinetic books website. It looks interesting, graphic, and there are different levels including AP Physics. I am very familiar with Conceptual Physics, and unfortunately, sold every imaginable publication that goes with Conceptual Physics text earlier in the year (even the overhead transparencies) that came with the set. CP looks great, I just didn't think it was meant for high school seniors because 9th graders are using it in a nearby private school and they are taking it concurrently with Algebra II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paula j Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 BJU also offers a physics course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 CP looks great, I just didn't think it was meant for high school seniors because 9th graders are using it in a nearby private school and they are taking it concurrently with Algebra II. I think it is meant for high school. This thread http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23213&highlight=physics talks about doing the sciences in a different order. Conceptual Physics, in 9th or 10th, is the only high school physics these kids get. They put it earlier because, with the emphasis pushed down to the atomic level, the kids need the physics to understand the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I was told I could choose the text, so I looked at several options. Here are some of my thoughts (in no particular order): (I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, so I have a pretty good background in Physics. It's by far my favorite of the high school sciences.) I ended up using Apologia, which is okay. I saw it referred to as "Physics Light" on another hsing board, and I'd agree. There are several topics that I thought were standard in a high school Physics program that simply aren't included in Apologia. NOTE: Apologia does also have an Advanced Physics course, but I haven't used it. I liked most of the labs in the first half of the text, and will use them pretty much as-is this next year. I'm in the process of re-working many of the labs in the second half, however. The labs are meant to be done at home, which is great for a homeschool text :), but we do have the luxury of a small budget for more sophisticated lab supplies at co-op. I really disliked the Saxon book. I thought it skipped around too much. Just like the math books, there are no chapters which pull together a group of lessons on one concept. You might be learning about friction one lesson, rotational motion the next, then fluids. NOTE: I don't like Saxon math for the same reason, although I know many do like it. I like Conceptual Physics, but I didn't know about it when I was choosing. Mr. Hewitt has a nice little paperback version of much of the Mechanics topics, which I often refer to for in-class demos and real-life explanations of concepts. CP doesn't have labs in the text (at least the version we have at our library), and we need this to be a lab course at our co-op. I like the BJU text. It is very thorough. There is a lab program to go along with it, but I'm not sure how many of the labs are doable at home. I didn't choose this simply because I couldn't get it all covered in the time we have available at co-op. I looked briefly at the Abeka text. I simply didn't like it. I don't remember details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallyMac Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thank you for that valuable information. Do you think Conceptual Physics is advanced (i.e. thorough) enough when compared to what seniors in ps are taking, especially since they are required to have completed or be taking precalc or calculus? Is it thorough enough for a student wanting to major in computer engineering??? I remember seeing experiments right in the textbook? Are these experiments as user friendly if self-teaching (by the student) as Apologia? Have you tried Thinkwell Physics? To everyone else...has anyone tried PA Homeschoolers AP Physics or ApexLearning AP Physics? Can a student keep up if taking precal concurrently? Opinions about Thinkwell Physics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Someone else chime in here, please!!! I have only seen older editions of Conceptual Physics. The explanations are very good, but the entire text is almost stricly conceptual. In other words, there is little to no math involved. Now, the newer editions may be different. But the two our library has (6th and 8th editions) would NOT be adequate for a student going into any type of a science or engineering field, at least not as the only high school Physics course. I think they could be used as a non-lab Physical Science text just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Thank you for that valuable information. Do you think Conceptual Physics is advanced (i.e. thorough) enough when compared to what seniors in ps are taking, especially since they are required to have completed or be taking precalc or calculus? Is it thorough enough for a student wanting to major in computer engineering??? I remember seeing experiments right in the textbook? Are these experiments as user friendly if self-teaching (by the student) as Apologia? Have you tried Thinkwell Physics? To everyone else...has anyone tried PA Homeschoolers AP Physics or ApexLearning AP Physics? Can a student keep up if taking precal concurrently? Opinions about Thinkwell Physics? PA Homeschoolers doesn't offer Physics - wish they did! We used some of the Thinkwell lectures and they are excellent and, actually, the accompanying problems are also very well coordinated with the lectures and support the material well. There are a few lectures where some math knowledge beyond the traditional precalculus course WILL be necessary though. You might run into problems if doing the math concurrently unless you advance the calculus ahead of the physics to cover limits. Haven't used Apex but have looked at their programs closely yet backed away. Can't fully explain "why" except that it is all on the computer and expensive and no textbook support unlike Keystone which I also have explored in depth but never used! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Someone else chime in here, please!!! I have only seen older editions of Conceptual Physics. The explanations are very good, but the entire text is almost stricly conceptual. In other words, there is little to no math involved. Now, the newer editions may be different. But the two our library has (6th and 8th editions) would NOT be adequate for a student going into any type of a science or engineering field, at least not as the only high school Physics course. I think they could be used as a non-lab Physical Science text just fine. According to my brother, who teaches post-secondary Physics in a university/4 year college (name depends on which side of the border you live, but he's in Canada so it's university), Hewitt's book would be fine even for an aspiring science major. Also, it was recommended by Dr. Rebecca Keller, who has her Ph. D. in molecular biology. I asked because she recommends doing Chem/Physics/Biology/Earth & Space science in that order in high school, and it made sense to me (but so would Phys/Chem/Bio/E&S). That way they have enough chemistry do do better with the biochemical aspects of biology, etc. We're doing it because dd will be doing Physics in Gr. 10, and I'm not sure if she's doing Geometry or Alg II in Gr. 9 yet. We chose it because she won't be ready for all the math. That said, we will be checking with colleges of interest and dd may end up doing an AP Physics course once she has more math. However, right now she's mostly interested in DNA, so we're not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Biology Camp July 14-16th, 2008 Cost: $275 Biology Camp will be taught by John Skipper. The experiments will include DNA analysis using gel electrophoresis, examining the catalysis of pectin breakdown using the enzyme pectinase, and studying the effects of temperature and germination/dormancy on the rate of respiration in pea plants. Chemistry Camp July 17-19th, 2008 Cost: $250 Apologia's own Mr. Rusty Hughes will be the instructor for Chemistry Camp and will help guide students through 4 challenging and fun experiments which will expose them to over 10 hours of lab time. Additionally, Dr. Wile plans to be visiting during both camps and will even be present for some of the labs. All meals, lodging and lab equipment are included. More details are on the website: http://www.apologiaonline.com/camps/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.