I need a physics text for ME

[Hikin' Mama]

My youngest is graduating this year. I want to do a study of physics on my own. I haven't done this in our homeschool, as my two older kids went to the local high school, and I chose not to do physics with my daughter. (We did do a physical science course, but not an actual physics course.) If my self study goes okay, I want to follow up with a community college course.

 

Any recommendations? Thank you!

[Jen in NY]

I really enjoyed a Coursera course called 'How Things Work: an Introduction to Physics' by the University of Virginia. There's a companion book of the same name. This was mostly a conceptual introduction to physics, which I needed. It was algebra, not calculus based.

 

Edx.org has 'Preparing for the AP Physics Exam' that could be useful for you, too.

 

HTH, and good luck!

[Brad S]

There's a lot of information on the pinned High School Physics thread, which kind of sums up the hive's knowledge on this topic.  For one non-expert opinion, I'd say that if you remember a semester or more of calculus, use a calculus-based physics book.  If you haven't taken or don't remember any calculus, but do remember some algebra 2 and trigonometry, use an algebra-based physics book like Knight's College Physics -- I think he also has a similar text with AP high school physics in the title (Giancoli is also used by some).  If the algebra is dicey, you could try Hewitt's Conceptual Physics text.  I think I've also heard some good things about the Coursera "How Things Work" course.

 

Edited May 19, 2016 by Brad S

[EKS]

I plan to use Derek Owens for this purpose.

[Hikin' Mama]

Thank you!