Preface to the Instructor

This fifth edition of Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach continues to build on the research-driven instructional techniques introduced in the first edition and the extensive feedback from thousands of users. From the beginning, the objectives have been:

A screenshot photograph of the cover of a book titled Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching.

A more complete explanation of these goals and the rationale behind them can be found in my paperback book, Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching. Please request a copy from your local Pearson sales representative if it is of interest to you (ISBN 978-0-805-38702-5).

What’s New to This Edition

The fifth edition of Physics for Scientists and Engineers continues to utilize the best results from educational research and to tailor them for this course and its students. At the same time, the extensive feedback we’ve received from both instructors and students has led to many changes and improvements to the text, the figures, and the end-of-chapter problems. Changes include:

Textbook Organization

Physics for Scientists and Engineers is divided into eight parts: Part I: Newton’s Laws, Part II: Conservation Laws, Part III: Applications of Newtonian Mechanics, Part IV: Oscillations and Waves, Part V: Thermodynamics, Part VI: Electricity and Magnetism, Part VII: Optics, and Part VIII: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Note that covering the parts in this order is by no means essential. Each topic is self-contained, and Parts III–VII can be rearranged to suit an instructor’s needs. Part VII: Optics does need to follow Part IV: Oscillations and Waves; optics can be taught either before or after electricity and magnetism.

The complete 42-chapter version of Physics for Scientists and Engineers is intended for a three-semester course. A two-semester course typically covers 30–32 chapters with the judicious omission of a few sections.

There’s a growing sentiment that quantum physics is becoming the province of engineers, not just physicists, and that even a two-semester course should include a reasonable introduction to quantum ideas. I’ve written the book with the hope that an increasing number of instructors will choose one of these routes.

More purchase options are available for students at www.pearson.com.

The Student Workbook

A key component of Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach is the accompanying Student Workbook. The workbook bridges the gap between textbook and homework problems by providing students the opportunity to learn and practice skills prior to using those skills in quantitative end-of-chapter problems, much as a musician practices technique separately from performance pieces. The workbook exercises, which are keyed to each section of the textbook, focus on developing specific skills, ranging from identifying forces and drawing free-body diagrams to interpreting wave functions.

A screenshot photograph of a workbook page that contains questions and diagrams.

The workbook exercises, which are generally qualitative and/or graphical, draw heavily upon the physics education research literature. The exercises deal with issues known to cause student difficulties and employ techniques that have proven to be effective at overcoming those difficulties. The workbook exercises can be used in class as part of an active-learning teaching strategy, in recitation sections, or as assigned homework.

Instructor Resources

A variety of resources are available to help instructors teach more effectively and efficiently. These can be downloaded from the Instructor Resources area of Mastering® Physics.