U Can: Physics I For Dummies. Steven Holzner
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Название: U Can: Physics I For Dummies
Автор: Steven Holzner
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
Жанр: Зарубежная образовательная литература
isbn: 9781119093725
isbn:
✔ Online practice and study aids: The online practice that comes free with this book offers 500 questions and answers that allow you to gain more practice with physics concepts. The beauty of the online questions is that you can customize your online practice to focus on the topics that give you the most trouble. So if you need help with projectile motion or angular momentum, just select those question types online and start practicing. Or if you’re short on time but want to get a mixed bag of a limited number of questions, you can specify the number of questions you want to practice. Whether you practice a few hundred questions in one sitting or a couple dozen, and whether you focus on a few types of questions or practice every type, the online program keeps track of the questions you get right and wrong so you can monitor your progress and spend time studying exactly what you need.
To gain access to the online practice, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Find your access code.
● Print-book users: If you purchased a hard copy of this book, turn to the inside of the front cover to find your access code.
● E-book users: If you purchased this book as an e-book, you can get your access code by registering your e-book at www.dummies.com/go/getaccess. Simply select your book from the drop-down menu, fill in your personal information, and then answer the security question to verify your purchase. You’ll then receive an email with your access code.
2. Go to http://studyandprep.wiley.com.
3. Click on the product you want to access, and then click Login.
4. On the Register tab, enter your access code, and click Go.
5. Follow the instructions to create an account and set up your personal login.
Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the online program as often as you want – simply log on with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.
Tip: If you have trouble with your access code or can’t find it, contact Wiley Product Technical Support at 877-762-2974 or go to http://wiley.custhelp.com.
Where to Go from Here
You can leaf through this book; you don’t have to read it from beginning to end. Like other For Dummies books, this one was designed to let you skip around as you like. This is your book, and physics is your oyster. You can jump into Chapter 1, which is where all the action starts; you can head to Chapter 2 for a discussion of the necessary algebra and trig you should know; or you can jump in anywhere you like if you know exactly what topic you want to study.
Part I
✔ See what physics is all about.
✔ Brush up on basic algebra, trig, and physics measurements and units.
✔ Master the motion of displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
✔ Point yourself in the right direction with vectors.
Chapter 1
Using Physics to Understand Your World
▶ Recognizing the physics in your world
▶ Understanding motion
▶ Handling the force and energy around you
▶ Getting hot under the collar with thermodynamics
Physics is the study of the world and universe around you. Luckily, the behavior of the matter and energy – the stuff of this universe – is not completely unruly. Instead, it strictly obeys laws, which physicists are gradually revealing through the careful application of the scientific method, which relies on experimental evidence and sound rigorous reasoning. In this way, physicists have been uncovering more and more of the beauty that lies at the heart of the workings of the universe, from the infinitely small to the mind-bogglingly large.
Physics is an all-encompassing science. You can study various aspects of the natural world (in fact, the word physics is derived from the Greek word physika, which means “natural things”), and accordingly, you can study different fields in physics: the physics of objects in motion, of energy, of forces, of gases, of heat and temperature, and so on. You enjoy the study of all these topics and many more in this book. In this chapter, we give an overview of physics – what it is, what it deals with, and why mathematical calculations are important to it – to get you started.
What Physics Is All About
Many people are a little on edge when they think about physics. For them, the subject seems like some highbrow topic that pulls numbers and rules out of thin air. But the truth is that physics exists to help you make sense of the world. Physics is a human adventure, undertaken on behalf of everyone, into the way the world works.
Remember: At its root, physics is all about becoming aware of your world and using mental and mathematical models to explain it. The gist of physics is this: You start by making an observation, you create a model to simulate that situation, and then you add some math to fill it out – and voilà! You have the power to predict what will happen in the real world. All this math exists to help you see what happens and why.
In this section, we explain how real-world observations fit in with the math. The later sections take you on a brief tour of the key topics that comprise basic physics.
You can observe plenty going on around you in your complex world. Leaves are waving, the sun is shining, light bulbs are glowing, cars are moving, computer printers are printing, people are walking and riding bikes, streams are flowing, and so on. When you stop to examine these actions, your natural curiosity gives rise to endless questions such as these:
✔ Why do I slip when I try to climb that snow bank?
✔ How distant are other stars, and how long would it take to get there?
✔ How does an airplane wing work?
✔ How can a thermos flask keep hot things warm and keep cold things cool?
✔ Why does an enormous cruise ship float when a paper clip sinks?
✔ Why does water roll around when it boils?
Any law of physics comes from very close observation of the world, and any theory that a physicist comes up with has to stand up to experimental measurements. Physics goes beyond qualitative statements about physical СКАЧАТЬ