Preface

Summary

This is a book about physics, consisting of two hundred problems with solutions worked out in detail. My experience in teaching physics at university level has led me to believe that many first-year undergraduates find physics interesting but hard. With perhaps one or two exceptions the concepts are straightforward enough to be grasped, and students often enjoy learning these concepts, many of which are beautiful or at least intellectually satisfying. However, students often find that translating their understanding of the ideas of physics into problem-solving can be difficult. I believe the best way to learn how to solve problems is by example, hence this book. The level of difficulty of the problems (in some cases it would be more accurate to say the level of sophistication of the solutions) is intended to be roughly that of the first year of a physics course at a British university, and the range of topics treated is correspondingly intended to reflect typical first-year syllabuses. In order to ensure that this is so, I have drawn most of these problems from recent first-year examination papers at several British universities. However, I hope that it will find some use both below and above this level. Its intention is to help students to make the transition from school physics to university physics, so it assumes a background in physics and mathematics appropriate to such a level.