2 Physics textbooks which I'd recommend to H2 Physics
students.
University
Physics with Modern Physics
by Young and Freedman
This is where I learnt most of my physics from. It is very detailed
and comprehensive and covers every single aspect of the H2 Physics
syllabus and more. The exposition is clear and well-motivated. The
text is full of worked examples which guide the students through
the solution in a step-by-step manner. The end-of-chapter problems
are challenging and you should not have difficulty solving them if
you had truly mastered the chapter. Some claim that it is too
verbose but I personally believe verbosity is required for
comprehensibility sought by beginning physics students. Do not be
intimidated by the title ‘University Physics’ as it is used as a
textbook in many high schools (similar to our JCs) in USA and also
as a 1st-semester introductory textbook for engineering
undergrads.
Fundamentals of
Physics Extended
by Resnick, Halliday and Walker
This is a real classic! I still remember an earlier edition of this
book being a recommended text when I was still in JC. Though
pitched at a somewhat slightly lower level than the above text, it
still covers the H2 Physics syllabus well. The explanations are not
as deep and it covers less ground than the above text. If you do
not feel comfortable with ‘University Physics’ due to its length or
depth, this book might be right for you. The end-of-chapter
problems are about the same level of difficulty as ‘University
Physics’. This book is also used as a textbook in many high schools
(similar to our JCs) in USA.
A note on other
textbooks
To be fair, there are many other textbooks in the market such as
those by ‘Tipler and Mosca’, ‘Serway and Jewett’, etc. However, it
is my personal opinion that most of these modern textbooks are mere
parodies of the above two classics. They offer little beyond what
can be found in the above two texts. I’d suggest the students
choose one good textbook and stick to it. Having two/three
textbooks concurrently will not help much.
