Introductory Physics: Building Models to Describe Our World

by Ryan Martin, Emma Neary, Joshua Rinaldo

This textbook is written to fill several needs that we believe were not already met by the many existing introductory physics textbooks. First, we wanted to ensure that the textbook is free to use for students and professors. Second, we wanted to design a textbook that is mindful of the new pedagogies being used in introductory physics, by writing it in a way that is adapted to a flipped-classroom approach where students complete readings, think about the readings, and then discuss the material in class. Third, we wanted to create a textbook that also addresses the experimental aspect of physics, by proposing experiments to be conducted at home or in the lab, as well as providing guidelines for designing experiments and reporting on experimental results. Finally, we wanted to create a textbook that is a sort of “living document”, that professors can edit and re-mix for their own needs, and to which students can contribute material as well. The textbook is hosted on GitHub, which allows anyone to make suggestions, point out issues and mistakes, and contribute material.

This textbook is meant to be paired with the accompanying “Question Library”, which contains many practice problems, many of which were contributed by students.

This textbook would not have been possible without the support of Queen’s University and the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy at Queen’s University, as well as the many helpful discussions with the students, technicians and professors at Queen’s University.

ebook

Published August 23, 2021

Reviews

[Lance Schonberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Physics at the undergraduate level with strong emphases on methodology and problem solving.