University Physics

Citation

Young, H. D., Freedman, R. A., & Ford, A. L. (2019). University Physics with Modern Physics (15th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter Summary

The fifteenth edition has 44 chapters in six parts: Mechanics, Waves/Acoustics, Thermodynamics, Electromagnetism, Optics, and Modern Physics. Each chapter opens with learning outcomes and a list of earlier sections to review, and ends with a Guided Practice section followed by problem sets.

Mechanics, Chapters 1–5: Units, Physical Quantities, and Vectors; Motion Along a Straight Line; Motion in Two or Three Dimensions; Newton's Laws of Motion; Applying Newton's Laws

Units and vectors, then kinematics in one dimension and in two or three dimensions, then the laws of motion and a full chapter on applying them (friction, drag, circular motion and similar problems).

Mechanics, Chapters 6–8: Work and Kinetic Energy; Potential Energy and Energy Conservation; Momentum, Impulse, and Collisions

Work, power and kinetic energy lead to potential energy and energy conservation, and then to momentum, impulse and collisions.

Mechanics, Chapters 9–11: Rotation of Rigid Bodies; Dynamics of Rotational Motion; Equilibrium and Elasticity

Rotational kinematics, then torque, rotational inertia, rolling and angular momentum, and finally static equilibrium and the stress-strain behaviour of solids.

Mechanics, Chapters 12–14: Fluid Mechanics; Gravitation; Periodic Motion

Fluids (pressure, buoyancy, Bernoulli's principle), Newton's law of gravitation with satellite motion and Kepler's laws, and the mechanics of oscillating systems: harmonic oscillators, pendulums, damping and resonance.

Waves/Acoustics and Thermodynamics, Chapters 15–20: Mechanical Waves; Sound and Hearing; Temperature and Heat; Thermal Properties of Matter; The First Law of Thermodynamics; The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Waves are given a separate part: wave properties and energy transport, then sound, the Doppler effect and resonance. Thermodynamics follows: temperature and heat, specific heat and phase changes, the first law, and the second law with entropy, heat engines and irreversibility.

Electromagnetism, Chapters 21–26: Electric Charge and Electric Field; Gauss's Law; Electric Potential; Capacitance and Dielectrics; Current, Resistance, and Electromotive Force; Direct-Current Circuits

Electrostatics through to circuits: Coulomb's law and electric fields, Gauss's law for symmetric distributions, potential, capacitors and dielectrics, current and resistance, and Kirchhoff's rules with RC circuits.

Electromagnetism, Chapters 27–32: Magnetic Field and Magnetic Forces; Sources of Magnetic Field; Electromagnetic Induction; Inductance; Alternating Current; Electromagnetic Waves

Magnetic forces on charges and currents, the Biot-Savart law and Ampère's law, Faraday's law and Lenz's law, self- and mutual inductance, AC circuits with reactance and resonance, and the Maxwell equations leading to electromagnetic waves and the spectrum.

Optics, Chapters 33–36: The Nature and Propagation of Light; Geometric Optics; Interference; Diffraction

Light as an electromagnetic wave and its propagation, reflection and refraction in mirrors, lenses and instruments, then double-slit interference, thin films and coherence, and diffraction patterns, gratings and resolution.

Modern Physics, Chapter 37: Relativity

Einstein's postulates, the Lorentz transformation and relativistic mechanics.

Modern Physics, Chapters 38–44: Photons: Light Waves Behaving as Particles; Particles Behaving as Waves; Quantum Mechanics I: Wave Functions; Quantum Mechanics II: Atomic Structure; Molecules and Condensed Matter; Nuclear Physics; Particle Physics and Cosmology

The photon and matter waves, then wave functions, atomic structure, molecules and solids, nuclei, and a closing chapter on particles and cosmology. Chapters 37–44 together form the modern-physics part.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–14: Mechanics

• Identify, Set Up, Execute, Evaluate: the four-step problem-solving approach the book uses in every example.
• Work-energy and momentum conservation: the two routes of Chapters 6–8 for solving motion problems without force-by-force detail.
• Torque and angular momentum: the rotational dynamics of Chapter 10.
• Periodic motion: the oscillator model of Chapter 14.

Chapters 15–20: Waves and Thermodynamics

• Mechanical waves and sound: wave speed, intensity, resonance, the Doppler effect.
• First and second laws: energy accounting for heat and the direction of natural processes.

Chapters 21–36: Electromagnetism and Optics

• Gauss's law and potential: the field and energy descriptions of electrostatics.
• Faraday's law and inductance: the bridge from circuits to electromagnetic waves.
• Interference and diffraction: wave optics in Chapters 35–36.

Chapters 37–44: Modern Physics

• Relativity: Chapter 37.
• Wave functions and atomic structure: Chapters 40–41, with photons and matter waves in Chapters 38–39.
• Nuclear and particle physics: Chapters 43–44.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A consistent problem-solving method. Pearson describes a research-based approach (Identify, Set Up, Execute, Evaluate) used in every example, in the Problem-Solving Strategies and in the solutions manuals and study guide. New worked-example "Key Concept" statements summarise the idea each solution used.
• Support between examples and homework. A Guided Practice section at the end of each chapter contains Key Example Variation Problems, which change scenarios or swap knowns and unknowns, and Bridging Problems that lead from single-concept examples to multi-concept homework.
• Misconception-aware design. "Caution" paragraphs flag typical errors, Test Your Understanding questions at the end of most sections use multiple-choice or ranking-task formats with answers printed right after the question, and annotated equations tie symbols to their meaning.
• A broad range of problem types. The edition expands challenge problems (often calculus-based, multi-step), adds estimation problems that require choosing what data to estimate, and cumulative problems that draw on earlier chapters.

Limitations

• Length. With 44 chapters, the book contains more than a one-year course can cover, and instructors choose which chapters to omit.
• Calculus helps. The challenge problems often draw on calculus, so students need to be comfortable with it.
• Online resources are separate. Many of the learning tools Pearson advertises (Mastering Physics problem sets, pre-lecture videos, Dynamic Study Modules, the Physics Primer) belong to the online platform rather than the printed book.
• Edition and format variants. The same text circulates as the full book with modern physics, as separate volumes and in SI-unit versions; check that the volume you obtain has the chapters you need.

Where It Fits in the Course

University Physics is one of four full-length, calculus-based general physics textbooks in this list, with Fundamentals of Physics, Physics for Scientists and Engineers and Principles of Physics. Its distinguishing features are the four-step problem-solving framework, the Guided Practice section after each chapter and the "with Modern Physics" ending. OpenStax also publishes a free, calculus-based University Physics in three volumes, which makes a no-cost alternative or a second explanation of the same ground.

For a gentler first pass, Hewitt's Conceptual Physics gives the ideas with very little mathematics, and OpenStax's College Physics is a free algebra-based course. For more depth, Kleppner and Kolenkow's An Introduction to Mechanics is a demanding calculus-based treatment of mechanics, 200 Puzzling Physics Problems offers problems with hints and full solutions, and The Feynman Lectures on Physics gives a concept-driven alternative account.

How to Use This Book

The book is for science and engineering students in a calculus-based general physics sequence. Algebra, trigonometry and an introductory calculus course are assumed.

A practical plan:

• Mechanics: Chapters 1–14, in order. Chapters 1–8 are the foundation for everything else.
• Waves and thermodynamics: Chapters 15–20.
• Electromagnetism and optics: Chapters 21–36. Take electric fields (21–24) before circuits (25–26), then magnetism and induction (27–30) and Chapter 32 for electromagnetic waves.
• Modern physics: Chapters 37–44 for relativity, quantum mechanics, atoms, nuclei and particles.

For each chapter, read the learning outcomes first, review any sections they point back to, and answer the Test Your Understanding questions as you go. Use the Key Example Variation Problems and Bridging Problems to practice the method before attempting the end-of-chapter problems. Treat the estimation and challenge problems as stretch work after the standard problems.