Physics I for Dummies

The fun and easy way to get up to speed on the basic concepts of physics

For high school and undergraduate students alike, physics classes are recommended or required courses for a wide variety of majors, and continue to be a challenging and often confusing course.

Physics I For Dummies tracks specifically to an introductory course and, keeping with the traditionally easy-to-follow Dummies style, teaches you the basic principles and formulas in a clear and concise manner, proving that you don't have to be Einstein to understand physics!

• Explains the basic principles in a simple, clear, and entertaining fashion
• New edition includes updated examples and explanations, as well as the newest discoveries in the field
• Contains the newest teaching techniques

If just thinking about the laws of physics makes your head spin, this hands-on, friendly guide gets you out of the black hole and sheds light on this often-intimidating subject.

Steven Holzner, PhD, was a contributing editor at PC Magazine and was on the faculty of both MIT and Cornell University. He wrote Physics II For Dummies, Physics Essentials For Dummies, and Quantum Physics For Dummies.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Putting Physics into Motion 5

CHAPTER 1: Using Physics to Understand Your World 7

CHAPTER 2: Reviewing Physics Measurement and Math Fundamentals 15

CHAPTER 3: Exploring the Need for Speed 27

CHAPTER 4: Following Directions: Motion in Two Dimensions 51

Part 2: May the Forces of Physics Be with You 77

CHAPTER 5: When Push Comes to Shove: Force 79

CHAPTER 6: Getting Down with Gravity, Inclined Planes, and Friction 99

CHAPTER 7: Circling around Rotational Motion and Orbits 117

CHAPTER 8: Go with the Flow: Looking at Pressure in Fluids 139

Part 3: Manifesting the Energy to Work 163

CHAPTER 9: Getting Some Work Out of Physics 165

CHAPTER 10: Putting Objects in Motion: Momentum and Impulse 189

CHAPTER 11: Winding Up with Angular Kinetics 209

CHAPTER 12: Round and Round with Rotational Dynamics 235

CHAPTER 13: Springs ’n’ Things: Simple Harmonic Motion 253

Part 4: Laying Down the Laws of Thermodynamics 271

CHAPTER 14: Turning Up the Heat with Thermodynamics 273

CHAPTER 15: Here, Take My Coat: How Heat Is Transferred 289

CHAPTER 16: In the Best of All Possible Worlds: The Ideal Gas Law 305

CHAPTER 17: Heat and Work: The Laws of Thermodynamics 317

Part 5: The Part of Tens 347

CHAPTER 18: Ten Physics Heroes 349

CHAPTER 19: Ten Wild Physics Theories 355

Glossary 363

Index 367

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