Many examples of places in the United States, the book is definitely US-centric.
The book essentially has avoiding this issue by referring to objects, not people.The book is well written, and viable for a course. The NCERT Class 12th Physics textbooks are well known for it’s updated and thoroughly revised syllabus. Despite the considerable size of the book, it should be easy to use as a reference work: in addition to an adequate index (at the end of the book), each chapter ends with a glossary and a detailed summary.Any book of this size cannot be entirely error free, but I cannot say I found any (although I have yet to teach from the book). The separation of fulid mechanics into statics and dynamics with applications is a good touch.There is an unevenness in the text after Fluids, but that seems typical of all of the trig-based level texts. That being said, each of these changes would require totally separate editions.I have addressed several of these issues in a previous part of this review. The relevant mathematics is provided in an appendix. Each chapter has its own glossary of terms which makes it easier for students to read the chapter before attending a lecture. ex. We never spam. This text is about as clear as every other college physics text, which is to say I find them all quite verbose to the point where most students do not read them. Simple pendulum discussion needs revising: "We see from Figure 16.14 that the net force on the bob is tangent to the arc and equals Fnet. It would be logical to build that waves off of harmonic motion. Generally, nothing in the text is blatantly offensive. I have one pet piev in that the Introduction ignores the development of physics between Plato/Aristotle and Galileo/Newton. Some parts are comically underdone. GDP numbers seem consistent with year 2000 numbers. So, this text does have longevity but any physics text does.
The physics problems in the body of the book and the end of chapter problems are related to modern day applications. Some eariler introduction of solid state examples may be prudent.
Perhaps this is an antiplagiarism measure or copyright protection. If you don’t see a Pearson eText available for your textbook in our store, we’ve got you covered. The textbook is very comprehensive, covering all topics in a typical two-semester algebra-based introductory physics coruse. As a STEM educator, I do have strong issues with the perpetuation of the "Scientific Method" as defined in Chapter 1 (page 10) which epitomizes the cookbook approach to science which we are trying to modify in science courses. Definitely contains all of the relevant information that a student in an algebra-based college physics course would need. The chapter layouts are intuitive and can easily be reworked for any purpose. to teach a 2-semester course for non-science majors.The OpenStax textbook coverage of content for a one-year algebra-based physics course exceeds standard textbooks that I have recently used. As modern as online learning...This is a very comprehensive text. No one has published a text yet that doesn't turn into a selected topics in Physics after fluids. This book has the feel of a typical algebra based first year physics book, suitable for algebra-based first year physics courses anywhere.
Perhaps more white space so the pages don't appear quite as "busy". Even with prior textbooks, I would “omit” certain sections due to time limitations.
Things I did not like:
As I read through most of the chapters, I did not notice any errors in accuracy. This choice of symbology is very unusual, perhaps unique, in textbooks for this audience.
This allows instructors flexibility in choosing the topics they would like for each semester of...The textbook covers all the content you would expect from an introductory algebra-based physics course.
The definition of position in the glossary of the openstax text at the end of the chapter is too vague. Misprints and misspellings also make some of the statements "inaccurate" and confusing. The question I always have from students in the later chapters is how does this relate to the earlier chapters. There are also seven chapters covering topics in modern physics.The book is fairly comprehensive for a 2nd semester non-major physics course. Openstax is well developed.I have not come across any examples that make me cringe like I do in some old 50s texts that are pre-political correctness.The OpenStax textbooks are so evolved and polished (unlike some other OER) and I have been waiting for a chance to adopt based on my teaching assignments and other faculty with whom I teach. They are similar to those in both Knight and Giancoli.