College Physics Companion Site: With an Integrated Approach to Forces and Kinematics, 4/e
Alan Giambattista,
Cornell University Betty McCarthy Richardson,
Cornell University Robert C. Richardson,
Cornell University
ISBN: 0073512141 Copyright year: 2013
What's New
NEW TO THE FOURTH EDITION
Although the fundamental philosophy of the book has not changed, detailed feedback
from instructors and students using the previous editions has enabled us to continually
fine-tune our approach. Some of the most important enhancements in the fourth edition
include:
• To help students see that the physics they are learning is relevant to their careers,
the fourth edition includes 111 new biomedical applications in the end-of-chapter
Problems, 12 new biomedical Examples, and 10 new text discussions of biomedical
applications.
• A list of selected biomedical applications appears on the first page of each
chapter.
• Eighty-nine new Ranking Tasks have been included in the Checkpoints, Practice
Problems, and end-of-chapter Problems.
• New Checkpoints have been added to the text to give students more frequent
opportunities to pause and test their understanding of a new concept
• Every chapter includes a set of Collaborative Problems that can be used in
cooperative group problem solving.
• The Connections have been enhanced and expanded to help students see the bigger
picture—that what may seem like a new concept may really be an extension, application,
or specialized form of a concept previously introduced. The goal is for students
to view physics as a small set of fundamental concepts that can be applied in
many different situations, rather than as a collection of loosely related facts or
equations.
• Most marginal notes from the previous edition have been incorporated into the text
for better flow of ideas and a less cluttered presentation.
• Multiple-Choice Questions that are well-suited to use with student response
systems are identified with a “clicker” icon. Answers to even-numbered questions
are not given, for instructors who track student performance using “clickers.”
Some chapter-specific revisions to the text include:
• In Chapter 1, the general guidelines for problem solving have been expanded.
• In Chapter 2, the introduction of forces as interaction partners in Section 2.1
now includes an explicit reference to Newton’s third law. More prominence is
given to the specific identification of forces; the student is asked to state on what
object and by what other object a force is exerted. A Connection has been added
to reinforce the central theme in Newton’s laws that, no matter what kinds of
forces are acting on an object, we always add them the same way (as vectors) to
find the net force.
• Chapter 3 introduces motion diagrams earlier and uses them extensively. Students
are asked to construct or to interpret motion diagrams in Checkpoints, Examples,
Practice Problems, and end-of-chapter Problems.
• Chapters 4 and 5 continue the increased emphasis on motion diagrams. Motion
with constant acceleration is now introduced first with motion diagrams, before
other representations (graphs and equations). In Chapter 4, a new Connection comments
on the seemingly different interpretations of g (the gravitational field
strength).
• Chapter 6 is enhanced with a new problem-solving strategy box on how to choose
between alternative problem-solving approaches (energy vs. Newton’s second
law). The explanation of why the change in gravitational potential energy is the
negative of the work done by gravity is simpler and more intuitive. Chapter 6 also
uses energy graphs more frequently.
• Chapter 7 now includes a text discussion of ballistocardiography.
• Chapter 11 discusses the use of seismic waves by animals to communicate and to
sense their environment. The presentation of interference and phase difference has
been simplified.
• Chapter 12 contains an expanded discussion of audible frequency ranges for various
animals. The presentation of the (nonrelativistic) Doppler effect is more
straightforward, with emphasis on the relative velocities of the wave with respect to
source and observer. A new problem-solving strategy box for the Doppler effect
has been added.
•Chapters 16 and 17 include a description of hydrogen bonds in water, DNA, and
proteins. A simplified model of the hydrogen bond as interactions between point
charges enables the student to make realistic estimates of the forces involved and of
the binding energy of a hydrogen bond. A discussion of gel electrophoresis has also
been added to Chapter 16.
• Chapter 18 includes an enhanced discussion of the resistivity of water and how it
depends strongly on the concentrations of ions.
• In Chapter 19, the visual depiction of the right-hand rule is clearer, and an alternative
“wrench rule” is introduced. The explanation of how a cyclotron works is
clearer.
•Chapter 20’s treatment of inductance has been streamlined, with the quantitative
material on mutual inductance moved to the text website.
• Chapter 22 explains more plainly Maxwell’s achievement in unifying the laws of
electricity and magnetism, showing that EM waves exist and that electric and magnetic
fields are real, not just convenient mathematical tools. The chapter includes
discussions of IR detection by animals and the biological effects of UV exposure,
as well as an improved explanation of how polarizers work.
• Chapter 25 simplifies the discussion of phase differences for constructive and
destructive interference.
• Chapter 29 mentions other modes of radioactive decay such as proton emission
and double beta emission. The text discusses the accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant due to the 2011 Tohoku tsunami.
• Chapter 30 now includes brief descriptions of inflation and of the Higgs field.
Please see your McGraw-Hill sales representative for a more detailed list of
revisions.
2013