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Puddle
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Hello, I just finished high school and will be starting a math degree next year. However, I have recently become interested in physics and am thinking of switching to a joint math/physics degree in year 2, so I will want to spend my first year privately studying some select physics books.
My physics background is as follows. I know units 1-4 http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/specifications/alevel/AQA-2450-W-SP-14.PDF and the mechanics 1-3 units http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/75811-specification.pdf , and that's about it. However, I have a strong discrete math/problem solving background and am able to solve several math olympiad problems -- including a few IMO problems (primarily algebra and number theory). I know math up to calculus, as taught in Apostol's two calculus volumes.
I have looked around and decided that a reasonable sequence of books to study would be: kleppner --> morin --> purcell, but I am highly open to recommendations; for instance, I've heard good things about the Feynman lectures. I would say I learn best with books that explain the material clearly (and rigorously, so including mathematical proofs where possible) and include very challenging problems. I prefer thick comprehensive books to ones that cover many topics at once (so called "general physics" books). I think I learn best when I learn one topic at a time deeply rather than many topics at a time and less deeply, which is why I tend to stay away from books like Halliday/Resnick (I've tried learning from this one in the past but it didn't go well).
Looking forward to any advice I can get. (:
My physics background is as follows. I know units 1-4 http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/specifications/alevel/AQA-2450-W-SP-14.PDF and the mechanics 1-3 units http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/75811-specification.pdf , and that's about it. However, I have a strong discrete math/problem solving background and am able to solve several math olympiad problems -- including a few IMO problems (primarily algebra and number theory). I know math up to calculus, as taught in Apostol's two calculus volumes.
I have looked around and decided that a reasonable sequence of books to study would be: kleppner --> morin --> purcell, but I am highly open to recommendations; for instance, I've heard good things about the Feynman lectures. I would say I learn best with books that explain the material clearly (and rigorously, so including mathematical proofs where possible) and include very challenging problems. I prefer thick comprehensive books to ones that cover many topics at once (so called "general physics" books). I think I learn best when I learn one topic at a time deeply rather than many topics at a time and less deeply, which is why I tend to stay away from books like Halliday/Resnick (I've tried learning from this one in the past but it didn't go well).
Looking forward to any advice I can get. (:
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