<p>"Physics: Principles with Applications" by Giancoli or "Fundamentals of Physics" by Halliday and Resnick for self-studying physics?</p>
<p>What is the difference between these books, and are they easy to follow? Which is best, or do they have different focuses?</p>
<p>I’m currently taking the AP class and the book we use is giancoli’s 6th edition. The main thing I’ve noticed is that the book has a lot of extra information about the applications of physics (hence the title). So for example there are sections dedicated to how a topic relates to technology like a camera or a printer. This added emphasize does make the book a little difficult to follow. Additionally, there’s very few actual examples in the book. There’s only a handful per chapter, which means it will be difficult to do the problems at the end of the chapter as you’d have very little experience with the concept.
HOWEVER, if you get the solutions manual in addition to the book, I think this giancoli book will do an excellent job preparing for the exam and, perhaps more importantly, develop a good understanding. Every single theory based question is explained and the math based problems often are explained with words as well. My teacher isn’t the greatest and I swear this solutions manual has been the best physics teacher I could ask for. Thanks mostly in part to the solutions manual I’m confident of at least a 4 (and probably a 5 for that matter) based on the released practice exams I’ve looked at. I imagine this method should work the same for you.</p>
<p>In summary, if you get Giancoli, you MUST get the solutions manual. The book coupled with the solutions manual should be sufficient (along with an AP prep book to simplify and review).
And as you probably realized I have no familiarity with the other book, though I think Giancoli will do just fine.</p>
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