Modern Physics

Modern Physics, written by Gary Felder and Kenny Felder and published by Cambridge University Press, is a textbook for an introductory survey of modern physics (typically offered at the sophomore level).

• Contact Cambridge University Press to request a free evaluation copy (professors only).

• Download online content associated with the book.

The list of topics is not particularly different from what you would see in any textbook at this level. You can see the full list at our Table of Contents page. The short version is: two chapters on special relativity, four chapters introducing quantum mechanics, and then a choose-your-own assortment of more recent topics such as atoms, particle physics, and cosmology.

So what makes our book different?

• Questions and Problems: Every section ends with Questions and Problems. Nothing unusual there, right? But we have more of them than any other book we've seen, because in our experience, professors always want more than they are given. Conceptual questions that make sure students understand the basic ideas, and harder questions that push the boundaries of those ideas. Problems that guide students through key derivations, drill-and-practice problems to develop mastery of important skills, and problems that showcase real-world applications.

• Explanations: Many readers—both professors and students—have told us that our Explanations are clearer, and our Problems are more useful, than other textbooks they have seen. We hope you will take a look and judge for yourself.

• Active Learning: We are big believers in active learning, because all the research says that it works. But we understand that some professors are not sold on that idea, and we also understand that building active learning into the classroom—without sacrificing content!—can be a real challenge. So our book contains elements designed to make it easy for you to experiment with active learning in small or large ways. Discovery Exercises are meant to be assigned before a lecture, and generally take 5-15 minutes. Active Reading Exercises are meant to be used mid-lecture, and are usually in the 1-5 minute range. Both types of exercises are available on this Web site for free download, even if you don't use our book! And both of them are intended to get students engaged—thinking, talking, and writing—instead of passively reading and listening. We think you'll see the benefits, in deeper understanding and better retention, immediately. After a few quick easy experiments, you may feel encouraged to try more.

  Click here to download our active learning exercises.

• Math Interludes: How much math have your students mastered? The answer varies tremendously from school to school. It is likely that most students at this level are comfortable with basic trigonometry and introductory calculus. They are probably less familiar with multivariate functions [a traveling wave y=A sin(kx-ωt) for instance] even if they have seen them. They may not have seen complex numbers since high school. They may or may not have worked with partial derivatives, iterated integrals, spherical coordinates, and partial differential equations. We devote short sections to these topics at the points where they are needed for the continued development of the physics.