Under The Microscope

PHYSICS (2nd Ed) by Akrill, Bennet and Millar; Hodder and Stoughton, 1994; 430 pages; $89.95.

This book was first written in 1979 but the authors claim that it has been extensively rewritten to keep pace with the current A-Level syllabus.

The book covers well the New Zealand Bursary Physics course, along with extra sections which are not in our syllabus but which do make good reference material. The chapters are well laid out, but I did find the print a bit small for my ageing eyes. It is basically a textbook but there are some excellent ideas for practical work dotted through the chapters.

There are many worked examples highlighted by screening which help with the understanding of the text. At the end of each chapter is a summary which reads like a set of achievement objectives -- at the end of this chapter you should be able to .... I think they are useful as a chapter overview.

If you think that it might be handy as an additional source of problems forget it -- problems are published in another book called Practice in Physics arranged to match the chapters in this book.

At $89.95 and having to buy the problem book, I cannot see myself buying a class set for my 7th Form physics class, but I would be happy to have it on the shelf as a reference book.

George Murray is HOD Science at Mairehau High School, Christchurch.