Under The Microscope

SENIOR PHYSICS -- A Coursebook For The New Form 7 Prescription, by Trevor Castle; Heinemann 1991; 408 pages; $39.95

Mind-experiments like "What if we drop this spare turntable on to this rotating record-player?" lead to the mathematics of momentum, rather than the other way around. The exam questions are dragged up last of all as examples of the kind of problem one can solve if one understands the practical work.

Republished as "Teach Yourself Physics", this would find a wide adult market. The spine is adequately sewn but have the paper covers reinforced for class use, and do not allow young males to modify or embellish the clumsy drawings of Kirsty, Kiri, and Jill, who adopt active and unlikely postures with a variety of equipment.

Ken McAllister