In this post we will look at a very special problem book by Shaskol’skaya and El’tsin.

This extremely popular problem book was translated outside the erstwhile USSR.

THE present collection of problems is a further development and revision of our book Selected Physics Problems, which was published in 1949 and was soon sold out. The basis of our earlier book was formed’ by problems set over a number of years in the “Olympic” examinations set in Physics .to schoolchildren. by the Physics Faculty of the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. A large number of teachers and a number of the students of the Physics Faculty of the Moscow State University took part in composing and selecting the. “Olympic” problems.

What’s special about the book is that the solutions offered are not cryptic and do not rely solely on “formulas”/”recipes” but are in a discussion form. The authors try to convey their reasoning to the reader and only after convincing the reader do they write equations. Thus the book presents a very conceptual and process-oriented approach to understanding physics through solving insightful problems.

Most of these problems can be solved from the knowledge of physics acquired in school; but we have not felt ourselves confined within the limits of the secondary-school syllabus, but have counted on pupils who have an interest in physics and are widening their knowledge by independent reading. The solution of such problems, or even an attentive analysis of the solutions given, should help schoolchildren to learn to apply their knowledge when grappling with concrete problems.

TOC:

I. Kinematics
II. The dynamics of motion in a straight line
III. Statics
IV. Work: Power: Energy: The law of conservation
of momentum: The law of conservation of energy
V. The dynamics of motion in a circle
VI. The universal theory of gravitation
VII. Oscillation: Waves: Sound
VIII. The mechanics of’liquids and gases
IX. Heat and capillary phenomena
X. Electricity
XI. Optics

Single-page layout done, OCR-ed, bookmarked and clean cover added by damitr.

Size: 14.8 MB.

You can get the book here