Introductory Physics, 3rd Edition

Items listed in this section tend to be complete science programs with a teacher and student component, requiring few supplements besides science supplies.

Novare (no-VAH-ray) is Latin, meaning to renew or begin again. The authors feel that science education in our country needs to be renewed using research, scientific evidence and forward-thinking strategies while keeping God at the helm. Students are taught to see God in creation, while learning current scientific theories that support an old-earth creation. Using a mastery approach, students learn fewer topics in more depth than typical courses. Memorization and review are key with minimal written work. Science, math, science history, and English language usage are integrated. Several Novare courses are used by Memoria Press for their academic rigor and are a good choice for students who need challenging science courses and college prep. Each course offers a recommended downloadable Digital Resource that includes assessments and course planning resources that are helpful for homeschool families, co-ops and classrooms. Resources are reproducible for classroom use. Self-created lab journals and reports are suggested to prepare students for high school and college science material. Also available is a helpful Student Lab Report Handbook for more instruction. See each individual course for content and available supports.

Intended for ninth grade, the Novare Series takes a 'Physics First' approach to science education. Introductory Physics is for any student who is performing at grade level and should have already taken Algebra 1 or be taking it concurrently. Physics in ninth grade better prepares students for the content they will encounter in biology and chemistry.

Novare employs a mastery approach to learning science - students should learn, master, and retain, what they learn. This approach covers fewer topics and covers them more deeply. This text also integrates learning by combining skills in the areas of science, math, science history, and English language usage. This text is written from a Biblical worldview and seeks to help students see God in the world. If teaching this at the ninth-grade level, the author suggests that you can omit chapters 8 and 13 and still have a complete course of study. There isn't a lot of written homework; rather, students should focus on memorizing and reviewing in keeping with the mastery approach.

Although the text is now 3rd edition, it is still compatible with the 2nd edition Solutions Manual and Complete Solutions resources. As in the other Novare science texts, there is a section written to the student in preparation for doing the course. Each chapter, then, includes objectives, information broken down into smaller digestible pieces, examples and illustrations, and wraps up with a chapter exercise. Green "Do You Know" boxes tell some interesting historical fact concerning the topic. Answers to computational questions are included with each exercise. The back of the text includes a glossary, reference data, chapter equations and objectives list, experiments with guidelines for keeping a journal, scientists to know, and accurate measurements. Chapters include nature of scientific knowledge, motion, Newton's Laws of Motion, energy, momentum, atoms/matter/substances, heat and temperature, pressure and buoyancy, waves/sound/light, introduction to electricity, DC circuits, fields and magnetism, and geometric optics.

Five (out of six) of the experiments from the Experiments for Introductory Physics are found at the back of the student text. You can do just those five and still have very in-depth labs with lab reports. The experiment information found in the back of the student text is in addition to what is found in the Experiments for Introductory Physics book, so you will need both books.

Experiments for Introductory Physics and ASPC (Accelerated Studies in Physics and Chemistry, for gifted students and available from the publisher) includes only six experiments. It is the author's feeling that fewer in-depth experiments with lab reports will deepen comprehension. His goal was to develop experiments that are academically solid, inexpensive, and interesting. Some of the materials needed may be more difficult to obtain, so the author has a resource on page 96 of this book that lists materials that will work at home and where they can be purchased. Each lab includes learning objectives, materials required, experimental purpose, overview, pre-lab discussion questions, how to score lab reports, student instructions, and illustrations. 

The Resource CD that was previously available is now only available as a downloadable Digital Resource. These downloadable files include a course overview with suggestions for pacing, assessments, grading, and more. There are 28 quizzes and two semester exams with answer keys for the computational sections and sample answers for the verbal questions, weekly review guides, and suggested daily schedule.

The Solutions Manual includes detailed solutions for all computational problems found in the Student Text. These not only tell you the correct answer, but how to get them.

Intended for teachers and parents (not students) Complete Solutions and Answers includes complete written out answers to all text questions, quizzes, and exams (Fall and Spring Final Exams). Each question or problem is states, then a complete, worked-out solutions is given. These are the answer keys found on the digital download item, from the back of the book, both verbal and calculation, plus the content of the solutions manual. This is an optional product. 168 pgs, pb.

This is a very good course that promotes thinking skills in the realm of physics and prepares students for the rest of their high school science and college level sciences. ~ Donna