Discovery

LONGMAN WRITE-ON NOTES: PHYSICS 5, by Chris Smaill; Addison Wesley Longman New Zealand Limited, 1998; 84 pp; $12.95

Reviewed by Michael Delceg

This publication is written for the new Physics Curriculum, Level 6, and attempts to cover all the core content and some of the optional content. Each topic is prefaced by a list of objectives to help the student determine their competency.

There is some overlap between the Physics 5 and Science 5 material in that core ideas are discussed in both with differing examples. The Physics text quickly moves on to material that one would expect to cover in a class preparing for Form 6 physics, with more emphasis on quantitative work and conceptual grounding. For example, in the energy section the Physics text introduces the Kelvin temperature scale without explaining its basis but does give Celsius conversion problems. Answers to problems are provided at the end of the text.

There is little practical work suggested but the content would prepare a class well by providing sample calculations and additional problems. At 80 pages, the content would be insufficient for the main body of a course, but would form a useful adjunct. Alternatively, it would be useful as an extra revision resource for the individual student or an addition to the science department library.