My PGRE flight plan.

[Kaiser_Sose]

So the November PGRE beast is looming, so I have decided to plan what study materials I'm going to start using this summer.

Halliday and Resnick. --I'm starting with this first, since I've heard that if you know this cover to cover, you can do well on the GRE.

Serway and Jewett -- After I've cleared H&R. Supplementary studying.

The first few chapters of Griffiths Quantum and E&M. --Do I need more from these two ? Are there better books for these topics ?

Krane, Modern Physics --For the stuff the others miss ? I don't know.

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I feel like intro physics resources are solid, but I am not sure about the Modern/Quantum/E&M resources. I also have "Div Grad Curl and all that" for studying E&M and vector calc. I plan to use the practice tests to track my progress, taking them under timed test conditions with no calculator.

I'd appreciate any commentary or further suggestions. Keep in mind I may not be able to purchase a whole slew of textbooks. I'll probably be reduced to borrowing them from cohorts and professors.

Thanks,

KS

[cato88]

Pretty good plan

[kobayashi_maru]

I'd consider nixing Serway and Jewett. Halliday and Resnick rocks, and should be able to give you all the basics.

Krane is great for special relativity, very basic QM, and things like absorption/emission spectra and the hydrogen atom. I also went to Krane for an overview of the important modern experiments (photoelectric effect, Stern-Gerlach, etc.).

As for Griffiths EM, you need to know electrostatics (Ch. 2) and magnetostatics (Ch. 5) like the back of your hand. Electric and magnetic fields in matter (Ch. 4 and 6, respectively) are also pretty important. You can probably safely skip most of Ch. 3, but you should know the Method of Images (Section 3.2). The first part of electrodynamics (Ch. 7) is also important, but you start get diminishing returns the farther into the chapter you go. But you'll get a good sense for that after you first one or two practice tests.

[Kaiser_Sose]

Excellent. Thanks Kobayashi. I was really wondering what material was emphasized. I don't suppose you have similar advice for Griffiths QM or a related text.

I also plan to do every coupled-oscillator problem I can find, because I have heard horror stories about these problems.

Any good references for so-called special topics: solid-state, special topics in optics, particle physics, astro ? Are these that important ?

Lastly I will not have had a thermodynamics/statistical physics course by the time I take the test, so I'm wondering what I should study there besides the basic introductory material.

Thanks again,

KS

[blackcat007]

I also went to Krane for an overview of the important modern experiments (photoelectric effect, Stern-Gerlach, etc.).

for these modern experiments will the overview suffice? or should one also study in depth? eg: Stern-Gerlach is also treated mathematically in griffith.

[kobayashi_maru]

I don't suppose you have similar advice for Griffiths QM or a related text.

Chapters 2 and 4 are probably the most important. Know the basic potentials (box, oscillator, steps of various configurations). Go to Krane for the basics of the Hydrogen atom and for selection rules.

Any good references for so-called special topics: solid-state, special topics in optics, particle physics, astro ? Are these that important ?

Lastly I will not have had a thermodynamics/statistical physics course by the time I take the test, so I'm wondering what I should study there besides the basic introductory material.

My best advice is to get your basics down, and then do a practice test or two. The practice tests are the best way to get a feel for what's on the real exam, and what your own deficiencies are.

for these modern experiments will the overview suffice? or should one also study in depth? eg: Stern-Gerlach is also treated mathematically in griffith.

Know the photoelectric effect in depth. For the rest, it is usually sufficient just to know what the experiment is supposed to determine: e.g., The Hall effect can be used to determine the sign of charge carriers. 'Nuff said. A mathematical treatment of Stern-Gerlach is probably overkill. That being said, one never knows exactly what's going to be on the test.

[bulletb1331]

hey guys I used the halliday/resnick/krane 2 volume book for intro phys...are you guys talking about that one or the halliday/resnick/walker book? I've heard HRW is easier but overall better than the HRK..any thoughts?

[Kaiser_Sose]

I'm talking about the Halliday-Resnick-Walker intro physics books and the Krane Modern Physics book. Two separate books.

KS

[violet boson]

Hi,

QM Griffiths tells the subject and asks the questions.

In foreword he tells that the problem solutions are for only instructors.

Now my question is;

I can not solve any of questions, i understand when look at the solution book.

Also, usually, maybe even worse, when i suggest an idea for problem, and after that look at the solutions book, i see it is not totally wrong but lacking of something.

The main question is here; how can i learn those lacking parts, maybe reading a couple of books in parallel, if so which of them?

Thanks.

[shep23]

Any good references for so-called special topics: solid-state, special topics in optics, particle physics, astro ? Are these that important ?
S

Chapter 1 of Griffiths Particle physics book is a MUST read. There's at least 1 question asked that it can be used to answer every year.

I disagree with Kobayashi about what topics are important. For a more succinct overview (as opposed to reading 5+ books), I recommend Conquering the Physics GRE. It goes through each subject covered on the PGRE and briefly teaches it to you, and does so without having you read superfluous material. If you think the material in the book isn't enough, then you could always go to one of the textbooks you already listed and read more in depth.