Appropriate for PGRE preparation?
Many people say that the Griffiths books are REALLY good for test prep, since Griffiths is on the PGRE test-writing committee and there have been similar questions between the PGRE and the exercises on Griffiths.
But on the other hand, most Griffiths exercises are far too long and complex for the PGRE. Only a small fraction of the exercises in the books are really suitable for the PGRE.
What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
- InquilineKea
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- WhoaNonstop
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
Understanding the long and complex questions help you better grasp the easier concepts. True, there aren't going to be PGRE questions in Griffiths, but the material is relevant for the PGRE itself. I'd say the first 8 chapters of EM and the first 5 of QM are pretty important as far as the GRE is concerned.InquilineKea wrote:Appropriate for PGRE preparation?
Many people say that the Griffiths books are REALLY good for test prep, since Griffiths is on the PGRE test-writing committee and there have been similar questions between the PGRE and the exercises on Griffiths.
But on the other hand, most Griffiths exercises are far too long and complex for the PGRE. Only a small fraction of the exercises in the books are really suitable for the PGRE.
-Riley
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
really? I thought he was there from 1994 till 2000 as his personal page suggests.InquilineKea wrote:since Griffiths is on the PGRE test-writing committee
it's true. I have faced with at least 10 similar or almost the same questions from Griffiths' books on the last two PGRE. Not too much, but as Riley said problems from Griffiths' books really help you to solve other relatively "easier" problems on the PGRE.and there have been similar questions between the PGRE and the exercises on Griffiths.
Last edited by physicsworks on Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
- InquilineKea
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
Oh interesting. By "similar", do you mean that they might have been similar to a particular 4.54b rather than all of 4.54? In other words, are they similar to all sorts of Griffiths problems (including the really hard multipart ones?) Or just to the easier ones?it's true. I have faced with at least 10 similar or almost the same questions from Griffiths' books on the last two PGRE. Not too much, but as Riley said problems from Griffiths' books really help you to solve relatively "easier" problems on the PGRE.
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
InquilineKea, by "similar" I mean that you must use the same trick or the same "idea" or just do the same set of operations to solve the problem. So, once you've faced this in Griffiths' book, you will definitely solve a similar problem on exam.
For example, lets take a problem 2.10 from Griffiths' EM book. There was almost identical problem on the last PGRE with regular tetrahedron instead of a cube "Different" problems, different answers, but the same idea you will never forget if you've seen it before.
For example, lets take a problem 2.10 from Griffiths' EM book. There was almost identical problem on the last PGRE with regular tetrahedron instead of a cube "Different" problems, different answers, but the same idea you will never forget if you've seen it before.
- WhoaNonstop
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
That's exactly the example I was thinking of!physicsworks wrote:InquilineKea, by "similar" I mean that you must use the same trick or the same "idea" or just do the same set of operations to solve the problem. So, once you've faced this in Griffiths' book, you will definitely solve a similar problem on exam.
For example, lets take a problem 2.10 from Griffiths' EM book. There was almost identical problem on the last PGRE with regular tetrahedron instead of a cube "Different" problems, different answers, but the same idea you will never forget if you've seen it before.
-Riley
- InquilineKea
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Re: What % of Griffiths textbook exercises are appropriate?
Oh cool I see. Thanks!