The Manga Guide to Physics

Book description

Megumi is an all-star athlete, but she's a failure when it comes to physics class. And she can't concentrate on her tennis matches when she's worried about the questions she missed on the big test! Luckily for her, she befriends Ryota, a patient physics geek who uses real-world examples to help her understand classical mechanics-and improve her tennis game in the process!

In The Manga Guide to Physics, you'll follow alongside Megumi as she learns about the physics of everyday objects like roller skates, slingshots, braking cars, and tennis serves. In no time, you'll master tough concepts like momentum and impulse, parabolic motion, and the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration.

You'll also learn how to:

  • Apply Newton's three laws of motion to real-life problems
  • Determine how objects will move after a collision
  • Draw vector diagrams and simplify complex problems using trigonometry
  • Calculate how an object's kinetic energy changes as its potential energy increases

If you're mystified by the basics of physics or you just need a refresher, The Manga Guide to Physics will get you up to speed in a lively, quirky, and practical way.

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Preface
  3. Prologue: Does Physics Bother You? (1/3)
  4. Prologue: Does Physics Bother You? (2/3)
  5. Prologue: Does Physics Bother You? (3/3)
  6. 1: Law of Action and Reaction
    1. Law of Action and Reaction (1/4)
    2. Law of Action and Reaction (2/4)
    3. Law of Action and Reaction (3/4)
    4. Law of Action and Reaction (4/4)
    5. Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
    6. Scalar Quantities vs. Vector Quantities
    7. Equilibrium and Vector Forces
    8. Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
    9. Gravity and Universal Gravitation
  7. 2: Force and Motion
    1. Velocity and Acceleration (1/2)
    2. Velocity and Acceleration (2/2)
    3. Laboratory: Finding the Distance Traveled When Velocity Varies (1/2)
    4. Laboratory: Finding the Distance Traveled When Velocity Varies (2/2)
    5. Newton’s First and Second Laws (1/3)
    6. Newton’s First and Second Laws (2/3)
    7. Newton’s First and Second Laws (3/3)
    8. Laboratory: Finding the Precise Value of a Force (1/3)
    9. Laboratory: Finding the Precise Value of a Force (2/3)
    10. Laboratory: Finding the Precise Value of a Force (3/3)
    11. Three Rules of Uniform Accelerated Motion
    12. Adding Vectors: the Head-to-Tail Method
    13. The Composition and Decomposition of Forces
    14. Newton’s First Law of Motion
    15. Newton’s Second Law of Motion
    16. The Orientation of Velocity, Acceleration, and Force
    17. An Object Does Not Have Its Own Force
    18. The Unit for Force
    19. Measuring Mass and Force
    20. Determining Weight
    21. Understanding Parabolic Motion
    22. Using Calculus to Find Acceleration and Velocity
    23. Using the Area of a V-T Graph to Find the DistanceTraveled by an Object
  8. 3: Momentum
    1. Momentum and Impulse
    2. Laboratory: Difference in Momentum Due to a Difference in Mass (1/2)
    3. Laboratory: Difference in Momentum Due to a Difference in Mass (2/2)
    4. Laboratory: Finding the Momentum of a Stroke
    5. The Conservation of Momentum (1/2)
    6. The Conservation of Momentum (2/2)
    7. Laboratory: Outer Space and the Conservation of Momentum
    8. Real-World Explorations of Impulse (1/2)
    9. Real-World Explorations of Impulse (2/2)
    10. Momentum and Impulse (1/2)
    11. Momentum and Impulse (2/2)
    12. Law of Conservation of Momentum for Vectors
    13. Law of Action and Reaction vs. Law of Conservation ofMomentum
    14. Propulsion of a Rocket
  9. 4: Energy
    1. Work and Energy (1/2)
    2. Work and Energy (2/2)
    3. Laboratory: What’s the Difference between Momentum and Kinetic Energy (1/2)
    4. Laboratory: What’s the Difference between Momentum and Kinetic Energy (2/2)
    5. Laboratory: Work and the Conservation of Energy (1/2)
    6. Laboratory: Work and the Conservation of Energy (2/2)
    7. Laboratory: The Relationship Between Work and Kinetic Energy (1/2)
    8. Laboratory: The Relationship Between Work and Kinetic Energy (2/2)
    9. The Conservation of Mechanical Energy (1/2)
    10. The Conservation of Mechanical Energy (2/2)
    11. Laboratory: The Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy in Action
    12. Laboratory: Conservation of Mechanical Energy on a Slope (1/2)
    13. Laboratory: Conservation of Mechanical Energy on a Slope (2/2)
    14. Units for Measuring Energy
    15. Potential Energy
    16. Velocity for Throwing Upward and Height Attained
    17. The Orientation of Force and Work
    18. Finding an Amount of Work with Nonuniform Force (One‑dimensional)
    19. Nonconservative Force and the Law of Conservation of Energy
    20. Colliding Coins and the Conservation of Energy
  10. Epilogue (1/2)
  11. Epilogue (2/2)
  12. Appendix: Making Sense of Units
  13. Index (1/2)
  14. Index (2/2)
  15. Updates

Product information

  • Title: The Manga Guide to Physics
  • Author(s): Hideo Nitta, Keita Takatsu, Ltd. Trend-Pro Co.
  • Release date: May 2009
  • Publisher(s): No Starch Press
  • ISBN: 9781593271961