Review
John Hubisz and the reviewers of the Second Report.

Conceptual Physics (2006 ed.) by Paul Hewitt and published by Prentice-Hall.

Three views

A first look:

Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt is likely the “gold standard” of Physics First textbooks. Hewitt concentrates on concepts rather than math, making this text an ideal companion to a Physics First course. One reviewer has used Conceptual Physics for three years in teaching 9th grade Physics and Honors Physics classes. The text is quite readable, and peppered with well-chosen illustrations and Hewitt’s entertaining and accurate cartoon drawings.

The text is ideal for students who have taken an introductory algebra class or are confident with typical pre-algebra mathematics. The typical level of mathematical difficulty is manipulating fractions with variables, and the most complex math in the book involves manipulating inverse-square laws - though that level of math is not central to the text. In fact, Hewitt chose to avoid the math for several topics, and the teacher may choose to supplement the text on occasion. Each chapter ends with a summary of key concepts and a list of key terms. Every chapter has a number of problems, typically ~30-40, divided between very basic Review Questions (complete with relevant sections listed) to ensure basic understanding, Think and Explain questions that require critical thinking, and Think and Solve problems, which require more advanced problem solving (though not necessarily more advanced math).

The text is available bundled with a number of supplements at a small additional cost. Chief among these is the indispensable Concept Development Practice Book, which makes extensive use of Hewitt’s distinctivebdrawings to help students better understand the key concepts presented in the text. The worksheets in the Concept Development book are useful for individuals, but I have students work on them in groups, and we go over the answers together as a class. I would recommend the Concept Development Practice Book for students at all levels. Another valuable supplement is Problem-Solving Exercises in Physics, which is intended for students capable of more advanced mathematics and problem-solving. (I have used it successfully with my Honors Physics class of 9th graders, almost all of whom are in Honors Algebra 2.) For teachers, a small test bank and a good lab manual are available, along with a Teacher’s Edition of the text complete with very useful sidebars.

As a teacher, I have the typical issues with Hewitt’s presentation. The text is quite detailed, with many interesting side-topics discussed (Hewitt would likely call these the good bits). But the richness of the material comes at a price - Hewitt’s suggested time needed to cover a typical chapter is (for this reviewer, at least) quite underestimated. I suspect that a more independent class would have an easier time reading the material beforehand, so that the teacher could devote more class time to the “interesting” parts, which is what Hewitt would seem to be recommending. However, in practice, our 9th graders still require significant guidance and reinforcement of the fundamentals, which limits the time we can spend on the extra material. Further, with the wealth of material in the book, the students with less developed reading comprehension and study skills can have real trouble determining what is “essential.”

One significant weakness of the entire package, especially in the age of increasingly technological classrooms, is a dearth of electronic ancillary materials specifically geared to the text. There exists a set of 100 acetate transparencies of many useful figures, but no electronic versions of the text figures and tables are available. As a teacher eager (and expected!) to use our school’s new video projectors and interactive whiteboards, I have had to spend many hours laboriously scanning in bits of the book to display in class. I would also have really appreciated electronic versions of the Concept Development book pages, since being able to show the pages on the screen as we go through the answers in class would be ideal. Prentice-Hall should really consider making electronic versions of all text figures available, at a minimum. Additionally, some textbook publishers are incorporating Shockwave/Flash into their figures, allowing for pop-up windows as the mouse moves over different parts of the figure (the truly excellent figures for Hester et al.’s 21st Century Astronomy, published by Norton, come immediately to mind). A separate CD (Interactive Journey through Physics) with some animations is available from the publisher, but I did not find it very useful, as it did not seem to be integrated with the text.

But even considering these criticisms, I still enthusiastically recommend Conceptual Physics. Hewitt is a master of explaining complex topics in a readable manner. His choice of illustrations enhances his prose, and the students appreciate his hand-drawn illustrations. I encourage my students to keep their copies of the text for later use, because the clear explanations in Hewitt’s book may be useful even when doing physics with advanced mathematics.

A Second Look:

Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt
Accuracy: Hewitt presents topics accurately in a way that is appropriate for 9th graders. He introduces topics and stresses that this is an introductory class and often states that there is more to learn in a higher level course.

Readability: Hewitt’s text is a fun read for teenagers. He eliminates much of what they would describe as scientific jargon and expresses his ideas in a way that anyone 9th grade and above can understand and follow even in their first physics course. His illustrations are educational and entertaining and keep the students interested while also helping to get the point across.

Age and Sex Appropriateness: Hewitt uses constant examples of everyday experiences for young people. He mixes his illustrations to show both sexes as well as different ethnicities and races.

Mathematics Requirements: The level of math needed for Hewitt’s text is appropriate for the 9th grade students. He even introduces vectors in a way that a detailed knowledge of trig is not necessary. In addition, he also includes optional homework sets at the end of the chapter that are of a slightly higher level.
Overall: If we were going to go to Physics First at our school, Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt is the only text I would use. He specifically designed it as a text for physics first and everything from the reading level to the math level to the entertainment level will not only complement but enhance your introductory Physics course.

A Third Look:

The Conceptual Physics text is highly accurate in the Physics it presents. The chapters are well laid out in the sense of understanding Physics concepts and conceptualizing what is going on in the real world. The use of mathematics is minimal and will probably be supplemented by many teachers. I have used this text in a basic 9th grade setting (since 2001) and an Advanced 9th grade setting (since 1994). The Scope and Sequence of topics covered is excellent – maybe the best I’ve ever used.

The text (CP) is age appropriate to any age level from 8th grade to college.
The text (CP) can be used as a conceptual supplement to the level of AP both in mechanics and E & M.

The reading is a struggle for EL students.

The maximum strength of this text, in my estimation, is the way the reading of the chapters is tied to the review questions at the end of each chapter. The review questions lend themselves to excellent discussion topics.

Preface
Let me preface my review of Hewitt's book by saying that I am unhappy with just about all textbooks in physics, and really textbooks in general. The families or school districts pay hundreds of dollars per book for books in which only half of the chapters are used in a good year, and only 5-6 chapters in some cases. However, we don't, in most cases, have the modularity to purchase or rent the chapters that we need. With all of the technology out there these days, why can't we only use part of a book and use what we pay for? Also, the textbooks I reviewed are already woefully out of date in terms of cultural references. One could argue that such things don't matter since it is the physics that counts, not the cultural references, but with so much information bombarding our students every minute, do kids need another excuse not to read a physics textbook? Physics already has a tough reputation, one which all of us in the physics teaching community are trying to change, but the culturally dated textbooks that we are producing are counterproductive to this work. Physics is indeed relevant to teenagers' lives, but our textbooks are telling teenagers that physics is only relevant to men in their fifties. Where are the references to video games, music videos, dance, "bling", NASCAR, flip-flops, basketball, DVD players and iPods? And why, oh why, are we still discussing record players?

Expository text does not have to be and should not be MTV-style, displayed flashily in sound bites. Ninth graders are learning how to read textbooks in an age where information floods them constantly, and they do not need any additional distractions in learning an already difficult subject. However, the text should be RELEVANT to the kids’ lives and their experiences. And their experiences have lots of physics!

Accuracy: I have found no issues with Hewitt in terms of accuracy. Paul Hewitt has been in the habit of writing physics textbooks for years, and he is quite adept at it.

Readability: I'm not sure that arriving at conclusions through historical analysis (Aristotle, Copernicus, Galileo, …) is the most useful approach for ninth graders. Hewitt is much more effective for ninth graders when the readers reach conclusions through discussions based on personal experience as long as the personal experience is relevant to them. For instance, his argument on satellite motion begins with the student imagining that s/he is throwing a ball. The kids can more easily visualize based on their own experiences, and such conclusions have much more meaning for the kids. Also, the way that most people teach ninth grade physics involves a lot of hands-on work, so drawing on the students' personal experiences is the most effective route to a conclusion.

The vocabulary that Hewitt uses is sometimes way too intense for ninth graders. Vocabulary is a major stumbling block for learners of this age group. I personally like the model of vocabulary words being not only defined in the text but also in the margins of the page so that the kids can easily refer back to unfamiliar words. Ninth graders are moving from being incredibly concrete thinkers to more abstract thinkers, but this leap is difficult to make when they are stumbling on vocabulary words. For many ninth graders, once they reach an unfamiliar vocabulary word in a text, they will stop reading and assume that they do not understand the material. Sidebars with words and definitions provide an easy place for the students to go back to when they stumble on a newly-learned word.

Hewitt does a good job of keeping his sidebars relevant and not overwhelming for students. Some textbook authors insist on adding too much information here and the presentation then suffers since students have no idea what to concentrate on. Of course, his pages of cartoon physics are always great both for kids and for the teachers.

Age and Sex Appropriateness: The text is both culturally and sexually appropriate to all. There is, however, a major problem with Hewitt's book. It is dated and boring for a 9th grader. I already addressed some of the age appropriateness issues, but let me go further. No ninth grader and very few college students have ever seen a record these days; let alone what they are played on. Sure, DVD-players (notice I don't even say "CD-players" - they're out) and "classic" iPod drives work slightly differently (the discs spin faster when the laser is reading the outer edge), but we must discuss these instead since these are what the kids are using and are familiar with. Granted, the turntable is simple and beautiful, and seeing it makes circular motion much simpler to understand (and there are recordings you can't find elsewhere!). However, students today have no idea what we're talking about when we mention them, and turntables are very difficult to find. And we're losing the students once we even mention one.

Now, I am a very non-traditional female. Personally, I am fascinated by jet planes, submarines, rockets, forklifts (heavy machinery of any type), and cars, and I can use all types of tools. However, most of my girls are not into these things, and many of my boys are not either. Ninth graders are mostly 14. Most of them don't know what a forklift is, and they can't drive (although they do love NASCAR!). Planning an entire discussion of torque around a wrench (maybe three of my ninth graders know what a wrench is and maybe one knows how to use it) is way out of date. Remember that we live in a culture where we don't fix things anymore. Very few students are into doing anything with cars themselves nowadays and very few of their parents are handy around the house. We live in a culture where things that are broken are either taken to other people to fix (or someone comes into the house to fix), or they are thrown away. And this is true whether you teach in an inner-city school or a suburban school. The average 14-year-old does not have a clue what tools are, let alone how to use them. I have personally taught several ninth graders how to use screwdrivers.

Superman is mentioned several times in the book. To some extent, Superman is part of the culture and most students can at least figure out what we mean when we're talking about Superman, but unfortunately, he's out of date. Can't we use more culturally relevant super heroes - the Incredible Hulk and Spiderman at least have recent movies out? Or at least video game heroes like Lara Croft, Wario, and Zelda?

Energy and energy resources are very hot topics in today's culture, yet Hewitt only gives one page to the discussion on alternative energy sources. Students hear so much about these topics in their daily lives, and they expect a science class to discuss it. Discussions on energy resources also give the author a chance to add in a cultural element that is definitely missing from the book.

Hewitt needs to use even more sex-neutral sports such as basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf. Sure, an occasional football pass is useful, but it should be balanced with a volleyball serve. Female-oriented sports (gymnastics and ice-skating) don't really make their entrance until chapter eleven. (Yes, men do gymnastics and ice-skating as well, but many, many little girls take lessons in these as well as in dance). Up until that point, the sports are either unisex (desirable) or male. Softball needs to be used just as often as baseball is. Girls are stuck with this variance in high school, college, and beyond, so make the best of it for them (it's also a very popular sport for high school-aged girls). Dance, volleyball, ice-skating, and gymnastics involve a lot of kinematics and forces -- there is no need to relegate them way back to circular motion. Dance is a part of the teenage culture -- they watch videos constantly on their iPods and on YouTube even if they do not dance themselves, so adding in dance will be relevant to all kids, not just to the girls.

Multiculturalism: Kids of different cultures expect to see themselves in textbooks. Sure, there are black and brown-skinned kids in the Hewitt drawings, but being multicultural is more than just that. I do like how Hewitt makes the reader/student the subject of most of the problems (ex. you are skydiving, …), but he does occasionally use names of people. All names that he uses, even the silly names in the Practice Problems in the back of the book, are from traditionally white family names (Harry, Susie, Angela). How about using students' names? Anjali, Anand, Garret, Keron, Amirah, Juan, Maricela are just a few students I have had in the last few years. He should at least use more up-to-date kids' names such as Jordan, Zack, Ashley, Kayla, … It’s a minor change, but kids need to see people like themselves represented in books.

We are not helping our students who are going to be "global citizens" if we do not address the cultural formation of knowledge and the influence of western culture on the global society and global marketplace. Hewitt does not discuss the cultural formation of science or the relevance of science to culture at all, missing a crucial opportunity to educate future global citizens on the relevance of science to the global culture.

Mathematics Requirements: The mathematics that Hewitt uses sometimes goes way beyond the average ninth grader. Most of us will not be discussing special relativity with our ninth graders, so they will be spared the worst of the math. However, one can discuss special relativity quite well without the math, which Hewitt does, but the presence of the math is rather intimidating. He also adds way too much math in the momentum chapter. I find my freshmen students having trouble with solving simple algebraic equations like V = I R at first. I would like to see a discussion of how to solve simple equations and some examples in the first few chapters as well as some simple reminders (ex. when we say ½ mv2, only the v is squared). Why can't a physics book have some basic math refreshers in it, even more basic that his appendices? Hewitt does say on page one that his focus is not math. He is right; there are more "Think and Explain"-type questions than math-based problems, but I'd like to see him reinforcing the math that we are teaching in class.

I would also like to see an increased emphasis on graphs and graph analysis. Most students have practiced graphing in math, but they have little practice interpreting graphs of real data. Reminding them how to take a slope (or teaching it for the first time) and what it means to graph is definitely within the reach of a ninth grader. This type of practice problem throughout several chapters would help reinforce the math as well as practicing the physics principles.