Thinking like a Physicist:
An Interview with Heather Lang

We chatted with Heather Lang, author of the newly released Head First Physics, about her experience writing for Head First.

What can we expect in the new Head First Physics book? What are some of the coolest things learners can do once they've worked through Head First Physics?

Feel confident about physics — and the math too. As one of the non-physicist reviewers commented: "I almost always managed to find some way to think around the problems... The fact I can say this is a big compliment to Head First Physics, as I never used to be able to think around more difficult mathematical problems at all. My brain would just shut down and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get any further."

How do you think the Head First approach to physics is different from other non-Head First physics books you've seen and used? How do you think Head First makes physics easier to learn?

Physics textbooks or exam prep books usually present you with all the facts you might need to know, in quick-fire style. In Head First Physics, there is space for you to explore and make your own discoveries. The book is interactive and you directly play a part. For example, you'll spend 44 pages exploring vectors in a treasure hunt competition rather than having the "facts" thrown at you in the space of three pages.

It's the exploration that makes things stick — and makes the physics easier to learn. You're immersing yourself in the scenario rather than "reading along and nodding" from the "outside" like you would for most books.

What topics do you think people struggle with most in a typical physics course? How did you address the topics in a way that will help learners who have struggled before?

Two topics in particular are in the "crossover" between math and physics — dealing with forces applied at angles and understanding the mathematics of circular and simple harmonic motion.

Many students say that they can "use" the equations but don't really understand what they mean, so they become stuck when faced with more complicated problems. This is because typical physics books state these equations as fact, without giving much help or guidance in thinking through what the equations mean and why they work.

In Head First Physics, you spend a whole chapter building a solid foundation with angles and right-angled triangles by working out how to defend a castle. And for circular motion, you spend a whole chapter implementing a hamster training schedule, again exploring and working everything out for yourself.

You are then able to use your depth of understanding to solve more complicated problems by breaking them down into simpler ones you already know how to do.

What topic or section of the book are you most proud of? What did you do to make it especially effective?

Introducing forces and Newton's Laws then the transition from these to energy and work. Most physics books say something like: "Here are Newton's three laws, in order. Here are some other equations for momentum conservation and impulse. Here are a couple more equations for potential and kinetic energy." But the connections between them aren't made clear, and most students treat them as a list of separate things to be memorized.

In Head First Physics, you find out about momentum conservation (while helping some pirates deal with a ghost ship), which you use to discover Newton's 2nd & 3rd laws and impulse. After doing an assignment for "Fakebusters" investigating a phony "instant weight loss" machine and being a physics consultant on a computer game, you discover energy conservation while working out a way to lift the sword in the stone using physics. Everything builds logically and the connections are clear because you've discovered them for yourself by using what you already knew to figure out something new.

What is your favorite scenario from the book that directly relates to a learner's everyday life?

Probably the Sim Football computer game in chapter 12, where you have to help a programmer who's good at writing games but not very good at physics. You have to think about how lots of different elements in a football game — passing, tackling, kicking, etc. — work in real life, then translate them into equations for the programmer.

And once you've done that, you have to deal with extra problems that come up — like the players sliding the full length of the pitch after a tackle, or the CEO wanting to include a level where you play on the moon! This is just like real life, where solving a problem often brings something else to the surface. You can apply many of the problem solving approaches in the book to more than just physics!

Is your book for people who've never studied physics, or who have already worked with physics?

There are two main audiences: students who are studying for AP Physics B or A Level Physics or any other algebra-based physics course... and anyone who's interested in how stuff works! The book doesn't make any assumptions about prior physics knowledge, so it starts from the start with how to think like a physicist when approaching problems before gently introducing the physics — and the math — as it goes along.

This makes Head First Physics suitable for people who are new to physics and people who've studied some physics and want a deeper and broader understanding of how it all fits together. The content of the early chapters may be mostly review for someone who's already studied some physics. But the approach in these chapters builds the foundation for learning to think like a physicist that is essential for mastering the more advanced later chapters.

For those learners who struggle in math and science (in this case physics), can you share any words of advice to help them better understand and master the material being taught?

Don't try to memorize! That's got to be the most important thing. Physics is like a sport — you learn best by doing rather than by memorizing. So the whole book's geared towards learning by doing, through solving problems as you go along.

Start with a sketch, and write down all the values you already know on it. This gets the visual parts of your brain working and gives you a single reference on your page where you've collected together everything you know so far.

Ask: "What's it LIKE"? Physics is about the world around you, and you already have plenty of experience there. Your sketch may remind you of a scenario you've seen before, or a similar problem you've previously solved, even if the "story" is different.

Don't be afraid to have a go. The best way to solve a problem is to start it. You won't always see in advance how you're going to work your way through the problem, but as you sketch and write things down you'll often get ideas popping into your head that you can run with.

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