A self-contained account of the four core subject areas of an undergraduate physics degree—mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics—with more than 150 worked examplesMost graduate programs in physics require a preliminary examination on topics covered in undergraduate physics classes. This invaluable text provides a detailed review of the four core subject areas of an undergraduate physics degree—mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics—in a coherent and self-contained narrative built around worked example problems. Reader-friendly explanations of each topic are followed by a challenging worked example selected from Princeton University’s famously rigorous graduate preliminary exam in physics. Each problem is accompanied by a detailed solution that demonstrates the key techniques used. Starting with a relatively small set of core ideas, readers will go on to apply them to topics as wide-ranging as explosions, levitating frogs, radioactive decay, and white dwarf stars.• Can be used as a review of undergraduate topics for graduate students, as a supplemental text for undergraduates, or as a reference for more experienced physicists• Includes more than 150 problems from Princeton University’s graduate preliminary exam in physics• Difficulty of problems indicated with distinct iconography for each chapter: apples, resistors, cats, and flames
