An introduction to the fundamental physical principles related to the study of biological phenomena, structured around relevant biological examples.

This classroom-tested textbook is an innovative, comprehensive, and forward-looking introductory undergraduate physics course. While it clearly explains physical principles and equips the student with a full range of quantitative tools and methods, the material is firmly grounded in biological relevance and is brought to life with plenty of biological examples throughout. It is designed to be a self-contained text for a two-semester sequence of introductory physics for biology and premedical students, covering kinematics and Newton’s laws, energy, probability, diffusion, rates of change, statistical mechanics, fluids, vibrations, waves, electromagnetism, and optics. Each chapter begins with learning goals, and concludes with a summary of core competencies, allowing for seamless incorporation into the classroom. In addition, each chapter is replete with a wide selection of creative and often surprising examples, activities, computational tasks, and exercises, many of which are inspired by current research topics, making cutting-edge biological physics accessible to the student.

This book aims to demystify fundamental biophysics for students in the health and biosciences required to study physics and to understand the mechanistic behaviour of biosystems. The text is well supplemented by worked conceptual examples that will constitute the main source for the students, while combining conceptual examples and practice problems with more quantitative examples and recent technological advances.

Why do elephants have sturdier thigh bones than humans? Why can't ostriches fly? How do bacteria swim through fluids? With each chapter structured around relevant biological case studies and examples, this engaging, full-colour book introduces fundamental physical concepts essential in the study of biological phenomena. Optics is introduced within the context of butterfly wing colouration, electricity is explained through the propagation of nerve signals, and accelerated motion is conveniently illustrated using the example of the jumping armadillo. Other key physical concepts covered include waves, mechanical forces, thermodynamics and magnetism, and important biological techniques are also discussed within this context, such as gel electrophoresis and fluorescence microscopy. A detailed appendix provides further discussion of the mathematical concepts utilised within the book, and numerous exercises and quizzes allow readers to test their understanding of key concepts. This book is invaluable to students aiming to improve their quantitative and analytical skills and understand the deeper nature of biological phenomena.

A reissue of a classic book, intended for undergraduate courses in biophysics, biological physics, physiology, medical physics, and biomedical engineering. This is an introduction to mechanics, with examples and problems from the medical and biological sciences, covering standard topics of kinematics, dynamics, statics, momentum, and feedback, control and stability but with the emphasis on physical and biological systems. The book can be used as a supplement to standard introductory physics courses, as well as for medical schools, medical physics courses, and biology departments. The three volumes combined present all the major topics in physics. Originally published in 1974 from the authors typescript, this reissue will be edited, corrected, typeset, the art redrawn, and an index added, plus a solutions manual will also be available.

This textbook provides an accessible introduction to physics for undergraduate students in the life sciences, including those majoring in all branches of biology, biochemistry, and psychology and students working on pre-professional programs such as pre-medical, pre-dental, and physical therapy. The text is geared for the algebra-based physics course, often named College Physics in the United States. The order of topics studied are such that most of the problems in the text can be solved with the methods of Statics or Dynamics. That is, they require a free body diagram, the application of Newton’s Laws, and any necessary kinematics. Constructing the text with a standardized problem-solving methodology, simplifies this aspect of the course and allows students to focus on the application of physics to the study of biological systems. Along the way, students apply these techniques to find the tension in a tendon, the sedimentation rate of red blood cells in haemoglobin, the torques and forces on a bacterium employing a flagellum to propel itself through a viscous fluid, and the terminal velocity of a protein moving in a Gel Electrophoresis device. This is part one of a two-volume set; volume 2 introduces students to the conserved-quantities and applies these problem-solving techniques to topics in Thermodynamics, Electrical Circuits, Optics, and Atomic and Nuclear Physics always with continued focus on biological applications. Key Features: Organised and centred around analysis techniques, not traditional Mechanics and E&M. Presents a unified approach, in a different order, meaning that the same laboratories, equipment, and demonstrations can be used when teaching the course. Demonstrates to students that the analysis and concepts they are learning are critical to the understanding of biological systems.

Each chapter has three types of learning aides for students: open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, and quantitative problems. There is an average of about 50 per chapter. There are also a number of worked examples in the chapters, averaging over 5 per chapter, and almost 600 photos and line drawings.