Quote Originally Posted by paulb
Yes, notepad is a synonym for notebook. Often a notepad will be smaller.
Not quite. If the the paper is bound along the long edge, it's a notebook. If the paper is bound along the narrow edge, it's a notepad. Notepads are typically smaller than notebooks, and notepads are often bound with some kind of gum/elastic/rubber binding. A notepad is usually made in such a way so that it is easy to remove the top sheet, which is why they often use the gum bindings. We use notebooks for things we study. We use notepads for bits of information that we will need for a short period of time, or to pass on small bits of information to others, like telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, shoppping lists, etc.