Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy
Robert M. Hazen
Language: English
Pages: 233
ISBN: 0307454584
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Knowledge of the basic ideas and principles of science is fundamental to cultural literacy. But most books on science are often too obscure or too specialized to do the general reader much good.
Science Matters is a rare exception-a science book for the general reader that is informative enough to be a popular textbook for introductory courses in high school and college, and yet well-written enough to appeal to general readers uncomfortable with scientific jargon and complicated mathematics. And now, revised and expanded for the first time in nearly two decades, it is up-to-date, so that readers can enjoy Hazen and Trefil's refreshingly accessible explanations of the most recent developments in science, from particle physics to biotechnology.
Hazen and Trefil bring together in one volume nothing less than the most thorough survey ever of the fundamental ideas that constitute our understanding of the universe. In 18 lucid chapters, the authors lay out the simple facts behind seemingly mystifying scientific concepts--from relativity to quantum physics to ecosystems. 28 linecuts.
New Theories of Everything: The Quest For Ultimate Explanation
The Scientific Renaissance 1450-1630
The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People
Cosmosapiens: Human Evolution from the Origin of the Universe
millions of years life’s chemicals were created and concentrated in the ocean’s upper layers. There may have been scores of different amino acids, linking together to make primitive proteins. Lipid molecules clumped together to form membrane-like sheets and spheres. And DNA-like strands of sugars and bases also may have been present from time to time in that pre-life soup. Other researchers invoke mineral surfaces, perhaps in a shallow tidal pool or along cracks and fissures in rocks far below
scientists, who now ask which systems are chaotic, how they behave, and how our newly won knowledge of that behavior can be utilized. Can we, for example, produce accurate monthly forecasts of the weather or the stock market? CHAPTER TWO Energy AFICIONADOS THINK THE OLD wooden roller coasters are still the best. If you’ve ever ridden one, you’re not likely to forget the experience. The adventure begins calmly enough, as you lean back in your cushioned seat enjoying the gradual climb to
course, is not limited to universities. We hear over and over again about how poorly American high school and middle school students fare when compared to students in other developed countries on standardized tests. Scholars who make it their business to study such things estimate that fewer than 7 percent of American adults can be classed as scientifically literate. Even among college graduates (22 percent) and those with graduate degrees (26 percent), the number of Americans who are
Indonesia, rock layers on the ocean floor, which had been strained by centuries of slow crustal movement, suddenly snapped, releasing energy like a coiled spring. More powerful than a thousand nuclear bombs, shock waves traveled through Earth at supersonic speed. The sudden faulting of the ocean floor also set into motion immense waves of water—the tsunamis that would cause such tragic coastal devastation. Earthquakes and volcanoes offer dramatic testimony that our planet is not at rest. For
detail. Mitosis begins when the chromosomes replicate themselves, each length of DNA splitting in half and copying itself. The resulting replicate chromosomes join together and look like the letter X when viewed through a microscope. At this point a network of proteins (called spindles) forms in the cell and the matched pairs of chromosomes split up, one being pulled to each pole of the cell. This separation complete, another band of proteins forms around the cell’s equator and squeezes down,