Core Concepts

"Electricity is a wonderful convenience that provides us with light, heat, communications, and power. Readers will learn about the history of electricity, from its ancient discovery to the present, with a full chapter extolling the important contributions by Benjamin Franklin and a timeline for visual reinforcement. In this instructive volume, readers learn how electricity is produced, whether it is simple static electricity, bolts of lightning, or the movement of ions. Step-by-step projects give readers the chance to see new concepts in action" -- Provided by publisher.

"Ticking clocks, claps of thunder, the human voice—sound is anything that can be heard. Hearing sound is one thing, but understanding just how it works and what its properties are is quite another. Answering these questions and others concerning supersonic speed and breaking the sound barrier, how the human voice and ear work, and the age-old question of whether a tree falling in the forest unobserved makes any noise, this volume provides an accessible yet detailed and amply illustrated guide to the science of sound. Also included are several fun projects, which allow readers to explore in a hands-on way the nature, quality, and behavior of sound" -- Provided by publisher.

"When we think of nuclear physics, we often think of nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons. However, nuclear physics has many other applications, including in the fields of nuclear medicine, materials engineering, geology and archaeology. The history of nuclear physics is full of fascinating figures--Rutherford, Geiger, Bohr, Einstein, Oppenheimer--and highly dramatic experiments, triumphs, and utter tragedies. This volume introduces readers to the most transformative science of the modern era by capturing both the promise and the peril of nuclear physics with compelling, comprehensible text, full-color photos and explanatory visual aids" -- Provided by publisher.

"Understanding the basics of matter is a core piece of the science curriculum. This guide to matter is an interesting, colorful introduction to these concepts in the field of science, including bright photos, fun facts, and basic experiments that allow readers to have an informative and complete hands-on learning experience. Biographical information on Albert Einstein is also included, with a detailed timeline, adding an interesting and engaging historical element to the text" -- Provided by publisher.

"Though we take light for granted, the world's greatest scientists have long puzzled over its nature, properties, and behavior. Its incredible speed, mysterious frequency, relationship to color, form of travel, and uncanny ability to reflect, refract, diffract, and be absorbed altogether make light the ever-elusive quarry of science's greatest hunters of knowledge and understanding. This is the enthralling account of their investigations and discoveries, their conclusive insights and ongoing questions, enhanced by full-color photographs and explanatory visual aids. If you thought you knew everything there is to know about light, think again and read on" -- Provided by publisher.

"Modern life makes extensive use of electronics. On a daily basis, we use smartphones, computers, and TVs in the home and robots in industry and commerce. This title outlines the development of electronics, from early vacuum tubes to today’s microchips. It explains how semiconductors work at the atomic level and how they are made into solid-state devices essential for the Internet and other applications. A biographical chapter on J. J. Thomson, who discovered the electron (the key to electronics), rounds out the text. Science projects readers can try at home illustrate principles of physics" -- Provided by publisher.

Provides information about elements and the periodic table, including atomic structure, how the table is arranged, and the different types of elements.

Describes the properties of the different forms of matter and explains how each form of matter can be changed into the others.

Presents an overview of metals, covering alkali metals, alkaline-earth metals, group 13 metals, group 14 metals, and transition metals, as well as unusual metalloids.

"Students see chemistry in action in this thorough but accessible informational text aligned to science core curriculum, includes crosscutting concepts, and covers carbon bonding, chains, and rings, alcohol and acids, other organic compounds such as esters, aldehydes, ketones, ethers, amines, and halides, and polymers"--Provided by publisher.