Science matters Achieving scientific litercy

Table Of Contents:
INTRODUCTION Scientific Literacy: What It Is, Why It's Important, and Why We Don't Have It xi

1. KNOWING The universe is regular and predictable. 1(19)

2. ENERGY Energy is conserved and always goes from more useful to less useful forms. 20(15)

3. ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM Electricity and magnetism are two aspects of the same force. 35(19)

4. THE ATOM All matter is made of atoms. 54(11)

5. THE WORLD OF THE QUANTUM Everything comes in discrete units and you can't measure anything without changing it. 65(10)

6. CHEMICAL BONDING Atoms are bound by electron glue. 75(19)

7. ATOMIC ARCHITECTURE The way a material behaves depends on how its atoms are arranged. 94(16)

8. NUCLEAR PHYSICS Nuclear energy comes from the conversion of mass. 110(14)

9. PARTICLE PHYSICS All matter is really made of quarks and leptons. 124(10)

10. ASTRONOMY Stars live and die. 134(13)

11. THE COSMOS The universe was born at a specific time in the past, and it has been expanding ever since. 147(9)

12. RELATIVITY Every observer sees the same laws of nature. 156(18)

13. THE RESTLESS EARTH The surface of the earth is constantly changing. 174(17)

14. EARTH CYCLES The earth operates in many cycles. 191(15)

15. THE LADDER OF LIFE All living things are made from cells, the chemical factories of life. 206(18)

16. THE CODE OF LIFE All life is based on the same genetic code. 224(19)

17. EVOLUTION All forms of life evolved by natural selection. 243(17)

18. ECOSYSTEMS All life is connected. 260(17)
EPILOGUE The Role of Science 277(2)
ADDITIONAL READING 279(4)
INDEX 283