The first workbook in a series that helps to make science more accessible through play.
A set of games that aim to show chemistry students how to build chemical compounds.
Gebhart (Time to Move On Again!, 2016, etc.), who’s previously authored more straightforward chemistry workbooks, here offers one that presents five educational board games for students. Each comes complete with instructions and playing materials, including pieces for each player, and each is focused on showing how to build compounds from different chemical components. The board is made up of differently colored squares on an “Outer Path,” which list each compound, and blank, white squares on an “Inner Path,” where the players move their game pieces. Players move on these squares by selecting “Step Cards,” which contain specific chemistry lessons. Each Outer Path square lists elements that the players must collect. (A periodic table of elements is also provided.) Players also collect “Claim Cards” that show the specific combinations of elements they need. For example: one square lists the elements “K, Cl, and O,” which are used to create potassium chlorate; the Claim Card shows how those elements are specifically configured (“KClO3”). These games may be incomprehensible to people who aren’t already in the midst of their chemistry education. But for college and high school students who are, this is a useful, alternative way to learn about the basics of chemistry that also provides an element of fun. For instance, if a player pulls the three-step card, he or she not only moves three spaces—but also learns that because the element lithium has three protons, its atomic number is three. (The card also reveals lithium’s symbol and abbreviation.) It’s also worth noting that each of the board games are reproducible, so educators may easily distribute them in classrooms.
The first workbook in a series that helps to make science more accessible through play.Pub Date: May 9, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4611-3899-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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