CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Scientific Literacy: What It Is, Why It’s Important, and Why We
Don’t Have It
ONE. Knowing
The universe is regular and predictable.
TWO. Energy
Energy is conserved and always goes from more useful
to less useful forms.
THREE. Electricity and Magnetism
Electricity and magnetism are two aspects of the same force.
FOUR. The Atom
All matter is made of atoms.
FIVE. The World of the Quantum
Everything comes in discrete units and you can’t measure anything
without changing it.
SIX. Chemical Bonding
Atoms are bound by electron glue.
SEVEN. Atomic Architecture
The way a material behaves depends on how its atoms are
arranged.
EIGHT. Nuclear Physics
Nuclear energy comes from the conversion of mass.
NINE. The Fundamental Structure of Matter
All matter is really made of quarks and leptons.
TEN. Astronomy
Stars experience a cycle of birth and death.
ELEVEN. The Cosmos
The universe was born at a specific time in the past, and it has
been expanding ever since.
TWELVE. Relativity
Every observer sees the same laws of nature.
THIRTEEN. The Restless Earth
Earth’s surface is constantly changing, and no feature on Earth is
permanent.
FOURTEEN. Earth Cycles
Earth operates in cycles.
FIFTEEN. The Ladder of Life
All living things are made from cells, the chemical factories of
life.
SIXTEEN. The Code of Life
All life is based on the same genetic code.
SEVENTEEN. Biotechnology
All life is based on the same chemistry and genetic code.
EIGHTEEN. Evolution
All forms of life evolved by natural selection.
NINETEEN. Ecosystems
All life is connected.
Epilogue
The Role of Science
Index
ROBERT M. HAZEN is the author of more than 350 articles and 20
books on earth science, materials science, origins of life, history
and music. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, he received the Mineralogical Society of America Award,
the Ipatief Prize, the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, and other awards
for his research and writing. Hazen is a researcher at the Carnegie
Institution for Science and is Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences
at George Mason University. His recent books include Genesis- The
Scientific Quest for Life's Origins and The Sciences- An Integrated
Approach (with James Trefil).
JAMES TREFIL, Robinson Professor of Physics at George Mason
University, is the author of over 40 books and 100 articles in
professional journals. He is a fellow of the American Physical
Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and the World Economic Forum. He is the recipient of the Andrew
Gemant Award (American institute of Physics), the Westinghouse and
Subaru Awards (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
and the 2008 Science Writing Award (American Physical Society). His
most recent books are Why Science and The Sciences- An Integrated
Approach (with Robert Hazen).
“Lucid and lively. Hazen and Trefil have a particular genius for
picturing even formidably abstract ideas in concrete images....
Science Matters is as good as they get”
—The Washington Post Book World
“Hazen and Trefil [are] unpretentious—good, down-to-earth,
we-can-explain-anything science teachers, the kind you wish you had
but never did.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A book that even scientifically literate readers can consult ...
if they find their recollection of relativity or quantum mechanics
getting shaky.”
—New Scientist
“Ordered and accessible, never daunting, never jumping ahead of
itself.... If you've always thought you could never understand
science, Hazen and Trefil will show you you're wrong.”
—Washington Monthly
“A thoughtful and concise overview of what the citizen needs to
know about science.”
—E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
“Science does matter, as this book shows.”
—Isaac Asimov
“A model of clarity and coherence.”
—Leon M. Lederman, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics
“Lucid.... Will cause readers to wonder what was so confusing about
the Periodic Table of Elements they confronted in their school
days.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A first rate exposition-thorough, accessible, and entertaining-of
the rudiments of scientific knowledge.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A confident overview of the fundamentals of science....
Comprehensible and carefully paced.”
—Booklist
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