Exploring the Integrated Science

Why is rubber elastic? Why are leaves green? Answering these and a myriad of other puzzles of nature, this richly illustrated volume shows how the simplest questions can lead us through a chain of reasoning that explains some of the most fascinating principles of science. Each chapter begins with a question that forms the basis for explaining a scientific principle. Step by step, the text then delves into the more sophisticated scientific matter necessary for providing insight into the question presented thus elucidating key principles and concepts. Each chapter contains a summary highlighting the salient points, answers the question definitively, and concludes with a series of exercises, including detailed solutions.

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• Our Universe: Where Are We?
• Numbers in Our World: How Do We Reach Infinity and Beyond?
• Energy: Why Can Sunlight Power the World?
• Atoms: Why Are the Elements So Different from Each Other?
• Combining Atoms: How Do Atoms Bond?
• Fluids: How Does Water Flow?
• Materials: Why Is Steel Strong and Glass Fragile?
• Polymers: Why Is Rubber Elastic?
• Sparks in Nature: What Is Electricity?
• Odor: Why Can We Smell Perfume?
• Sound: Why Can We Hear Music?
• Nature's Solar Cells: Why Are Leaves Green?
• Vision: Why Can We See Sunlight?
• Biopolymers: Why Does Life Use Polymers?
• Proteins: Who Does All the Work?
• RNA: Jack of All Trades, Master of None?
• DNA: What Determines the Structure of DNA?
• Information: Does DNA Compute?
• Nanoworld: Why Can a Gecko Climb a Wall?
• Complexity: Why Do We Need Only a Small Number of Genes?
• Evolution: Why Are There Many Species?
• Relativity: Why Does E = mc²?
• Quantum Mechanics I: Why Are There Black Lines in the Spectrum of the Sun?
• Quantum Mechanics II: Is Nature Counterintuitive?
• Appendices:
  • Complex Numbers
  • Laws
  • Equations
  • Units
  • Prefixes
  • Constants
  • Sizes
  • Credits
  • Periodic Table
  • Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Index