Introductory Physical Science

I haven't looked at newer versions of this book, but I will say that I took this class as a high school freshman in 1979, and I will never forget it. This book made science come alive for me, and the experiments were very eye-opening to my young mind. I completely agree with the science teacher that said that the use of real lab equipment made students feel "grown up". I wonder if the reviewer who didn't like the book so well actually did any of the experiments. It is the experiments that really make this course shine and instill an understanding of scientific concepts that you cannot get by reading material. The final "sludge" experiment at the end was the best! So, here I am, 30 years later, and I still remember that class. That should tell you something. It is sad to me that it is not taught more often in schools, I wish my own kids could take it.

It is simple, yet not dumbed down. The opening experiment of the book, the distillation of wood, sparks students' interest and provides a great open question that could be used by HS and College Chemistry students.The lack of bursting colors keeps kids with slow reading skills from getting lost.I personally enjoy that its experiments use laboratory equipment as opposed to knick knacks bought at dimestores--yes, you can do some neat experiments with household items, but kids get a psychological boost (feel "scientifically grown-up") when they use real test tubes.Prentice Hall were mistaken to discontinue this book. Its value is incredible.

As a science teacher (everything grades 7-12) I'm always looking for better books. This year I decided to change my Physical Science from HRW's Modern Physical Science to this book. This was an excellent decision. This book is excellent! If students only read the book, they will not learn enough. If they only listen to lecture, they will not learn enough. They must do both of these things as well as do the labs to learn the material.Students are learning by doing, which is the essence of inquiry based learning. As a result, they learn the concepts better, they understand them, and they remember them.So far, I'm noticing a huge difference. Although IPS is slimmer, has less pictures, and has less scary-looking science stuff, the students will learn everything that my previous book taught, and they will learn a number of additional, important, topics: solubility curves, phase change graphs, how electrochemistry actually works, and many other things.This book does not try to intimidate. It teaches difficult concepts in a very simple way, and, so far, my students this year seem to have the same, or even better understanding of the concepts we learned last year!The only drawbacks to this book are these: students must take an active role to learn (which can be good); this book may require quite an investment in lab equipment (depending on how your lab is equipped); it requires quite a bit of prep-time outside of class; also, your students who pulled good grades from memorizing will see their grades plummet if they can't switch to this new method of learning.The other really major drawback I should mention is that this book doesn't have much applications and it doesn't get into some of the more advanced topics. This book also does not adequately cover the Physics component of Physical Science, although there is a companion volume available which does this. Since I have a degree in Physics, I've chosen to teach the physics myself, without a book. You may have difficulty if you are not comfortable in this area.