CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| 1. | Gravitation | [1] |
| 1. A real place where things weigh nothing and where there is no up or down | [1] | |
| 2. "Water seeks its own level" | [6] | |
| 3. The sea of compressed air in which we live: Air pressure | [10] | |
| 4. Sinking and floating: Displacement | [23] | |
| 5. How things are kept from toppling over: Stability | [29] | |
| 2. | Molecular Attraction | [36] |
| 6. How liquids are absorbed: Capillary attraction | [36] | |
| 7. How things stick to one another: Adhesion | [41] | |
| 8. The force that makes a thing hold together: Cohesion | [44] | |
| 9. Friction | [49] | |
| 3. | Conservation of Energy | [57] |
| 10. Levers | [57] | |
| 11. Inertia | [66] | |
| 12. Centrifugal force | [72] | |
| 13. Action and reaction | [77] | |
| 14. Elasticity | [82] | |
| 4. | Heat | [88] |
| 15. Heat makes things expand | [88] | |
| 16. Cooling from expansion | [94] | |
| 17. Freezing and melting | [96] | |
| 18. Evaporation | [100] | |
| 19. Boiling and condensing | [107] | |
| 20. Conduction of heat and convection | [116] | |
| 5. | Radiant Heat and Light | [122] |
| 21. How heat gets here from the sun; why things glow when they become very hot | [122] | |
| 22. Reflection | [129] | |
| 23. The bending of light: Refraction | [136] | |
| 24. Focus | [142] | |
| 25. Magnification | [150] | |
| 26. Scattering of light: Diffusion of light | [158] | |
| 27. Color | [161] | |
| 6. | Sound | [174] |
| 28. What sound is | [174] | |
| 29. Echoes | [183] | |
| 30. Pitch | [185] | |
| 7. | Magnetism and Electricity | [190] |
| 31. Magnets; the compass | [190] | |
| 32. Static electricity | [196] | |
| 8. | Electricity | [203] |
| 33. Making electricity flow | [203] | |
| 34. Conduction of electricity | [213] | |
| 35. Complete circuits | [219] | |
| 36. Grounded circuits | [225] | |
| 37. Resistance | [229] | |
| 38. The electric arc | [233] | |
| 39. Short circuits and fuses | [240] | |
| 40. Electromagnets | [247] | |
| 9. | Mingling of Molecules | [259] |
| 41. Solutions and emulsions | [259] | |
| 42. Crystals | [265] | |
| 43. Diffusion | [268] | |
| 44. Clouds, rain, and dew: Humidity | [274] | |
| 45. Softening due to oil or water | [290] | |
| 10. | Chemical Change and Energy | [293] |
| 46. What things are made of: Elements | [293] | |
| 47. Burning: Oxidation | [312] | |
| 48. Chemical change caused by heat | [323] | |
| 49. Chemical change caused by light | [326] | |
| 50. Chemical change caused by electricity | [335] | |
| 51. Chemical change releases energy | [340] | |
| 52. Explosions | [342] | |
| 11. | Solution and Chemical Action | [349] |
| 53. Chemical change helped by solution | [349] | |
| 54. Acids | [351] | |
| 55. Bases | [355] | |
| 56. Neutralization | [360] | |
| 57. Effervescence | [365] | |
| 12. | Analysis | [370] |
| 58. Analysis | [370] | |
| Appendixes: | ||
| A. The Electrical Apparatus | [379] | |
| B. Construction of the Cigar-box Telegraph | [381] | |
| Index | [383] |
COMMON SCIENCE
CHAPTER ONE
GRAVITATION
Section 1. A real place where things weigh nothing and where there is no up or down.
Why is it that the oceans do not flow off the earth?
What is gravity?
What is "down," and what is "up"?