Request for consultation

Thanks for your request. You’ll soon be chatting with a consultant to get the answers you need.
Your form is submitting...
{{formPostErrorMessage.message}} [{{formPostErrorMessage.code}}]
Email Address is required. 'Email Address' must contain at least 0 characters 'Email Address' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Email Address
First Name is required. 'First Name' must contain at least 0 characters 'First Name' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid First Name
Last Name is required. 'Last Name' must contain at least 0 characters 'Last Name' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Last Name
Institution is required.
Discipline is required.
Cengage, at your service! How can we best meet your needs? is required.
Why are you contacting us today? is required. 'Why are you contacting us today?' must contain at least 0 characters 'Why are you contacting us today?' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Why are you contacting us today?
See Most Recent Edition

An Introduction to Physical Science, 14th Edition

James T. Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Jr., Omar Torres

  • Copyright 2016
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2015-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $216.95 See pricing and ISBN options
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now
An Introduction to Physical Science 14th Edition by James T. Shipman/Jerry D. Wilson/Charles A. Higgins, Jr./Omar Torres
Quick Navigation

Overview

Consistent with previous editions of AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE, the goal of the new Fourteenth Edition is to stimulate students’ interest in and gain knowledge of the physical sciences. Presenting content in such a way that students develop the critical reasoning and problem-solving skills that are needed in an ever-changing technological world, the authors emphasize fundamental concepts as they progress through the five divisions of physical sciences: physics, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology, and geology. Ideal for a non-science major’s course, topics are treated both descriptively and quantitatively, providing instructors the flexibility to emphasize whichever approach works best for their students.

{{readMore['overview'] ? 'Read More' : 'Read Less'}}

Meet the Authors

{{collapseContainerClosed['meet-the-author'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

James T. Shipman

Dr. James T. Shipman was a long-time physics educator at Ohio University, his alma mater, and was Professor Emeritus until his passing in 2009.

Jerry D. Wilson

Jerry Wilson received his physics degrees from Ohio University (B.S., Ph.D.) and Union College in Schenectady, New York (M.S.). In addition to co-writing PHYSICS LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS, he is one of the original authors of the first edition of AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE (published in 1971) and has several other physics textbooks to his credit. Wilson is currently Emeritus Professor of Physics at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, and continues to write the Curiosity Corner, a question and answer column run in five regional newspapers.

Charles A. Higgins, Jr.

Chuck Higgins received his B.S. degree in physics from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in astronomy from the University of Florida. Areas of interest and research include planetary and solar radio astronomy, as well as astronomy education and public outreach. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is a founding member of a NASA-sponsored education project called Radio JOVE, and he frequently hikes many of the great state parks in Tennessee.

Omar Torres

Omar Torres received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1998 and his graduate degree in Inorganic Chemistry from UCLA in 2001. He has experience in teaching, research (inorganic, organic, and analytical) and academic administration. Professor Torres taught both inorganic and organic chemistry at UCLA, where he earned two UCLA Department of Chemistry Awards for Excellence in Teaching for the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years. In addition, Professor Torres has worked at the Dow Chemical Company (Freeport, TX) in the area of Analytical Quality Control, developing and implementing new technologies for various plant operators and analytical scientists. He is currently Dean of Science at the College of the Canyons.

What's New

{{collapseContainerClosed['whats-new'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • Each chapter contains a new Did You Know? feature identifying especially interesting science facts to engage students' interest in the material they are preparing to read.
  • All Highlight boxes and Conceptual Question and Answer boxes are now numbered within each chapter and can be referenced in the Chapter Outline. All of the chapters contain many new photographs that are relatable to students.
  • Chapter 2 has a new Highlight, "Terminal Velocity – Don't Fail Me Now!" showcasing Felix Baumgartner's jump from the stratosphere.
  • Chapter 5 has new text on thermometers and their applications, including an accompanying Conceptual Question and Answer. There is also a new Highlight, "Human Body Temperature," discussing "normal" human body temperature, as well as its extremes.
  • Chapter 10 features a new Highlight, "Pebble-bed Gas Reactor," discussing possibly the next generation of nuclear reactors and how they work. Section 10.8 on Elementary Particles has been amended to include the Higgs-Boson and the resulting Nobel Prize award to Peter Higgs.

Features

{{collapseContainerClosed['features'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • Did You Know – Each chapter begins with key questions and their accompanying sections to help quickly orient students and introduce them to the central ideas of the chapter.
  • Facts – Each chapter begins with a list of Facts--a brief description of pertinent, interesting, and user-friendly items regarding concepts and topics to be covered in the chapter.
  • Preview Questions – A short set of preview questions ask about important topics that will be covered in the following section.
  • Did You Learn? – A short set of questions that reviews what the student should know after reading a section.
  • Conceptual Question and Answer – Throughout the chapter, these test student comprehension with a Conceptual question, often related to an everyday application, and give the answer, which reinforces the topic of the text.

Table of Contents

{{collapseContainerClosed['table-of-contents'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
Preface.
1. Measurement.
2. Motion.
3. Force and Motion.
4. Work and Energy.
5. Temperature and Heat.
6. Waves and Sound.
7. Optics and Wave Effects.
8. Electricity and Magnetism.
9. Atomic Physics.
10. Nuclear Physics.
11. The Chemical Elements.
12. Chemical Bonding.
13. Chemical Reactions.
14. Organic Chemistry.
15. Place and Time.
16. The Solar System.
17. Moons and Small Solar System Bodies.
18. The Universe.
19. The Atmosphere.
20. Atmospheric Effects.
21. Structural Geology and Plate Tectonics.
22. Minerals, Rocks, and Volcanoes.
23. Surface Processes.
24. Geologic Time.
Appendix A. The Seven Base Units of the International System of Units (SI)
Appendix B. Solving Mathematical Problems in Science.
Appendix C. Equation Rearrangement.
Appendix D. Analysis of Units.
Appendix E. Positive and Negative Numbers.
Appendix F. Powers-of-10 Notation.
Appendix G. Significant Figures.
Appendix H. Psychrometric Tables (pressure: 30 in. of Hg).
Appendix I. Seasonal Star Charts.
Answers to Confidence Exercises.
Answers to Selected Questions.
Glossary.
Index.

Compare Buying Options

{{collapseContainerClosed['compare-buying-options'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

{{collapseContainerClosed['detail_0'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

  • ISBN-10: 1305079124
  • ISBN-13: 9781305079120
  • RETAIL $216.95
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now