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?

An Introduction to Physical Science, 15th Edition

James T. Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Jr., Bo Lou

  • Copyright 2021
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2020-06-30T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $77.95 See pricing and ISBN options
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now
An Introduction to Physical Science 15th Edition by James T. Shipman/Jerry D. Wilson/Charles A. Higgins, Jr./Bo Lou
Quick Navigation

Overview

Designed to help students develop the reasoning and problem-solving skills they need, while stimulating their interest in the fundamental concepts of physics, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology and geology, this latest edition of AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE is ideal for a non-science major\u2019s course. Topics are treated both descriptively and quantitatively, providing instructors the flexibility to emphasize the approach that works best for their students. Known for the way it engages active learners, this student-friendly new edition includes new high-interest \"Physical Science Today\" articles featuring timely and relevant applications and offers a WebAssign course with a mobile-friendly ebook and active-learning modules.

{{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.

Bo Lou

Bo Lou received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in optical engineering from Zhejiang University, and a Ph.D. degree in physics from Emory University. Bo is currently a professor of physics at Ferris State University. He has also co-authored other college physics textbooks.

What's New

{{collapseContainerClosed['whats-new'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • Timely "Physical Science Today" (PST) articles in nearly all chapters present fascinating, high-interest topics, emphasizing bio-medical and technical applications.
  • A new Digital Workbook in WebAssign includes active-learning modules, including videos, simulations, readings and experiment-based examples followed by a wide variety of questions for student response.
  • "Thinking It Through" (TIT) sections after Example questions and before Solutions focus students on the critical thinking and analysis they should undertake before working the example.

Features

{{collapseContainerClosed['features'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • Chapter-opening "Did You Know?" questions orient students and introduce them to the central ideas of the chapter.
  • Chapter-opening "Facts" provide interesting and user-friendly summaries of the chapter's key concepts and topics.
  • Section-opening Key Questions help students gauge their understanding of the important topics to be covered in the section that follows.
  • "Did You Learn?" sections provide a short set of answers to the section-opening Key Questions, reinforcing the concepts students should know after completing a section.
  • Conceptual Questions throughout (often related to an everyday application) are immediately followed by the correct answer to reinforce understanding.

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'}}

WebAssign Options

{{collapseContainerClosed['detail_1'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
WebAssign
Each WebAssign online product offers the full textbook combined with a flexible and fully customizable online instructional assignments and tools.

Cengage provides a seamless user experience for Learning Management Systems (LMS) integration. Please contact your Cengage Learning Consultant for ordering information and visit our Learning Management System Integration web page on WebAssign for general information.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

Recommended and most popular

  • ISBN-10: 0357021517
  • ISBN-13: 9780357021514
  • RETAIL $99.95

  • ISBN-10: 0357021525
  • ISBN-13: 9780357021521
  • RETAIL $119.95
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now

Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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

  • ISBN-10: 0357701224
  • ISBN-13: 9780357701225
  • RETAIL $77.95

  • ISBN-10: 113310925X
  • ISBN-13: 9781133109259
  • RETAIL $134.95

  • ISBN-10: 1337616419
  • ISBN-13: 9781337616416
  • RETAIL $224.95
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now

Supplements

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

Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR INSTRUCTORS

Lab Guide for Shipman/Wilson/Higgins' An Introduction to Physical Science, 13th

ISBN: 9781133109259
This Laboratory Guide contains 55 experiments in the five major divisions of physical science: physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, and meteorology. Each experiment includes an introduction, learning objectives, a list of apparatus, procedures for taking data, and questions. In addition, many experiments call for calculations and the plotting of graphs, and this guide provides space and graph paper for those purposes.

FOR STUDENTS

Lab Guide for Shipman/Wilson/Higgins' An Introduction to Physical Science, 13th

ISBN: 9781133109259
This Laboratory Guide contains 55 experiments in the five major divisions of physical science: physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, and meteorology. Each experiment includes an introduction, learning objectives, a list of apparatus, procedures for taking data, and questions. In addition, many experiments call for calculations and the plotting of graphs, and this guide provides space and graph paper for those purposes.

WebAssign for Shipman/Wilson/Higgins/Lou's An Introduction to Physical Science, Single-Term Instant Access

ISBN: 9780357021514
AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE presents content in such a way that students develop the reasoning and problem-solving skills they need, while stimulating their interest in the fundamental concepts of physics, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology and geology. Ideal for a non-science major\u2019s course, topics are treated both descriptively and quantitatively, providing instructors the flexibility to emphasize the approach that works best for their students. The fifteenth edition, which has been updated to include timely and relevant articles, is now exclusively available in an online eBook format. An updated WebAssign course features a mobile-friendly eBook and active learning modules to enhance the student learning experience.

WebAssign for Shipman/Wilson/Higgins/Lou's An Introduction to Physical Science, Multi-Term Instant Access

ISBN: 9780357021521
AN INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE presents content in such a way that students develop the reasoning and problem-solving skills they need, while stimulating their interest in the fundamental concepts of physics, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology and geology. Ideal for a non-science major\u2019s course, topics are treated both descriptively and quantitatively, providing instructors the flexibility to emphasize the approach that works best for their students. The fifteenth edition, which has been updated to include timely and relevant articles, is now exclusively available in an online eBook format. An updated WebAssign course features a mobile-friendly eBook and active learning modules to enhance the student learning experience.