Help Your Kids with Science: A Unique Step-by-Step Visual Guide, Revision and Reference

258 Pages·2012·30.31 MB·English

by  Carol Vorderman

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DORLING KINDERSLEY Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf
Senior Editor Carron Brown Associate Publishing Director Liz Wheeler
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First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
A Penguin Company
Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley Limited
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001 – 181318 – 1/6
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without prior
written permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4093 8346 8
Printed and bound by South China Printing Co. Ltd, China
See our complete catalogue at
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CAROL VORDERMAN M.A. (Cantab), MBE is one of Britain’s best loved TV presenters and is
renowned for her skills in mathematics, and her enthusiasm and encouragement for science
and technology and education. She hosts numerous shows on the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4,
from light entertainment with Carol Vorderman’s Better Homes and The Pride of Britain
Awards to scientific programmes such as Tomorrow’s World. Whether hosting Channel 4’s
Countdown for 26 years or becoming the second best-selling female non-fiction author of
the noughties decade in the UK, reporting to the Prime Minister David Cameron in August
2010 with a far-reaching review “A World Class Mathematics Education for all our Young
People”, Carol has a passion for mathematics and science. Carol was a founding trustee
of NESTA, is patron for the Cambridge Science Festival, member of the Royal Institution,
member of advisory education panel for Engineering, and holder of many honorary degrees
from universities around Britain. In 2010 she launched her own online maths school
www.themathsfactor.com where she teaches parents and children how they can
become the very best they can be in the language of mathematics.

TOM JACKSONhas written nearly 100 books and contributed to many more about science,
technology, and natural history. Before becoming a writer, Tom spent time as a zookeeper,
worked in safari parks in Zimbabwe, and was a member of the first British research expedition
to the rainforests of Vietnam since the 1960s. Tom’s work as a travel writer has taken him to
the Sahara Desert, the Amazon jungle, the African savanna, and the Galápagos Islands –
following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin.
DR MIKE GOLDSMITH has a PhD in astrophysics from Keele University. From 1987 until
2007 he worked in the Acoustics Group at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory and was
Head of the group for many years. He still works with NPL on a freelance basis. Mike has
published more than 40 scientific papers and has written more than 30 science books, two
of which have been short-listed for the Royal Society prize for children’s science books.
DR STEWART SAVARD is the Science Lead Teacher and district eLibrarian/eResource
teacher in British Columbia’s Comox Valley, Canada. Stewart has published papers on the
role of Science Fiction and Science collections in libraries and helped to edit 18 Elementary
Science books. He is actively developing a range of school robotics programmes.

ALLISONELIA graduated from Brunel University in 1989, with a BSc (Hons) in Applied
Physics. She worked in Public Sector finance for several years before realizing that her true
vocation lay in education. In 1992, she undertook a PGCE in Secondary Science at Canterbury
Christ Church College. For the past 18 years, Allison has taught science in a number of
schools, and is currently the Head of Science at Fort Pitt Grammar School in Kent.
Foreword
Hello
Welcome to the wonderful world of science: a world that can take your breath
away. It is sometimes difficult to believe how extraordinary the complex
patterns of nature are, but when science reveals its beauty at so many levels,
it really is easy to become enthralled.
The economic nature of how we live has changed. Now those children who grow
with a passion for science have the world at their fingertips – they will know
wonder like no other… and their opportunities are without limit.
The way in which science can engage children has changed radically, too.
There are so many ways in which you can make this exciting, particularly
at home, and that is the essence of this book.
We are well aware that many parents themselves gave up any study of science
many years ago and might feel wary or even frightened of engaging in the
subject again. We wanted this book to guide all parents through the areas
that your child will study now and in the years to come.
As a single parent with two children, I know just how important it is to say
“wow” to all things scientific, to show your own wonder, even if you don’t know
the answer in full yourself. Science doesn’t need “the right answer” to inspire…
science poses questions. Understand the basics and you may find this
inspiration, too.
I hope that you enjoy this book as much as we have loved putting it together.
CAROL VORDERMAN
Carol is the founder of her own maths school online
www.themathsfactor.com
BCE: Pythagoras (c.570–c.495), Thales of Miletus (c.624–c.546),
Aristotle (384–322), Archimedes (c.287–212); CE: Ibn
al-Haytham (965–1039), Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543),
Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Galileo Galilei (1564–1642),
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), William Harvey (1578–1657),
Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695), Anton van Leeuwenhoek
(1632–1723), Isaac Newton (1642–1727), Carl Linnaeus
(1707–1778), William Herschel (1738–1822), Antoine
Lavoisier (1743–1794), Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), John
Dalton (1766–1844), Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), Michael
Faraday (1791–1867), Charles Darwin (1809–1882), Claude
Bernard (1813–1878), Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), Louis
Pasteur (1822–1895), James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), Dmitri
Mendeleev (1834–1907), Robert Koch (1843–1910), Ludwig
Boltzmann (1844–1906), Joseph J Thomson (1856–1940), Max
Planck (1858–1947), Marie Curie (1867–1934), Ernest
Rutherford (1871–1937), Albert Einstein (1879–1955), Otto
Hahn (1879–1968), Max Born (1882–1970), Niels Bohr
(1885–1962), Erwin Shrödinger (1887–1961), Edwin Hubble
(1889–1953), Linus Pauling (1901–1994), Barbara McClintock
(1902–1992), Glenn Seaborg (1912–1999), Jonas Salk
(1914–1995), Francis Crick (1916–2004), Rosalind Franklin
(1920–1958), James Watson (b.1928), Stephen Hawking (b.1942)
Contents
FOREWORD by Carol Vorderman 6 Evolution 80
WHAT IS SCIENCE? 10 Adaptations 82
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD 12 Genetics I 84
FIELDS OF SCIENCE 14 Genetics II 86
Pollution 88
1 BIOLOGY Human impact 90
2 CHEMISTRY
What is biology? 18
Variety of life 20
Cell structure 22
Cells at work 24 What is chemistry? 94
Fungi and single-celled life 26 Properties of materials 96
Respiration 28 States of matter 98
Photosynthesis 30 Changing states 100
Feeding 32 Gas laws 102
Waste materials 34 Mixtures 104
Transport systems 36 Separating mixtures 106
Movement 38 Elements and atoms 108
Sensitivity 40 Compounds and molecules 110
Reproduction I 42 Ionic bonding 112
Reproduction II 44 Covalent bonding 114
Life cycles 46 Periodic table 116
Hormones 48 Understanding the periodic table 118
Disease and immunity 50 Alkali metals and alkali earth metals 120
Animal relationships 52 The halogens and noble gases 122
Plants 54 Transition metals 124
Invertebrates 56 Radioactivity 126
Fish, amphibians, and reptiles 58 Chemical reactions 128
Mammals and birds 60 Combustion 130
Body systems 62 Redox reactions 132
Human senses 64 Energy and reactions 134
Human digestion 66 Rates of reaction 136
Brain and heart 68 Catalysts 138
Human health 70 Reversible reactions 140
Human reproduction 72 Water 142
Ecosystems 74 Acids and bases 144
Food chains 76 Acid reactions 146
Cycles in nature 78 Electrochemistry 148