Mr. Wizard’s 400 Experiments in Science

Mr. Wizard does it again with 400 time-proven experiments that allow students to test the basic principles of science for themselves.
Experiments encompass 17 basic scientific concepts, arranged in concise four-page chapters for quick teacher reference

How To Use This Book
In the past hundred years we have learned far more about the nature of our world than was discovered in the half million years before that. Why has there been such rapid growth in reliable knowledge in recent times? The increasing use of scientific experiments is one of the main reasons for this growth.
Many so-called facts had been believed to be true for thousands of years, yet were not true at all. What is new in recent times is the understanding that “facts” are not really facts until they have been tested. And one of the best ways to do that is to design an experiment that tests the truth or falsity of the idea. If the experiment indicates that the idea is false, such evidence becomes far more important than opinions about the facts.
How does one learn to do experiments? By doing many of them, of course. The experiments need not be complicated; in fact, simple ones are best for learning. They need not be original; repeating what others have done before is a good way to learn. The important thing is that the experiments be new to the person doing them and that the person practice observing for themself rather than always taking the word of others for what is supposed to happen.
Something important occurs when you do experiments yourself and make your own observations. You begin to observe things that are not described in the instructions.
Sometimes these observations are quite puzzling; often they contradict what you learned before. Then you are in the same situation as a scientist facing the unknown. When this happens to you while doing an experiment, don’t drop the puzzle. Face the contradiction squarely. Try to design a new experiment to find out more about the problem and to provide new observations for solving the puzzle.
Don’t just sit back and read about the experiments in this book. Be sure to try them yourself. Of course, you will not have time to do all of them, but do as many as you can.
The order in which you do them is not important. This book is organized into short, four-page chapters, each of which deals with a topic. If you are most interested in a topic at the back of the book, simply start there. Skip around as much as you wish. You will find that the chapters are written in such a way that each stands on its own. You will not need any of the information in earlier chapters to understand the experiments in any chapter in the book.
Finally, remember that science books in the library have far more correct information about our world than you can ever possibly obtain by yourself. If you run into a tough problem while experimenting be sure to read some books on the subject. You will find the combination of reading books and doing your own experiments an exciting way to uncover the mysteries of nature.
Don Herbert, Hy Ruchlis