250 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



od, detailed experimental directions, and questions 

 intended to show how the results of the experiment il- 

 lustrate the law. The emphasis is on fundamental princi- 

 ples rather than on processes. To illustrate: This 

 course does not contain an experiment the '^ object" of 

 which is 'Ho make hydrogen", but under the section deal- 

 ing with the action of acids on metals there is a statement 

 of this principle : Active metals displace hydrogen from 

 acids. Under this principle there are experiments show- 

 ing the action of various acids on various metals. Thus 

 the principle involved in these experiments is kept to 

 the fore, and the learner comes through with this in mind 

 rather than with the idea that he has learned how to 

 make hydrogen. The relative value of these two ideas 

 as a net ''result" of the experiment is easy to see. 

 Fundamental and general principles are the a-b-c's of 

 any science. The learner makes no real progress until 

 they begin to take shape in his mind, and the proper 

 place for this process to start is at the beginning. Sub- 

 sequent courses will then serve to broaden and deepen 

 these concepts and he will then gain the correct scientific 

 vi-ewpoint, i. e. he will learn to view the varied and com- 

 plex phenomena of the W'Orld around him in the light of 

 fundamental laws and general principles. 



