PREFACE 



Science instruction in the first year of the high school has 

 presented one of the most serious problems in secondary- 

 school work. The results of modern science are extensively 

 used in almost all kinds of human experience, and the scien- 

 tist's way of working is recognized as the most reliable 

 method. It is also generally recognized that education by 

 use of science should lead to better understanding and better 

 use of the types of scientific knowledge which relate to com- 

 mon experience. It is therefore the object of this course to 

 develop a usable fund of knowledge about common things 

 and helpful and trustworthy habits of considering common 

 experiences in the field of science. It is expected that pupils' 

 interests and abilities will be discovered and utilized in such 

 ways that more effective and more profitable work may be 

 done in the vocations or in later studies. 



The course presented in this book is the result of ten years 

 of experiment in secondary schools. Teachers of subjects 

 other than science, and administrative officers who are study- 

 ing the efficiency of the whole high-school curriculum, have 

 been constant observers and critics of the experiment. 

 Teachers who have used the course have made many contri- 

 butions to it. Its present form and content are the outcome of 

 the cooperative efforts of many science teachers who believe 

 that the methods of experimental science must be used in 

 organizing and testing science courses. 



Our point of view is expressed by Professor Charles H. 

 Judd in his introduction to the first edition, as follows: 



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