| Chemistry | |
| The Building Blocks of Matter Atoms | 8 |
| Moving Particles, Changing States States of matter | 10 |
| Atoms by Numbers Atomic number and mass | 12 |
| Electrons in Orbit Atoms, electrons, and chemistry | 13 |
| Cataloging the Elements The periodic table | 14 |
| The Components of Nature Abundance of the elements | 16 |
| Elemental Divide Metals and nonmetals | 17 |
| Charged Attraction Ionic bonds | 18 |
| Shared Attraction Covalent bonds | 19 |
| Seas of Electrons Metallic bonds | 20 |
| The Chemistry of Life Organic chemistry | 21 |
| Mixed Up Mixtures | 22 |
| In Search of a Solution Solutions | 23 |
| Water World Water | 24 |
| A Sea of Gases Air | 25 |
| Getting a Reaction Chemical reactions | 26 |
| In the Balance Chemical equilibrium | 27 |
| Energetic Chemistry Heat and reactions | 28 |
| Fast or Slow? Reaction rates | 29 |
| Taking a New Path Catalysts | 30 |
| Burning and Blowing Up Combustion and explosion | 31 |
| From Acids to Bases the pH scale | 32 |
| Industrial Reactions Chemical engineering | 34 |
| Small World Nanotechnology | 35 |
| Physics | |
| Push and Pull Force | 38 |
| Making a Move Work and energy | 39 |
| Energetic World Types of energy | 40 |
| The Constancy of Energy Conservation of energy | 42 |
| Work Rate Power | 43 |
| A Hot Topic Heat and temperature | 44 |
| Heat, Matter, and Disorder Thermodynamics | 46 |
| Weighty Matters Mass, weight, and gravity | 48 |
| Directing Force Machines and levers | 49 |
| Bodies in Motion Velocity and acceleration | 50 |
| Newton's Mechanics The laws of motion | 52 |
| Moving Masses Momentum and inertia | 53 |
| Going in Circles Circular motion | 54 |
| Backand Forth Oscillation | 55 |
| Under Pressure Fluids | 56 |
| Sink or Swim Pressure and buoyancy | 57 |
| Peaksand Troughs The nature of waves | 58 |
| Pulsing Pressure Sound waves | 60 |
| Visible Evidence Light waves | 61 |
| Poles Apart Magnetism | 62 |
| Fields and Currents Electromagnetism | 63 |
| Charge on the Move Electric current | 64 |
| Charged Up Static electricity | 65 |
| Round and Round Circuits | 66 |
| Doped Crystals Semiconductors | 67 |
| Miniature Switches Transistors | 68 |
| Beyond the Human Mind Artificial intelligence | 69 |
| Surfing the Spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum | 70 |
| Forces of Nature Four fundamental interactions | 72 |
| Small World Elementary particles | 74 |
| Stepping Up Quantum mechanics | 76 |
| Waves of Possibility Wave functions | 78 |
| A New Model The quantum atom | 79 |
| Time, Space, and Motion Special relativity | 80 |
| Warped Spacetime General relativity | 81 |
| Nuclear Decay Radioactivity | 82 |
| Fusing Atoms Nuclear fusion | 85 |
| Splitting Atoms Nuclear fission | 85 |
| Biology | |
| Living Things What is alive? | 88 |
| The Diversity of Life Domains and kingdoms | 89 |
| Tiny Invaders Viruses | 90 |
| Ubiquitous Microbes Bacteria | 91 |
| Making an Animal Animal organization | 92 |
| Making a Plant Plant organization | 94 |
| Threads of Life Fungi | 96 |
| Single-Celled Life Protists | 97 |
| Life's Chemical Pathways Metabolism | 98 |
| Catalysts of Life Enzymes | 99 |
| The Stuff of Life Biomolecules | 100 |
| Cell Power Respiration | 102 |
| Energy from Light Photosynthesis | 103 |
| Molecules on the Move Osmosis and diffusion | 104 |
| Cell Pumps Active transport | 105 |
| Life Library DNA | 106 |
| The Cell's Executive RNA | 107 |
| Packaging DNA Chromosomes | 108 |
| Units of Inheritance Genes | 109 |
| From Gene to Protein Gene expression | 110 |
| Nature Plus Nurture Epigenetics | 112 |
| Putting Biology to Work Biotechnology | 113 |
| Duplicating Cells Mitosis | 114 |
| Sexual Division Meiosis | 116 |
| How Genes Combine Inheritance | 118 |
| Means of Multiplication Sexual and asexual reproduction | 119 |
| Genes, Individuals, and Populations Genomes | 120 |
| Survival of the Fittest Natural selection | 121 |
| Birth of a Species Speciation | 122 |
| Dying Out Extinction | 123 |
| Living Spaces Habitats and ecosystems | 124 |
| Webs of Life Food webs | 125 |
| Earth | |
| Our Layered Planet Earth's structure | 128 |
| Shifting Surface Plate tectonics | 130 |
| Active Earth Volcanoes | 132 |
| Shaking Ground Earthquakes | 133 |
| Tough Changes The rock cycle | 134 |
| Liquid Circulation The water cycle | 135 |
| An Ocean of Air The atmosphere | 136 |
| Flowing Air Winds | 138 |
| Change is in the Air Weather fronts | 139 |
| Carbon Pathways The carbon cycle | 140 |
| Temperature Control The greenhouse effect | 141 |
| Mercury Rising Global warming | 142 |
| Climate Warning Climate change | 143 |
| Astronomy | |
| Everything Out there The observable universe | 146 |
| Our Local Star System The Solar System | 148 |
| Balls of Fusion Stars | 150 |
| A Star is Born Star formation | 152 |
| Universal Architecture Galaxies, clusters, and walls | 153 |
| Origins The Big Bang | 154 |
| Points of Attraction Black holes | 155 |
| Index | 156 |
