Nuffield Physical Science: Sourcebook

The Nuffield Physical Science Sourcebook was designed to give students further information on various parts of the course, to inspire them to read as widely as possible, and to provide them with practice in comprehending scientific prose. It consisted of articles about many topics related to the themes of the course; most of these were specially written, but some were reprinted from books or journals. The aim was to help students to read and understand passages of scientific writing, on matters which did not form part of the physical science course, but which could be understood by someone who had worked through the course. Each part of the Sourcebook ended with a number of abstracts, written by students, to describe their own projects. Carrying out a forty-period project was a compulsory highlight of the Physical Science course.

Contents The Sourcebook included from four to seven articles under each of these main headings.

1. Forces and motion

2. Elements and compounds

3. Solids, liquids, and gases

4. Energy and equilibria

5. Rate processes

6. Aspects of electricity

7. Fields, waves, and oscillations

8. Methods of purifying materials

9. Structure of materials

10. Materials and their properties

11. Pollution