Search results for ""Author Robert M. Hazen""

Carbon. It’s in the fibers in your hair, the timbers in your walls, the food that you eat, and the air that you breathe. It’s worth billions of dollars as a luxury and half a trillion as a necessity, but there are still mysteries about the element that can be both diamond and coal. Where does it come from, what does it do, and why, above all, does life need it? With poetic storytelling, Robert M. Hazen leads us on a global journey through the origin and evolution of life’s most essential and ubiquitous element.

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Carbon is everywhere: in the paper of this book and the blood of our bodies. It’s with us from beginning to end, present in our baby clothes and coffin alike. We live on a carbon planet, and we are carbon life. No other element is so central to our well-being; yet, when missing or misaligned, carbon atoms can also bring about disease and even death. At once ubiquitous and mysterious, carbon holds the answers to some of humanity’s biggest questions. Where did Earth come from? What will ultimately become of it—and of us? With poetic storytelling, earth scientist Robert M. Hazen explores the universe to discover the past, present, and future of life’s most essential element. We’re not only “made of star stuff,” as Carl Sagan famously observed, but “Big Bang stuff,” too. Hazen reveals that carbon’s grand symphony began with a frenzied prelude shortly after the dawn of creation, bringing new attention to the tiny number of Big Bang–created carbon atoms that often get overlooked. In minutes, violently colliding protons and neutrons improbably formed the first carbon atoms, which can still be found within our bodies. His book then unfolds in four movements, building momentum as he explores carbon as the element of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. He visits the famed volcanic crater Solfatara di Pozzuoli near Naples, where venting carbon dioxide and other noxious fumes condense into beautiful crystals. He climbs the cliffs of the Scottish Highlands and delves deep into the precious-metal mines of Namibia, journeying toward Earth’s mysterious core in search of undocumented carbon structures. Hazen often asks us to pause and consider carbon’s role in climate change and what we can do about it, for our lives and this element are inextricably intertwined. With prose that sparkles like a diamond, Symphony in C tells the story of carbon, in which we all have a part.

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The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, 9th Edition by James Trefil and Robert Hazen recognizes that science forms a seamless web of knowledge about the universe. This text fully integrates physics, chemistry, astronomy, Earth sciences, and biology and emphasizes general principles and their application to real world situations. The goal of the text is to help students achieve scientific literacy. Applauded by students and instructors for its easy-to-read style and detail appropriate for non-science majors, the ninth edition has been updated to bring the most up-to-date coverage to the students in all areas of science, with increased emphasis on climate change, sustainability, viruses and public health, and an extensively updated chapter on the importance of bioengineering. FEATURES INCLUDE: The Science of Life - To help show the interdisciplinary nature of the many concepts introduced in the text, sections on living things are included in most chapters. The chapters that emphasize principles specifically related to life are at the end of the book, but the biological examples appear throughout. The Ongoing Process of Science - Science is a never-ending process of asking questions and seeking answers. In these features, some of the most exciting questions currently being addressed by scientists are examined. Mathematical Equations and Worked Examples - Whenever an equation is introduced, it is presented in three steps: first as a sentence, second as a word equation, and finally in its traditional symbolic form. In this way, students can focus on the meaning rather than the abstraction of the mathematics. An appendix on English and SI units is also included. Science by the Numbers - To help students understand the importance of simple mathematical calculations in areas of magnitude, several nontraditional calculations have been incorporated. For example, how much solid waste is generated in the United States, how long it would take to erode a mountain, and how many people were required to build Stonehenge. Great Ideas and Great Ideas Concept - Each chapter begins with a statement of a great unifying idea or theme in science and a concept map so that students immediately grasp the chief concept of the chapter and how the idea relates to the different branches of science. These statements are intended to provide a framework for placing everyday experiences into a broad context. Stop and Think! Questions challenge students to think critically about the implications of a scientific discovery or principle. Resources for Instructors and Students including practice quizzes, flashcards, lecture slides, an instructor’s manual, images and tables from the book, a test bank, and much more!

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