Earth Science

Rating:
Summary: A good 2nd reference book
Review: This textbook is good as a second reference in an Earth Science Class. It does cover a lot of material. As a stand-alone source of information, the book does not do a good job of explaining topics or concepts. Many subjects are described in terms and vocabulary that are only partially explained. There is also some outdated subject information. For a text that has a copyright date of 2000, they talk about the focus problem of the Hubble Telescope and the current efforts to obtain computer enhanced images. I believe Shuttle astronauts fixed the telescope in 1994.
Also, all measurements are solely in the metric system. So an American student is constantly forced to convert metric units in their head to English units in order to comprehend subject scales. When was the last time someone asked you how tall you were? If you are from the USA, do you answer in feet and inches or meters and centimeters? Trying to absorb difficult concepts is tough enough. To add a foreign scale system (for USA students), compounds the difficulty in comprehension. Learning the metric system is one thing. To use the metric system exclusively in an Earth Science book (in the United States) to teach subject material is like using an unknown foreign language to try and explain something.

Rating:
Summary: Earth Science - by Spaulding and Namowitz
Review: What a great book for a student taking the course of Earth Science! I, a former student, used this book when i was in 9th grade. When i took Earth Science, at first, i had a different book, and i was failing. When i asked my teacher for help, he told me to get this textbook, and use it. I had a 93 average entering the 10th grade in Science! This book gives great examples and helpful tips to a student. This book is not difficult to understand! Exellent and updated information. This book covers everything from the formation of Earth to Plate Tectonics, this book has it all!