Common Science   By: Carleton Washburne (1889-1968)

Minor inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation and formatting are retained as in the original. Where detailed corrections have been made on the text these are listed at the end of this document.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of historical interest only and much of the scientific content has been superseded. There are numerous experiments described in this book which are hazardous and should not be attempted. Advice given on handling toxic substances, electrical apparatus etc. should not be followed.

Do not try this at home!

COMMON SCIENCE

NEW WORLD SCIENCE SERIES Edited by John W. Ritchie

SCIENCE FOR BEGINNERS By Delos Fall

TREES, STARS, AND BIRDS By Edwin Lincoln Moseley

COMMON SCIENCE By Carleton W. Washburne

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY By John W. Ritchie

SANITATION AND PHYSIOLOGY By John W. Ritchie

LABORATORY MANUAL FOR USE WITH "HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY" By Carl Hartman

EXERCISE AND REVIEW BOOK IN BIOLOGY By J. G. Blaisdell

PERSONAL HYGIENE AND HOME NURSING By Louisa C. Lippitt

SCIENCE OF PLANT LIFE By Edgar Nelson Transeau

ZOÖLOGY By T. D. A. Cockerell

EXPERIMENTAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY By Augustus P. West

NEW WORLD SCIENCE SERIES Edited by John W. Ritchie

COMMON SCIENCE

by Carleton W. Washburne

Superintendent of Schools, Winnetka, Illinois Formerly Supervisor in Physical Sciences and Instructor in Educational Psychology State Normal School San Francisco, California

ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS

Yonkers on Hudson, New York WORLD BOOK COMPANY 1921

WORLD BOOK COMPANY

THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE

Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson YONKERS ON HUDSON, NEW YORK 2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO

One of the results of the World War has been a widespread desire to see the forces of science which proved so mighty in destruction employed generally and systematically for the promotion of human welfare. World Book Company, whose motto is The Application of the World's Knowledge to the World's Needs, has been much in sympathy with the movement to make science an integral part of our elementary education, so that all our people from the highest to the lowest will be able to use it for themselves and to appreciate the possibilities of ameliorating the conditions of human life by its application to the problems that confront us. We count it our good fortune, therefore, that we are able at this time to offer Common Science to the schools. It is one of the new type of texts that are built on educational research and not by guess, and we believe it to be a substantial contribution to the teaching of the subject

NWSS:WCS 2

Copyright, 1920, by World Book Company

Copyright in Great Britain

All rights reserved

PREFACE

A collection of about 2000 questions asked by children forms the foundation on which this book is built. Rather than decide what it is that children ought to know, or what knowledge could best be fitted into some educational theory, an attempt was made to find out what children want to know. The obvious way to discover this was to let them ask questions.