CHEMISTRY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT
As you may already know, I strongly believe that the reason for going to school is to learn how to learn so that you will be able to succeed in life. School should be both challenging and fun. In preparation for next year, you are being given some summer assignments that will help us set things up so that the year can be a good experience. This assignment is due by the first day of school.
The assignments are realistic and creative. I want you to select and read either a book about math or a mathematician or a book about some branch of science or a scientist. (This is very different from a school textbook.) The choice is wide open – pick anynonfiction book (or, hopefully, more than one book) that follows your current interests or exposes you to new ones. (Some suggestions that I personally liked are noted below. You may not understand everything in some of these books, but they should get your mind going. Remember, these are only suggestions – you can select any book that meets the assignment noted above.) After reading the book, list the title and author and write a two-paragraph report. (Each paragraph should be at least five sentences long.) In the first paragraph, tell in your own words what the book was about. In the second paragraph, tell whether you liked the book and why or why not.
That’s it. I simply want you to start expanding your minds so that it will help prepare you for a wonderful year. In addition, if you have questions, feel free to contact me by email.
Dr. Ornstein
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman(Richard Feynman)
In the Shadow of Man(Jane van Lawick-Goodall)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks(Rebecca Skoolt)
A Briefer History of Time(Stephen Hawking)
The Joy of (David Blatner)
Fantasia Mathematica(Clifton Fadiman)
The Mathematical Magpie(Clifton Fadiman)
Panda’s Thumb (Stephen J. Gould)
Marie Curie: Pioneer of the Atomic Age(Alan Ivimey)
Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry(Bernard Jaffee)
The Time Traveler(Ronald Mallet)
The Day the Universe Changed(James Burke)
Wonders of Numbers(Clifford A. Pickover)