Most Popular Books by Fred Bortz

Recounts the Tohoku earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

This perennial favorite is a how-to book for junior meteorologists. Dr. Fred Bortz and Dr. Marshall Shepherd (former NASA meteorologist and the 2013 President of the American Meteorological Society) show kids how to predict the weather in their own backyards - using simple, inexpensive, self-built meteorological instruments that add up to a fully operational weather station. Newly updated (2014) to include additional sources for online research.

Highlights seven of the world's greatest achievements in space technology.

Describes seven major developments in technology that make possible new discoveries about the universe, including undersea exploration devices, the Hubble space telescope, and the Large Hadron Collider.

Aligned to Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects, this volume helps students understand the central ideas of Mendeleyev's periodic law. Mendeleyev's major breakthrough was his arranging of the elements in sequence by atomic weight but recognizing that there were gaps where no elements had yet been discovered. This account of Medeleyev's struggling childhood in Tobolsk, Siberia, teaching in St. Petersburg, writing The Principles of Chemistry, and development of the table and how his idea was challenged by the scientific community will captivate readers and show them what it means to pursue a question significant enough to follow for a lifetime.

How can we tell that meteorite ALH 84001 comes from Mars, and what is it doing on Earth?! This meteorite, found in Antarctica in 1984, provided scientists with evidence suggesting the possibility that life once existed on Mars. Dr. Fred Bortz uses the scientific process to break down what we know, and what we are still learning. Newly updated (2014) to include data acquired by the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers.

Bortz takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the origins of the universe, the impact of comets and asteroids on the history of the Earth and the Moon, what we have learned from current research about these space rocks, and what we might expect in the future. Newly updated in 2014 to include the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteorite, as well as the latest technological developments.

Widely regarded as the father of modern genetics, Austrian friar and scientist Gregor Mendel discovered that inherited traits do not blend together, as people once believed. By cultivating thousands of pea plants in his monastery garden and statistically analyzing the results, he was the first to determine how genes (which he called "heredity factors") function, and he coined the terms "dominant" and "recessive." This title traces the amazing story of Mendel's life and work, and relates Mendel's discoveries to our knowledge and application of genetics concepts today. The text supports the Common Core aims of understanding domain-specific vocabulary in science and analyzing the development of important ideas.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the proton, the positively charged subatomic particle that, with the neutron, makes up an atom’s nucleus.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the neutron, the subatomic particle that, with the proton, makes up an atom’s nucleus.

Presents the story of the discovery of the first subatomic particle and how it revolutionized understanding of the atom in chemistry and led to the new field of electronics.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the electron, the negatively charged subatomic particle that orbits around an atom’s nucleus.

Johannes Kepler is a fascinating man who would revolutionize humanity's conception of the cosmos and their place within it. He would replace the Ptolemaic system with his three laws that described the orbital motion of the planets around the Sun. This scientist's work continues to inform and facilitate modern advances in technology, astronomy, and astrophysics. In addition to being an enthralling life and times account of a great thinker, this biography also supports Common Core standards for the reading of biographies, historical and scientific accounts, the analyzing of the relationship between primary and secondary sources, and citing evidence to support that analysis.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the quark, one of the most basic constituents of matter.

Explore the history and the theoretical properties of Higgs Bosons, the exciting subatomic particles that have eluded scientists for years.

Discusses quarks, fundamental particles that make up protons, neutrons, and other subatomic particles, and describes the process by which scientists came to "detect" them.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the neutrino, one of the smallest subatomic particles.

Explore the history of the discovery and the properties of the photon, the particle that comprises light.

Disciplinary Core Ideas for biological evolution that include evidence of common ancestry and diversity, natural selection, and adaptation are concepts students need to grasp in Common Core State Standards. This volume explains Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection while telling how a hypothesis became not merely a theory but the foundation of an entire science. Darwin saw the importance of this theory and risked controversy and ridicule to bring it to light. Topics include the Beagle's voyage of discovery and Darwin's writings as well as the controversy over teaching evolution, creation science, and intelligent design in biology classrooms today.

An introduction to the life and career of the Polish astronomer who argued that the sun was the center of our planetary system, rather than the Earth being at its center.