Why Is Milk White?: & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions

by Alexa Coelho, Simon Quellen Field

Covering a wide variety of everyday chemistry concepts from the very simple to the more complex, this question-and-answer primer provides straightforward, easy-to-understand explanations for inquisitive young scientists’ questions. A dozen unique experiments to try at home—from lifting latent fingerprints from a “crime scene” using super glue (for smooth surfaces) or iodine (for paper) to hollowing out the zinc interior of a penny using muriatic acid—are interspersed with the answers to such questions as What makes soda so fizzy? and Why do you get cavities when you eat too much sugar? From separating food coloring into its component dyes to using easy-to-find chemicals to create “slime,” Silly Putty, or bouncing balls, this handy guide is the ideal resource for the budding chemist.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Chemistry, Education, Trivia, Science Nature, Middle Grade

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

How's this for an audience: smart kids who are bored/annoyed/tired of school? (The technical term is curriculum-averse.) Yeah, THOSE kids.This is a book for THOSE kids. Kids that need to see, feel, understand. For those kids, chemistry can be a challenge. What do those little things calmed atoms do? Take one out and a solid becomes a liquid; add one in and it explodes.The first exercise tells you how to make your hands smoke! This isn't a dumbed-down simplistic science fair book; there is a chapter on things that stink and one on things that catch fire and go bang.

When I was in high school I loved science, but I remember asking my science teacher, if everything is made up of the same three things (electrons, neutrons, and protons), then why are gold and silver different colors? He started hyerventilating. I passed on advanced chemistry. If I had this book then, I might have taken it.

[Terry]

I loaned this book to a teacher who thought it was an excellent way of introducing some of the basic ideas of chemistry to his students. His class loved what he did with the book. I liked the straightforward approach and answers to each of the questions.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I was re-reading my high school chemistry textbook. Extremely dry writing, repeating information. At least my textbook was well-structured.

[April Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many awesome, random questions addressed in this book. I can't wait to share this with my kids when they get a little older!

[صفاء · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب جيد ويشرح امور تحيط بنا بطريقة علمية ومبسطة وسهلة
اكثر ما اعجبني هي التجارب والتي يمكن القيام بها في البيت بدون الحاجة للمختبرات

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stuff I understood I enjoyed. However there are no basic definitions, apart from very far on in the book where some things are explained. Chapter 8 felt like a filler chapter. Definitely aimed at people with some knowledge of chemistry than none since 2nd year of high school.

[Leslie]

Great for kids or young adults.

[Micki · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely informative book. I learned a lot but sometimes the tone shifted from scientific to editorializing, and that kinda dragged me down.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved science all of my life. However, this book was a snooze fest.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coelho, A., & Field, S.Q. (2013). Why is milk white? & 200 other curious chemistry questions. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated.
This book would be a useful resource during a 5th grade science unit about chemistry, which all Lincoln Public Schools 5th graders participate in. It could be use during this unit in several ways. Being rather long and not containing many visuals, it could be best used in short doses as a read aloud. The book is designed as being a series of chemistry questions that children might be wondering about (ex. What makes a firework explode?) and a 1-2 paragraph answer. Teachers could pick a different topic to begin each chemistry lesson as an attention getter or discussion starter. Students could also pick a topic they are interested in to research in greater detail and present to the class. Finally, the author also provides many unusual and engaging chemistry experiments that a 5th grade class might enjoy conducting.
I selected this book over other choices because it provides a variety of different choices for its usage (read aloud, student research, experiments, browsing). I also think it’s an engaging choice because it explains chemistry in the real world and explores topics students might be wondering about already.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am definitely one of those people that enjoys your typical useless information/fun fact books. While the information is this books is not what you would consider useless, it definitely falls into the fun fact category. The answers to these questions were very clear and easy to understand. I found that for the questions I knew the answer to, the explanations were accurate and explained very well for a younger audience. This books is recommended for ages 9+. I would especially recommend this books for inquisitive children and teens who are always wondering the hows and whys of life.

[Farhan Haekal · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, easy to understand.
contain questions that we, adult, never think before.