Mathematical models have become a crucial way for the Earth scientist to understand and predict how our planet functions and evolves through time and space. The finite element method (FEM) is a remarkably flexible and powerful tool with enormous potential in the Earth Sciences. This pragmatic guide explores how a variety of different Earth science problems can be translated and solved with FEM, assuming only basic programming experience. This book begins with a general introduction to numerical modeling and includes multiple sample Matlab codes to illustrate how FEM is implemented in practice. Textboxes have been included to provide additional detail, such as specialized Matlab usage or advanced topics. Covering all the key aspects, this is essential reading for those looking to master the technique, as well as those simply seeking to increase their basic level of understanding and appreciation of FEM.
This brief, paperback version of the best-selling Earth Science by Lutgens and Tarbuck is designed for introductory courses in Earth science. The text's highly visual, non-technical survey emphasizes broad, up-to-date coverage of basic topics and principles in geology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy. A flexible design lends itself to the diversity of Earth science courses in both content and approach. As in previous editions, the main focus is to foster student understanding of basic Earth science principles. Used by over 1.5 million science students, the Mastering platform is the most effective and widely used online tutorial, homework, and assessment system for the sciences. This is the product access code card for MasteringX and does not include the actual bound book. Package contains: MasteringGeology standalone access card
This book continues a tradition of engaging readers with real-world applications, high-interest case studies, and inquiry-based pedagogy to foster a lifetime of discovery and scientific understanding. Maintaining the friendly writing style that has made this book a best-seller, the tenth edition continues to incorporate true and relevant stories using a chapter-opening Case Study that is revisisted throughout the chapter and concluded at the end of the chapter. New to the tenth edition are Learning Goals and Check Your Learning questions that help readers assess their understanding of the core concepts in biology. To increase the book's focus on health science, additional Health Watch essays are provided throughout the units, and more anatomy & physiology content has been incorporated into the main narrative. Other highlights include new and revised Consider This questions, Have You Ever Wondered? questions, and expanded MasteringBiology assignment options.
Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.
"Environment: The Science Behind the Stories 7e is written for an introductory environmental science course for non-science majors. The "central case studies" hook students with stories at the beginning of a chapter and are threaded throughout. Related "Science Behind the Stories" boxes are integrated throughout to guide students through scientific discoveries, the ongoing pursuit of questions, and an understanding of the process of science. Unfolding stories about real people and places make environmental science memorable to non-science majors, and engage them in the content"--
Black & white print. Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.
For sample chapters, a video interview with David Hillis, and more information, visit www.whfreeman.com/hillispreview. Sinauer Associates and W.H. Freeman are proud to introduce Principles of Life. Written in the spirit of the reform movement that is reinvigorating the introductory majors course, Principles of Life cuts through the thicket of excessive detail and factual minutiae to focus on what matters most in the study of biology today. Students explore the most essential biological ideas and information in the context of the field’s defining experiments, and are actively engaged in analyzing research data. The result is a textbook that is hundreds of pages shorter (and significantly less expensive) than the current majors introductory books.
An exhilarating, time-traveling journey to the solar system’s strangest and most awe-inspiring volcanoes. Volcanoes are capable of acts of pyrotechnical prowess verging on magic: they spout black magma more fluid than water, create shimmering cities of glass at the bottom of the ocean and frozen lakes of lava on the moon, and can even tip entire planets over. Between lava that melts and re-forms the landscape, and noxious volcanic gases that poison the atmosphere, volcanoes have threatened life on Earth countless times in our planet’s history. Yet despite their reputation for destruction, volcanoes are inseparable from the creation of our planet. A lively and utterly fascinating guide to these geologic wonders, Super Volcanoes revels in the incomparable power of volcanic eruptions past and present, Earthbound and otherwise—and recounts the daring and sometimes death-defying careers of the scientists who study them. Science journalist and volcanologist Robin George Andrews explores how these eruptions reveal secrets about the worlds to which they belong, describing the stunning ways in which volcanoes can sculpt the sea, land, and sky, and even influence the machinery that makes or breaks the existence of life. Walking us through the mechanics of some of the most infamous eruptions on Earth, Andrews outlines what we know about how volcanoes form, erupt, and evolve, as well as what scientists are still trying to puzzle out. How can we better predict when a deadly eruption will occur—and protect communities in the danger zone? Is Earth’s system of plate tectonics, unique in the solar system, the best way to forge a planet that supports life? And if life can survive and even thrive in Earth’s extreme volcanic environments—superhot, superacidic, and supersaline surroundings previously thought to be completely inhospitable—where else in the universe might we find it? Traveling from Hawai‘i, Yellowstone, Tanzania, and the ocean floor to the moon, Venus, and Mars, Andrews illuminates the cutting-edge discoveries and lingering scientific mysteries surrounding these phenomenal forces of nature.
Mastering Cloud Computing is designed for undergraduate students learning to develop cloud computing applications. Tomorrow's applications won't live on a single computer but will be deployed from and reside on a virtual server, accessible anywhere, any time. Tomorrow's application developers need to understand the requirements of building apps for these virtual systems, including concurrent programming, high-performance computing, and data-intensive systems. The book introduces the principles of distributed and parallel computing underlying cloud architectures and specifically focuses on virtualization, thread programming, task programming, and map-reduce programming. There are examples demonstrating all of these and more, with exercises and labs throughout. - Explains how to make design choices and tradeoffs to consider when building applications to run in a virtual cloud environment - Real-world case studies include scientific, business, and energy-efficiency considerations
The Book of R is a comprehensive, beginner-friendly guide to R, the world’s most popular programming language for statistical analysis. Even if you have no programming experience and little more than a grounding in the basics of mathematics, you’ll find everything you need to begin using R effectively for statistical analysis. You’ll start with the basics, like how to handle data and write simple programs, before moving on to more advanced topics, like producing statistical summaries of your data and performing statistical tests and modeling. You’ll even learn how to create impressive data visualizations with R’s basic graphics tools and contributed packages, like ggplot2 and ggvis, as well as interactive 3D visualizations using the rgl package. Dozens of hands-on exercises (with downloadable solutions) take you from theory to practice, as you learn: –The fundamentals of programming in R, including how to write data frames, create functions, and use variables, statements, and loops –Statistical concepts like exploratory data analysis, probabilities, hypothesis tests, and regression modeling, and how to execute them in R –How to access R’s thousands of functions, libraries, and data sets –How to draw valid and useful conclusions from your data –How to create publication-quality graphics of your results Combining detailed explanations with real-world examples and exercises, this book will provide you with a solid understanding of both statistics and the depth of R’s functionality. Make The Book of R your doorway into the growing world of data analysis.
