The Ninth Edition of Introductory Physical Science (IPS) continues the tradition of guiding students to knowledge of physical science and the way scientific knowledge is acquired, not by being dogmatic and "a mile wide and an inch deep" but by providing a well-defined path, with options, for educating physical science students. IPS students do experiments, evaluate data, construct graphs, read, write, develop arguments, defend conclusions, and solve problems. These attributes, along with the extensive use of students' experimental results to guide student learning, make IPS a unique physical science course.

The first six chapters address macroscopic properties of matter. Chapters 7 through 11 present atomicity, the classification of elements, and molecular motion. Chapters 12 through 16 guide the study of energy, forces, and Newton's laws, using materials from another publication by the same group of authors - Force, Motion, and Energy. Together, these chapter groupings extend the scope of the course and provide options for adapting the program to meet various local, state, and national physical science standards.

This edition continues a feature begun in the Eighth Edition by designating formative assessment questions at the ends of most sections. Still more formative assessment questions are included in the Teacher's Guide and Resource Book. Other end-of-section questions probe the depth of students' understanding and their ability to transfer what they have learned to new situations. Comprehension Guide QuestionsTM (CGQs), a feature new to this edition, provide a mechanism by which students can self-assess their comprehension of what they read. These questions can also be used by the teacher for on-going formative assessment.