Education policy encourages students to study a broad range of AS levels in their first post-16 year. The AS Science for Public Understanding course offers science for non-science specialists. This work aims to offer an understanding of science for those studying mainly arts A Levels. This AS Level course from AQA has been developed in collaboration with the Nuffield Curriculum Projects Centre and the Science Education Group at the University of York. Science for public understanding aims to broaden the curriculum post-16, for arts students who want to demonstrate the breadth of their abilities and for science students who want to place their studies into real-life contexts. The text covers topics such as AIDS, and genetically modified food, and demonstrates the importance of science for understanding current issues. It should help students use science to make sense of their lives and the world around them.