Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews
Access to Chemistry by Alan Jones, Mike Clemmet, Avril Higton, and Elaine Golding The Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge, 1999. xxi + 386 pp. Figures. ISBN 0-85404-564-3. Paperback. $29.95. reviewed by Charmaine B. Mamantov
I consulted an English colleague and was told that the material in this book would prepare a student for an exam taken at about 16 years of age, which did not qualify a student for entering university, but did indicate a general knowledge of chemistry and allowed the student to receive a “leaving” certificate from school. It also states in the preface that this book could be of value to students studying A-level or GNVQ chemistry. A pass in this A-level course with a high score would apparently be equivalent to a knowledge of chemistry at a level that might be compared to an Advanced Placement high school chemistry course in the United States, or a year of college-level chemistry. The GNVQ exam does prepare students for entering a university. Having dealt with these criteria, as they apply to the English education system, the authors go on to explain that this book is meant as a review of the subject of chemistry, a subject that is now useful in so many different occupations. Sections are included on the aims of the text, the format of the text, and a study guide relating, in general terms, good study habits and success. The book is divided into modules, and each module is divided into units. At the beginning of each unit is a diagnostic test, with answers provided at the end of the unit. A student who scores well on this test is encouraged to simply scan the material that follows for review. A score below 80% indicates the student should work carefully through the unit and then retake the test. This allows the student to progress at his or her own rate, based on prior knowledge or the lack thereof.
edited by
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
In looking through some of these diagnostic tests and the subsequent units, however, I found that the unit introduced concepts that were not addressed by the diagnostic test and that assumed some prior knowledge which may or may not exist. For example, the diagnostic test at the beginning of the unit on Atoms, Elements, and Order in Module 1, in which the symbols of the elements are discussed and the periodic nature of the periodic table is introduced, asks no questions on writing formulas, diatomic molecules, or writing chemical equations, but such concepts are used in the unit to give balanced equations, complete with phase symbols. Formulas and equations are used throughout the first two modules, but reactions are not really introduced until Module 3, which begins on page 91. Balancing equations is a concept not introduced until Module 4 on page 141. The level of mathematics expected by the authors is relatively low. There are no complex mathematical setups. Factor analysis methods commonly used in text books in the United States are not used here. For example, setups for stoichiometry problems and the gas laws use no units on any number in the setup; only the answer has a unit. Acid–base calculations and buffer systems are treated more conceptually than mathematically, which is certainly in keeping with this type of book. Organic Chemistry is covered in the final module. While the text describing organic molecules and the preparation and reactions of organic compounds is quite readable, a lot of material is covered here and a certain amount of basic knowledge would have to be assumed. In summary, the book is probably useful as a review or reference source for a student who already has some background in chemistry. Many of the examples and analogies in the book refer to topics that are English in origin, such as a “scrum in a Rugby game”; but overall, this should not be a big problem for an American audience. Charmaine Mamantov is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1600;
[email protected].
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 8 August 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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