book reviews Editor: W. F. KIEFFER Collage of Woortor Woater, Ohie
An Introduction to College Chemistry
William H. Nyee, University of New Haven. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1972. xii + 258 pp. Figs. and tahles. 26 X 19 em. $10.95. The author intends this hook "as a n introduction t o chemistry for students with no prior knowledge of the subject and as a supplemental text for those students who need to review basic principles and concepts of chemistry." By and large, the ohjectives of introducing chemistry or reviewing basic principles have been attained. This is chemistry stripped down to bare bones and the careful user will learn many things of value along the lines of basic concepts presented in the simplest form, the mechanics of solving very simple problems, the rudiments of the symbolism of chemistry and a very brief introduction to the nomenclature of simple compounds. The book is devoid of any mention of the cultural context of chemistry and little is given to motivate the student. There are many study questions and problems a t the end of eaeh chapter. Answers to the problems are given. Eight appendices are included seven of which are likely to prove useful. Three of these deal with logarithms, algebra and use of the slide rule. The appendix on radioactive isotopes appears unrelated t o anything found in the text. A useful glossary of chemical terms is included. The hook is reasonably free of typographical ermn. It is disappointing not to find any mention of space-directed hands in the chapter on bonding. Probably every chemist has his own pet way of balancing redox equations, hut the reviewer found the method described in Chapter 11 to be cumbersome and predicts that it will give students same difficulty. In Chapter 13, t h e cptegorical statement is made that there are five ways of expressing concentration. Mare ways can be found, for example, milligram percentage and formality, to name two. In Figure 14.4, the diagrams of cubic, tetraganal, and artho-
rhomhic crystals all appear to he the same. This hook seems likely to meet a definite need in the textbook field: that of a book which can help a student who is headed into a technician training program or who needs some conditioning before he is ready to take a higher level general chemistry course. David W . Emerson Departmenf o f Naturai Sciences The Universily of Michigan Dearborn. Michigan
Problems lor General and Environmental Chemistry
William M. Risen, Jr., Brown University, and George P Flynn. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New-York, 1972. xii + 440 pp. Figs. and tables. 23.5 X 15 em. $5.95. This is a piperback prohlems book that might he useful either as a supplementary freshman level textbook or as a source of extra problems for individual students. It is a book I would recommend for purchase by the interested science major. It is not the hoak I would choose for a nursing or business major. The first half of the book is devoted to brief discussions of various subiects, eaeh followed by an assortment of reiated prohlems. Topics are organized into 20 chapters and the problems represent as much variety as possible with little repetition of the same type problem. The entire second half of the book is used for detailed salutians to all the problems, the dimensional analysis method being used whenever appropriate. The "problems" are not always mathematical exercises. In the chapter on axidation-reduction reactions they are lists of equations to be completed and balanced.
-Reviewed in This Issue Wdliam H.Nyce, An Introduction to College Chemistry William M. Risen, Jr. and George P. Flynn, Problems for General and Enwronmental Chemistry Thomas L Isenhour andPeter C. Jurs, Introduction to Computer Programming for Chemists Leonard K . Nosh, ChemThermo: A Statistical Approach to Classical Chemical Thermodynamics DavidN. Hague, Fast Reactions F. C. Goodrich, A Primer of Quantum Chemistry New Volumes in Continuing Series
In the organic chemistry section they are mainly questions on nomenclature, structure, and reactions of organic compounds. In the chapter on bonding, they are questions about molecular shapes and electron distribution. Energy relationships are covered in two chapters, one on elementary thermochemistry ond the other on thermodynamics (in which, e.g., there are a few problems using the Clausius-Clapyron equation). In addition there is a chapter on electrochemistry, which includes a number of problems involving AG, a few .requiring use of the Nernst equation. The most distinctive feature of the hoak is the last chapter, which deals with environmental chemistry. An imaginative collection of practical environmental prohlems has been gathered together. Unfortunately the chapter is only 11 pages long. There are 41 problems involving various facets of air pollution, water pollution, and waste treatment. They are widely distributed in schject matter and in ease of solution. Doris K. KOib lllinais Central College East Peoria, 111. 61611
Introduction to Computer Programming lor Chemists
Thomas L. Isenhour and Peter C. Jurs. Allyn and Bacon, Inc., Boston, 1972. 336 pp. $6.25. The increasing use of computers in the natural sciences has made it a necessity for undergraduate chemistry students, in particular, to develop computer programming skills. This hoak is written on a premise shared by the reviewer that "programming is the only way to learn to program." By carefully integrating the basics of FORTRAN IV programming language and numerical analysis with forty-five typical, and progressively more difficult application problems taken from all branches of chemistry, the authors lead the student from relatively simple to mare complex programs. In contrast to most other books written for chemists, this volume is in paperback and, while not cheap, is in a more camfortable price bracket for the average student. It is well organized and readable. The book is divided into three parts. The first concerns itself with basic computer concepts and FORTRAN IV language. Computer logic and flow charts are emphasized. The FORTRAN 1V chapter itself hrieflv summarizes the features of the oro-
logical operators, are not implemented on the smaller machines used by many schools, e.g., IBM 1130. Part 2 cantainsexamples of applications which are explained.in detail; flaw charts are given a t first for simple examples and later omitted. Some early programs are made into subroutines in later, mare saphisticated problems. While some of the
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