book reviews Most beginners have a disappointingly low estimate of their own ability, often much lower than it really is. Such students also are not often highly motivated. So, when they encounter the Keller Plan in one of their freshman courses, and drop out, they tend to see this as "proof" that their low estimate was correct. If this is true, then the Keller Plan should not be used except in those cases where one has a highly motivated class. This is an unfortunate conclusion, since teachers who have tried the Keller Plan have become hetter teachers; it is those behavioral objectives which demand that one knows what one wants and why one wants it that perform this trick. At the minimum then, this hook is recommended to all who wish to improve their ability as teachers, provided that they exercise care, and throw out the bath water while retaining the baby. Jay A. Young
Auburn University Auburn. Alabama 36830 Introductory Quantitative Analysis
Lorry E. Wilson, Ohio University-Lancaster. Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., Columbus, Ohio 43216, 1974. viii + 391 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $12.95. This is a brief, orderly presentation for first or second year college students. It contains 300 pages with explanations of, and 50 pages with 22 laboratory exercises for, selected inorganic, classical wet-chemical methods of quantitative analysis and for thepH meter and spectrophotometer. The author faces the problem of what to do far students who are not chemistry majors, hut who need some introduction t o quantitative measurements in chemistry. He presents equilibrium theory and prohlems in the standard, simplified, approrimate way often anticipating paints a t which students have difficulty. The lahoratory directions are given a numbered sequence of steps for clarity. There is good emphasis on significant figures and proper treatment of data. The experiments usually specify reporting t o the nearest 0.01%. A relative precision might be preferred. The author does not seem to expect much depth in this elementary course for he advises students to learn the list of derived p H equations for the various types of solutions. In this he is being realistic as well as pessimistic. Activities are defined in Chap. 1 and then ignored as are the effects on solubility of "hydrolysis" and complexing. Full equations, rather than net ionic equations are often given. Sometimes the author is leading the student to the net ionic equation, sometimes not. One must, however, object to printed expressions like [NaOAc] = 0.10 M Haw will the student ever understand that there is practically no measurable concentration of such species? How will he ever understand a charge balance? Other than this, the chemistry seems correct and very clearly explained for these students. A lapse is the A502
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recurring use of the ward "exact" for measured quantities like solution concentrations. This is an inside hook treating only the techniques of this course. There is little application to real-world problems or mention that these methods were developed by people trying to solve problems. The wise teacher will supply motivating examples and history. The subject is presented briefly and clearly. The hook should be useful far courses needing this approach. William 6 . Guenther The University ot the South
Sewanee. Tennessee 37375
Analytical Chemistry: An Introduction. Second Edition
Douglas A. Skoog, Stanford University and Donald M West, San Jose State University. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. 383 Madison Ave., New York, 10017. 1974. ix + 598 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 x 23.5 cm. $13.00. This book is a shortened version of Skaog and West's "Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry," 2nd edition, 1969, and an up-dated edition of the 1965 "Analytical Chemistry: An Introduction" by the same authors. In addition to 17 chapters covering the standard topics of the field, the present book also contains nine appendices dealing with relevant mathematical manipulations and data tabulations. The authors have attempted to include the mast important topics for a shortened course, leaving some of the more detailed and advanced material to the "Fundamentals" book. In this manner they have achieved their objective of presenting a useful and attractive book for many analytical courses taught a t the sophomore level. The 1974 edition is visually more attractive than the 1965 version, as well as some 75 pages longer, thanks to the inelusion of newer material on potentiometry, separations, and other topics. These changes definitely increase the usefulness of the baok for both the student and the instructor and are ta he welcomed. An assessment of the relative merits of the present book and the longer "Fundamentals" baok (2nd Ed.) is more difficult. One can see, of course, the advantages of lower cost for the "Introduction" hook but there is much t o he said for the more complete "Fundamentals" book, even if all the chapters are not used for a given course. The present book does contain some updated material not present in the 1969 edition of the "Fundamentals" book. Most readers will be aware of the fact that Skoog and West also have a more advanced hook "Principles of Instrumental Analysis" (1971). The authors, thus, have succeeded in preparing a complete textbook sequence for the undergraduate analytical curriculum. Whether one chooses to begin with the present baok or the "Fundamentals" book is largely a matter of personal taste and of specific course aims. One can hardly go wrong with Skoog and West! G . A. Rechnitz
State University ot New York at Buffalo Buffalo. New York 14214
Stereochemistry and Bonding in Inorganic Chemistry
J. E. Fergusson. University of Canterbury, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1974. ix 309 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 x 23.5 cm. $15.95.
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Fergusson's hook is a unique treatment of stereoehemistry in the field of inorganic chemistry. The author systematically approaches a very broad and diverse subject and does a remarkable job of defining some ways that chemists talk about inorganic stereochemistry. The volume presents a valuable collection af structural data and is the first such compilation available to inorganic chemists. The text is divided into two sections: Part I is a survey of theoretical stereochemistry and Part II is a systematic look a t the stereoehemistry of all of the elements. The hook is not intended to be exhaustive in its coverage as indeed it is not. It does present a reasonably comprehensive guide t o current data. Experimental results which are presented in numerous tables throughout the text are emphasized in discussions of structure. Although eavalent bonding is the primary concern, some mention of ionic and solid crystalline lattice effects is made when appropriate. In an effort to give some perspective to the reader, Chapter 1 includes a hrief but well done historical introduction. An outline of atomic orbitals and symmetry is presented in Chapter 2. The author assumes that the reader is familiar with the methods of group theory in his treatments of hybridization in Chapter 3 and molecular orbitals in Chapter 5. Valence bond theory is adequately surveyed in Chapters 3 and 4; the treatment would be comprehensible for seniors with a firm background in physical chemistry and group theory. The molecular orbital presentation of Chapter 5 begins fairly simply and is even incomplete for diatomic molecules; the discussion then skips to a treatment of polyatomics that is much too complex. Frustrations exist in Chapter 5 for the reader because of the superficial treatment of such topics as the derivation of polyatomic equations and correlation diagrams. Part I1 includes chapters on the stereochemistry of the first short period, the phlock elements, the transition metals, and the lanthanides and actinides. Many numerical tables give the reader a good a p preciation for the kinds of information available. Data that illustrate trends as well as data that are relatively inconclusive are presented. The author applies this available information to interpret struet u r d behavior of compounds; he seeme to have a good feel for qualifying statements when data are not truly conclusive. No specific references are cited in any of the tables or anywhere else in the book for the vast amount of recent structural data available in the literature. This policy is a weak point of the volume, especially since many topics of discussion are actively being pursued by researchers and may he of further interest to the reader. A hrief bibliography a t the end of most chapters (the exception is the chapter on the lanthanides and actinides) includes textbooks (Continued anpage A504
