Basic Concepts of Chemlstry Alan Sherman and Leonard Russikoff, Middlesex County College, and Sharon Sherman. Edison Townshio School Svstem. Houghton Mifflin Co.,ktlanta, 19%. xiii 382 pages. Figures and Tables. 19.5 X 24 cm. $12.95
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The preface states that this book has been designed for a one quarter, one-term, or two quarter introductory chemistry course far students with no background in science or mathematics. I t was written drawing upon the authors' experience in teaching just such a course to full-time and continuing education students. The authors do the remarkable job of getting across many of the basic tenets of chemistry using very little mathematics. This reviewer would take issue, however, with alater ststement that a course using this book could also provide a cornerstone for later specialized study in fields which depend upon a basic knowledge of chemistry for success. There just is not sufficient depth to the material presented here to be able t o substitute a course based on this book for a traditional course in penwdchrmratry. The bw,k i i well set up trom the smulpoint of hc.th the student and thr instructor. Ench chapter begins with a set of learning goals-a series of one sentence statements of the objectives of the chapter-and ends with both a summary of what has been learned in the ehapter and a set of self-test exercises which the student can use to check his mastery of the material. Each ehapter is also provided with an appropriate number of problems. The answers to most of the problems are given a t the end of the book. The organization of the book is similar t o general chemistry texts designed for use in non-terminal courses. I t begins with the obligatory chapters on the history of science, the scientific method, and the metric system, and ~roceedsthrough the topics of atoms, molecules, energy, atomicstructure, periodicity, chemical bonding, stoichiometry, thermodynamics (first law only), gas laws, acids and bases, solidsand liquids, andsolution concentration calculations. Scattered in a t various places are chapters on water chemistry, organic chemistry, and a few topics of the "modern" application of chem-
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istry. None of these topics is covered with either the breadth or depth that would be necessaryfor thestudent to use thecourseas the first coursein a sequence. For instance, the chapter on organic chemistry does little more than discuss the bond aneles shown bv rnrhon in wrious rvpe* 01 compound* and then present the rulm for n a m w ~lkanr5.In the chapter on Acids, Hasrs, and Salts, the entire suhjrct uf pH m trtarpd in lws thnnonc page without even mentioninl: logarithms. The zrlle t,i writing is hesically conversational and unrmte~~tious. Although it dors make the bodk easy t o read, thi; reviewer deplores the use, especially in textbooks designed for college use, of such words as "Nowadays." At times the wording and some of the examples used by the author t o simplify some of the concepts sacrifice some correctness for simplicity. For instance, a chemical equation presented on page 226 would suggest that phosphoric acid is a tripratic strong acid and an illustration on page 46 talks about a mole of sodium chloride rnnlemhs. ... ~ ~ . . ~~
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l'hr hrmk is relntiwly frrr of major ernrri One mapr error due* i,rcur cm pagr 12 where a n ill~~.stration and thr nrrumpanyrnr text describe a reaction between solutions of potassium chromate and lead nitrate, bothdescribed as colorless.. to give - lead iodidebic) and potassium nitrate. This bwk could serve the purpose of a text in a course meant as a terminal eourse in chemistry. However, because of its lack of depth and some instances of non-standard methods of data presentation, its use in a course far students who must make later use of chemistry is not advised by this reviewer. David N. Bailev Lebanon Valley College Annvllle, Pennsylvania 17003
Air Pollution Chemlstry: An Experimenters Sourcebook Herbert Bassow, Germantown Friends School. Hayden Book Co., Inc., Rochelle Park, New Jersey, 1976. 119 pp. Figures and tables. 15 X 23 em. $4.50 (paperback) This book is written in a clear and
in this Issue
Alon Shermon, Leonard Russikaff, and Sharon Sherman, Basic Concepts of Chemistrv ~~, H w b m H n s w u ~ Air , t'ollutim Chemistry: ,417Experimcnreri Haudbwrk ('horlm 1; H'ode, Crm~mpuraryChemistry. Srrenct.. Knergy and Knvironmental Change Lawrence E. Conroy, Robert C. Blasted, and R. Stuart Tobias, General Chemistry Laboratory Operations. Third Edition William H. Reusch, An Introduction t o Organic Chemistry Norman L. Allinger, Michael P. Cauo, Don C. DeJongh, CnrlR. Johnson, Norman A. Lebel, and C h i n L. Steuens, Organic Chemistry. Second Edition Douid Freifelder, Physical Biochemistry James D. Macamber, The Dynamics of Spectroscopic Transitions (Illustrated by Magnetic Resonance and Laser Effects) Robert P. Hanzlik, Inorganic Aspects of Biological and Organic Chemistry A. L. Stonford, Jr., Foundations of Biophysics Roland W. Frei and Otto Hunzinger, Analytical Aspects of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals in the Environment ~
straightforward style, and is very thought provoking. In the first ehapter the author introduces an overview of what he means by air pollution, and also some vivid examples as to what happens when pollution is in exc e s s i t could scare you! Intertwined are some experiments easily performed in the lab (or home) on detection of certain types of air contaminants. After the first ehapter, the author defines the systems that cause pollution (developing from an historical point of view up until the present), vividly describing pollutants, their sources, their effects on earth inhabitants, their means of detection, and short range methods of control to d e v i a t e today's oroblems with air oollution. .\'r.le,: Chsptrr 5, ps:e96- error SiO?and 1',0; are n ~ ~ l - t n e t ~(9xide~i i l ~ c rather than metallic as indicated. Also, the book excited me for another reason. Instead of the traditional physical science texts for the nan-science major (which are still math orientated and feature mainly physics and chemistry with a little earth science thrown in), this hook is written in such a way that physics, chemistry, and earth science may be intertwined and introduced in a non-mathematical sense. If the author's other two hooks (on land and water pollution) are written in the same style, then between the three of them they would farm an excellent nucleus (with proper handling) for a ohvsical science course for the non-science . mapr on t u p i c ~d m t r r e c t to d l . I hme turned t h ~ .t * > duvrr r o m r induir r d Hvgicnc Department iur pmil,le use in as a text or for introductory courses-ither supplementary reading. ~
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John W. Alcock Oulnnlplsc College Hamden, Connecticut 06518
Contemporary Chemistry, Science, Energy and Environmental Change Charles G. Wade, Austin, Texas. Macmillan Publishing Co., he., New York, 1976. xv 457 pp. Figures and tables. 19 X 24 em. $12.95.
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Since the words "Contemporary Chemistry" are used in the title and constitute the short title. significant use of chemistrv and
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be exbeeted. Environmental chanee. ~ n e r e v (Continued on page A106) Reuiewer David N. Bailey
A105
John W. Aleock W. F. Arend.de
A105 A105
Carl J. Popp
A106
Joseph B. Lambert Robert A. Schambach
A106 A108
Ivan I. Kaiser M. L. Parsons
AllO AllO
Everly B. Fleiseher Franklin Hutchinson David H. Klein
A112 A112 A114
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Volume 55, Number 2 Februarv 1978 / A105
