Basic experimental chemistry: A laboratory manual for beginning

Basic experimental chemistry: A laboratory manual for beginning students (Anderson, C. B.; Hawes, J. L.). Eugene E. Schrier. J. Chem. Educ. , 1968, 45...
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BOOK REVIEWS of the detective type (given ten unlabolled bottles containing. . . identify which is which) in organic chemistry might have been a logical preoursor. Also it seems t o be comn~on experience that in instrumental labs students tend to be bored if only one piece of eqnipment is available to a large gronp and a "dry" lab resultsseveral experiments of t,his type are included. Measurement of the sun's temperature as an introduction to quantum concepts is fun for the students. Unfortunately, students a t the reviewer's University have s. distinct disadvantage compared with California students in the availability of seesonal sunshine! On a more serious note, the synthesis of trans-ethylene diamine dichloride oobalt (111) chloride presented in Chapter 4, indudes no mention that the complex is precipitated as a hydrochloride, which is confusing since the experiment calls for chloride analysis. I n the synthesis section, the formation of transition metal oomplexes wonld seem to be an ideal place for the insertion of the elements of ligand field theory and s. simple magnetocbemioal experiment, neither of which are included. In summary, my impression is that a lab course based on this text will require a sophisticated first year course as bsckground or will demand a great deal of the laboratory instructor. I t requires inquisitiveness and perseverance from stodents. Given the preceding "parameters," the manual is likely to provide a great stimulus to the first- (and possible sobsequent-) year laboratory program. It seems well worth trying and is, by this reviewer, highly recommended. ALANWALTON Case Western Reserve Uniuwsily Cleueland, Ohio Basic Experimental Chemistry: A Labordory Manual for Beginning Students

C . B. Anderson, University of California, Santa Rarbara, and J . L. H a w s , Wiley College, hI.~arshall,Texas. W. A. Benjamin, h e . , New York, August, 1967. vi 233 pp. Figs. and tables. 22.3 X 28 cm. 83.93. Paperbound.

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This manual is yet another entry in the freshman chemistry sweepstakes. The experiments presented are largely those whieh one has come to expect in a manual to accompany the high level textbook (eg., Mahsn, Gray and Haight, Brescia, et al.). There are experiments in thermodynamics and kinetics in addition to the usual exercises in sboichiometry. The conductance bridge and the potentiometer are utilized. Several experiments involve the preparation and structure of complex ions. Less conventional experiments include the estimation of Avogadro's number by measurement of the area of a monolayer and the calibration and use of a gas thermometer. There is no experiment dealing directly wit,h atomic structure, such as an examination of the line spectrum of hydrogen. A nnique feature of the approach is the inclusion of historical introductions to

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many experiments. Often this material proves to be largely a collection of names and dates. When the introduction is centered around the work of one individual, however, the information is interesting and entertaining reading. The actoal experimental procedures appear to be adequately described. A few errors were noted. The five-place figure given for Avogadro's number in the experiment on its estimation is not the most up-to-date value. In several places, densities of compounds are given with no mention of the temperature to which they pertain. In wmmsry, the authors have been successful in providing a core of experiments for the modern general chemistry laboratory. However, in these days of changing and conflicting views about what constitutes a satkfactory laboratory program, a supply of supplementary experiments must be on band for use with any freshman manual.

EUGENE E. SCHRIER

the truly summarizing, "What Else?" make the reader put the book on an easily accessible shelf. He will want it again soon. This would be a difficolt book for the layman, but it is one every physical chemistry student could read wibh profit.. I t is especially appealing to find a lighthearted book whieh does not leave entropy illnminrtted only by llaxwell's demon with a tennis racquet. The H*-I),-HI1 system and Mexican jumping beans in a barrier box illuminate each other, for example. Bny it, and see for yo~trself. W PK

Solid-state Chemistry

A'. B. Hannay, Bell Telephone Laboratories, JIurray Hill, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, 223 pp. Figs. New Jersey, 1967. xi and tables. 16 X 23.5 em. Clothbound, W.93. Paperbound, S4.95.

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Slate University of New York

Binghnmton Chemistry of Solids Order and Chaos-Lows Energy and Entropy

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Slanley W . Angrist, Department of hlechanical Engineering, and h e n G. Hepler, llepartment of Chemistry, both of Carnegie Institute of Technology. Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1967. viii 237 pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 X 21.5 cm. 85.95.

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The first impression one gets on leafing through this book is that it is a smorgasboard; one stops to sample the delicious morsels of anecdote, analogy, a p t quotation, clever footnotes, unique data, and deep scientific philosophy. One finds his plate so full that he resolves to return repeatedly. The book deserves more than such treatment, however. I t is equally rewarding when esrefully read. I t is a solid book. Thermodynamics (the fimt and aeeond laws with a nod to zeroth and the third) is t,he theme, and one is tempted to call it the "plot." The nsrrative style captures the reader's interest and never lets it lag. No professor who hm struggled to make students believe that thermodynamics has s, phenomenolagietll basis can help but admire the authors' knack for getting the point across. Proper use of cribbed portions of this book is bound to improve students' images of both thermodynamics and their professor's sense of humor! Anyone who teaches elementary thermodvnamies (and evervone tries these dam)

and continues making personal history real in the second chapter, "Temperature" (Galen to Giauque). The first law gets its due in "Bookkeeper's Delight," "Energy: Capital, Income, and Expense," "The Chemical C.P.A.," and "lMm: the Constant Temperature Energy Converter." The second law takes over the narrative with "Time's Arrow" and "Equilibrium: the Arrow's Target." The final two chapters, "Demons, Poetry, and Life" and

A. K . Galwey, The Queen's University of Belfast, England. Chapman and Hall Ltd. ( I h t n b u t e d in the U. S. by Barnes & Noble, Inc., New York), 1967. ix 210 pp. Fig. and tables. 13.3 X 21.3 cm. Clothbound, $9.00. Paperbound, $5.30.

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These two books have been written to fill the void in textbooks that introdoce the concepts of the solid state to chemists. They cover many of the same topics in about the same number of pages, but the approach to the material is vastly different. The hook by Galwey is pitched a t an undergraduate level (junior year or below), contains very few mathematical equations and spends the first 80 pages on lengthy descriptions of molecular, covalent, and ionic crystals, X-ray diffraction, silicates, and organic polymers. This material is followed by a chspter on the band theory of solids; the completely qualitative treatment is unsoccessfnl. Very little appreciation or feeling for energy bands iu solids or semiconductor concepts is conveyed. The find one half of the book on the chemistrv of solid sorfaces material on specific cases, a t the expense of more detailed descriptions of basic cow cepk. The presentation of a very qoditative introduction to solid state chemistry, such as Galwey has used, is not opposed in principle by this reviewer. I t does seem, however, that a more detailed account of a few underlying princ~plescoupled with some simple analogies would give the reader a better grasp of the ideas and problems of the solid state, rather than the lengthy, and yet not very enlightening, discussions of many diverse topics. This text might be used as a supplement in general chemistry courses and possibly in a junior year inorganic course. But its

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