Basic Physical Chemistry (Moore, Walter J.) - Journal of Chemical

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learning more from the open-ended Apple exercises than from the textbook prohlems. I enjoyed using Barrow's programs for lecture demonstrations, which 94% of the students thought were helpful. The graphics are well written and appropriate for the concepts being taught. The format of our lecture hall is very convenient for computer demonstrations: the Apple drives monitors located throughout the hall for good visibility. In view of the favorable student response, and their recommendation to make greater use of Barrow's programs, I will increase the proportion of Apple exercises from 1:10 to 2% in Chem 331 next year. I will also distribute appropriate sections of Barrow's Study Guide with the homework assignments. Despite the divided and negative responses by Chem 332 students. I still believe the ooen-ended p~obiemsbnaed on hrrt,w's y r o p m s can he more instructwe than the rlused-ended style 1 asslgned in Chcm :331. Ronald D. Poshusta Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164

namicsbf electric, magnetic, or gravitationd fields, mechanical stress, and surfaces. Faeultv members could orofitahlv teach from [he buok,stressing thc&ctions rhry feel thrir students need m m . Faculty could alho profitably utilize pnhlrms and explanaticms from the hook for exams, assignments, and illustrations. Students could profitably study from it on their own to develop the thermodynamics knowledge and skills they will most certainly want to have. Thus, everyone can benefit from having available this useful collection of theoretical amplifications and practical problems. Frank C. Andrews University of Califwnia Santa Cruz. CA 95064

Basic Physical Chemistry Walter J. Moore, Prentice-Hall. Inc., En711 pp. glewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983. xx Figs. and tables. 18 X 24 cm.

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No author has had a more profound influence on the teachine of .ohvsical chemistrv than MIXITP. Since th; approranre oithe fm:1 cd~tiunof "Ph)s~calChemistry"in 1950,his texts have brrn thc rouch~tuneshy whwh all other physical chemistry texts have been judged. Those who have used and admired the many editions of "Physical Chemistry" will find few surprises in "Basic Physical Chemistrv." The breadth of coveraze. .. . arr:rngrment of to pi^?^, and writing style of this text are very similar 10 its prederessors. The Thermodynamics and its Applications, writing is a bit more terse, and less space is S e c o n d Edition devoted to the derivations. SI units are used Michael Mode# and Robert C. Reid, Prenthroughout the book. tice-Hall. Inc.. Enaelwood Cliffs. NJ. 1983. This text was written for "science and enXI 45dpp. ~ i ~ c a tables. n d 15.5 x 23.5 gineering students who need to understand cm. $34.95. the basic foundations of o h v s i d chemistrv!' One m~yhteXpQC1to find many example* of Students rarely master classical thermorhr appl~rationdphys~cnlchemistr). loother dynamics as undergraduates, due probably d ~ s ~ l r l ~ nbut e s this , is not thecase. No~pecial attempt has been made to present prohlems to the subject's abstract nature and its application to an unlimited variety of real-world or discussions relevant to biology, geology, engineering, or any other field outside of prohlems. Yet in many disciplines far people to understand and work effectively, they chemistry. must master both thermodvnamic theorv and One uf the special features of this textis the pnrhlem sdwng. Thts truth plspres ~ ~ a d u a l e "considerable number of worked out examples." These examples are described as "quite >tudruts and graduate departmcmi, wpr. easy, involving little more than substitution cially in chemical engineering, and to some of numerical data into equations." There is extent in chemistry, earth sciences, hiology, a vast gulf between the level of difficulty of and other engineering disciplines. One just the examples and the prohlems at the chapter cannot offer or require enough courses to give everyone this level of understanding. Some ends. This may lead to frustration among students who understand the former, but consider thermodynamics, in fact, to be the have difficultv solvine the latter. No answers most difficult subject in all of academia for arc pn,\iue,l for any s t u d ~ n rproblems, nor students to master. h a w the pruhlems heen surted by drgrre of Modell and Reid have addressed theneed difficulty. Many excellent, thought-provokfor students to do more work in thermodying problems are provided, but students will namics, either through formal courses or on need a considerable amount of help to work their own, by putting together discussions their way through them. and problems at an advanced and challenging A chapter on symmetry is included, hut it level from which interested people can c h m e appears so late in the text that it is followed what they consider most important to meet by only one illustrative application of symtheir needs. The authors know the subject, metry: a three-page discussion of normal write clearly and tersely, and the practice mode vibrations. I t is unfortunate that the problems offered help to develop skills of particular value to chemical engineers. By powerful concepts of group theory could not and large, the topics covered are the usual have heen presented early enough to allow ample discussion of their applications. ones of an undergraduate course, augmented

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A208

Journal of Chemical Education

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fGe of misprintsand errors. Instructors whb want a somewhat hriefer text to use in a course designed for chemistry majors may lind it more useiul than thl~ieteaching a physical chemistry course for nonchemistry majors. James E. Finholt Carleton College Northfield. MN 55057 ~~~~

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Calculations In Analytical Chemislry Michael D. Ryan and Quintus Fernando, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. New York, NY, 1982. x 241 pp. Figsand tables. 23 X 27 cm.

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This book presents a unique and earefully thought out approach to the equilibrium calculations underlying analytical titrations. The authors state that it is intended to he a workbook, rather than a textbook. However, there is considerahle useful discussion of principles as well as many worked out examples. The special character of the hwk lies in the close relationship of the problems to precise plots of titration curves and species distribution diagrams. Each problem provides sufficient information to deduce the coordinates (e.g., pH and fraction titrated) for one point on a curve. The emphasis on plots is valuable for the constant overview of a riven svstem. "l'he boo* begins with a sound treatment oi basic concept. iuch as cmwntration and itoichiometry calculations are related to gravimetric analysis and titrations. Succeeding chapters treat acid-base equilibria and titrations including polyprotic systems, metal-ligand complex systems, precipitation equilibria, and redox systems including galvanic cells. The discussion is brief by design but unusually comprehensive in scope. Far example, a discussion of acid-base buffer capacity is well presented including its calculus-based derivation. The treatment of metal-ligand titrations includes the complexities of metal indicator equilibrium theory. Theoretical treatments of titration error are also included. Although the reader is cautioned that "all equilibrium constants must hecorrected for ionic strength effects if meaningful answers to problems are desired," the authors have largely left this up to the user rather than repeatedly showing how this is done. The use of "Gran olots" for determination of titration practical application of data near the endpoints. Assuming that most students will he studying introductory chemistry from a more conventional text, this novel workbook can he quite useful in providing a different look