ROOH REVIEW/ General, Organic and Biological Chemistry: Foundations of Life Dorothy M. Feigland John W. Hill, Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, MN, 1983.xiv 383.Figs. and tables. 19.5 X 24.5 cm. $21.95.
+
"General, Organic, Biological Chemistry-Foundations of Life" by Dorothy Fiegl and John Hill is a text designed to introduce the student to elementary chemistry and to relate thechemistrytoliving,life,and the real world. The text starts with a chapter on matter and measurements. The next seven chapters cover the general chemistry block of material: atomic structure, chemical bonding, nuclear processes, gases, chemical reactions, solutions, and acid-base chemistry. Chapters nine through thirteen discuss the structure, the nomenclature, the physical properties, and the chemistry of the different classes of organic compounds. The final five chapters cover the topics of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, vitamins, minerals, and hormones. The elementary level of thetext is the result of the size of the text, three hundred fifty-three pages, compared to the large number and variety of topics covered. The material is covered in a complete but descriptive manner with an emphasis on its application to practical and real problems. This interface between the basic chemistry and the real world is enhanced by the use of numerous well-chosen pictures, excellent figures and diagrams, and tables of relevant data. A series of clever cartoons is used throughout the text to help the student visualize and clarify chemical concepts. The followine selected tonics reoresent the manner in which the authors integrate the real world and the basic principles oi'chemistry: nuclear medicine, respiration and partial pressure, oxidation and antiseptics, blood and pH, polymers, physiological properties of alcohols and amines, digestion and carbohydrates, and digestion and proteins.
The authors fulfill very well their stated goals of presenting the principles of ehemistry and relating them to life. This reader found the text clearly written with good content a t the elementary level. The text is highly recommended far consideration for those desiring an elementary text designed for one semester that presents the principles of general, organic, and biological chemistry with applications to life. J. L. Kirsch Butler University Indianapolis. IN 46208
measurements yield numbers with dimensions. The dimension is given with thenumher. Examples: 6 feet, . . In addition and subtraction all numbers must have the same dimensions and the result will have this dimension. Example: You cannot add 16 grams t o 2 ounces without converting one quantity to the other." The authors are confusing dimensions and units. Measurement is an aperation of comoarison: thus. 6 feet is there-
..
mension and therefore the masses may be expressed in the same unit. On page 40, paragraph 2, it is stated that "Atoms of the elements combine with each other and themselves in definite combinaChlorine comtions called compounds. bines with itself forming molecules of chlorine, Cin." When two atoms of the same element unite t o form molecules the product is not a compound! In paragraphs 4 and 5, respectively. on page 40 one reads "theatomic mass of an element is the mass of the element relative to the other elements.. .the atomic ma35 ~q the ma.;$ .,f onc atom d r h c clcmcnr." g hthe t "In lobororor) units t h c a r u m ~ ~ r c ~ ir weight in grams of the same number of atoms as there are in 12.000 grams of the isotope of carbon mass 12." These statements are not good enough; the atomic weight of an element. or better. the relative atomic mass of an element is a dimensionless ouantitv. The
. ..
T h e Elements of Style in Chemistry, A Computer-assisted Instruction Supported Text James W. Beany, and James J. Beafty, University Press of America. Lanham. MD, 1982.v 104 pp. Figs. and tables. 13.5X 20.5 cm. $7.25 PB.
+
According t o the preface, "The hook is the text for a two-hour course entitled "Prerequisites for Chemistry." The course is intended for students who, because of prior experience or lack of experience in problem solving, have difficulty in solving problems whieh are important to survival and satisfactory performance in an introductory cou~se." Given the purpose of the book and the audience to whieh it is directed, quality of content is important; yet lack of quality is one of themajor failingsof this book. Thislackof quality is exhibited by statements that are either unclear, confusing, or just plain incorrect. Because of limitations of space, it is not possible t o go into full detail t o support thisassertion andsoattention iscalled to the following examples which are chosen a t random. On page 26 one reads that "Physical
Volume61
u , and by definition of the latter, the average mass of the atoms of an element in atomic mass units is numerically equal t o the relative mass of those atoms; i.e., their atomic weieht. At the ton . of Daee . .. 21 is the statement. " m e mole 01 a cumpwnd i 5 dcf~ncdas o n r molecular we~ghrof 3 rumpound "'l'his w:li c m c a. n ,urpriw to IL'I'.4C. 'l'lmc is no reason why beginning students of chemistry should not be taught that mole is the amount (Continued on page A28)
Number 1
January 1984
A27
ROOH REVIEUJf of substance (Stoffmenge, in German) of a system that contains as many elementary entities as there are carbon atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon. We do not do students a service if we teach them fundamental ideas that later must be unlearned or relearned. On page 65 one learns that "the NaOH has only one OHion per mole." What is meant, of course, is that there is one mole of OH- ions per mole of NaOH. Stoichiometry is an essential component of any beginning chemistry course and a clear understanding of the concents atomic weirht or relative mass of an srom, mdnular wighr or reliati\e mass of B mcjlmde, , ~ r m & m.a.+s,m&wI:+r mass, and mulr iii.ruvi:~lfur turthrr t o d y and for success in solving problems. The examples given are serious shortcomings in a book whose prefaceclaims that "experience shows that the student who masters the material in this little book goes into college chemistry without serious deficiencies." Given the purpose of the hook, basic concepts must be stated clearly and in an impeccably correct manner, and this the authors have failed to do. I do not see any useful purpose that could he served by this text and I cannot recommend it. Victor A. Crawford Rockford College Rockford. IL 6 1 101 Introduction t o Physical Chemistry Allhur M. Lesk. Prentice-Hall Inc.. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1982.vii 746 pp. Figs. and tables. 18 X 24 cm. $38.95 HE.
+
Here is a fine treatment of all the main topics of physical chemistry. The writing is clear, the illustrations are appropriate, and the problems are excellent. I t would be a sensible choice as a text for use with wellprepared and motivated students. It suffers from some organizational peculiarities, oecasional haziness regarding definitions, and a level of ea~ositionwhich demands a level of physical iniight which is unfortunately not common in undergraduates. T o elaborate on these remarks, consider first the really good things. Lesk shows a concern both for overall perspective and for attention to details. Throughout the book there is no mathematical pedantry, and there are many fine examples of clear explanation which do not allow the distance between theory and experiment to become very great. Among these are the chapters on applications of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, solids, X-ray crystallography, the fluid state, and electrochemistry. Topics are treated thoroughly and amply illustrated by numerical examples, figures, and tables. The use. of actual literature data in the latter as well as in man" orohlems is to be commended. raphies are presented; e.g., in chapters 1,6, 14,and 17. No other physical chemistry text does as good a job in relating itself to the chemical literature. The book rewards close attention with numerous new ways of thinkineu about familiar tonics. This leads to some critical observations. Although the mathematical level is law, the conceptual level is not. Lesk argues his ease
A28
Journal of Chemical Education
convincinelv ,. , and non-triviallv. ,. and I fear that irnlurntly (ml) mnturcsrtdrnts will I,eanl~ . case in puint is the way ~n ru t ~ . l l wh ~ m .a which such a large number of topics (ex., solids, liquids, gases, phase transitions, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics) are introduced in an overview of physical chemistry in chapters 2 and 3. As a book for graduate students reviewing the subject these chapters will be very helpful; as a first exposure to neophytes they will probably bewilder. There are other problems with the arganization. (1) If the statistical mechanics of ideal gases is treated before quantum mechanics, there are too many formulas for eieenvalues which must be oulled out of the hat. 121 A tnwrr ieriwi iudtttarc~mcernithe dis isim d thrrrnodgnami~i i t , , r w u h l m ~ s UI material. Aftera, nmmtimill intn,dwrim to thermodynamics and some of its applications, there is an intrusion of eight chapters before thermodynamics is applied in chapters 15, 16, and 17 to real gases, binary solutions, and Galvanic cells. resoeetivelv. This will before moving on to molecular phenomena because chapters 15, 16, and 17 utilize material from the intervening chapters and chapter 17 also contains non-thermodynamic topics; e.g., conductance. Although the exposition is generally very clear, Lesk occasionally falters in defining basic quantities; e.g., although the First Law is clearly stated and expertly applied, I find the definitions of work, heat, and temperature to be somewhat vague. At the beginning of each chapter "learning goals" are stated and a study guide is provided which gives a good summary of the chapter. On balance, there is more good than bad here. I would expect the hook to be most successful in situations where the majority of the students are highly motivated. If there were such a thing as a second-level course in physical chemistry, this would be a good text to use. Dewey K. Carpenter Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Robin K. Harris. Pitman Publishing Inc., Marshfield, MA. 1983.xx 250.Figs. and tables. 19 X 24. $34.95.
+
Robin K. Harris has written a physically oriented introductory NMR text directed toward the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduatestudent whichshould also prove useful for chemists who use NMR as a structural tool. The organization of this excellent book reflects the increased experimental emphasis on time domain NMR spectroscopy which has occurred over the last decade while retaining the principal features of an earlier text by the same author ("Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy" by R. Lynden-Bell and R. K. Harris, Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1969). Material is nresented in eieht lareelvself.. . cmnalning rhaprtmprevrdrC ))).acrmplerc symb.d nnd ahhrc\.iation li+t which (sditntr; easy reicrrnrr. hph:tatr i n ijn thrurrt~cd aspects with many practical applications discussed with the aid of figures and pre-
sented in accompanying problems. Each chapter contains excellent illustrations, useful tables, up-to-date specific and general references and problems of varying difficulty. The chapter sequence is somewhat arbitrary; for example, chemical shifts and coupling constants are discussed in the final chapter although this material logically follows topics covered in the introductorv. chanters. n8.1~ prlnciplr.;, ilxctml a n d ) ;is 01 iio. trolws!.trmr. c hrmlcdl shiltr and nrupling cunrtanrs arc thm,ughly covered at a h e 1 appropriate for the advanced undergraduate student who has some prior exposure to basic principles of quantum mechanics. The mathematical level is elementary and density matrix formalism is not utilized. For examole.. the chapter on analysis of complex spectra begins with a discussion of operator algebra and proceeds through the formulation and solution of spin matrices for complex coupled systems. Time-dependent perturbation theory and selection rules appear in an appendix. Relaxation measurements and mechanisms. multiole-uulse exoeriments. douhle
.
.
niques are discussed in detail in early chapters in the book. Time domain spectroscopy is emphasized not only for its signal enhancement capability but also for the structural and dynamical information multiple nuke seauence exoeriments can orovide. The latter is an especially unique and important feature of the text. Spin echoes and selective pulse sequences are discussed with emphasis un INEPT experiments and heteronuelear and homonuclear 2D J-resolved spectrosCOPY. A chapter combining material on chemical exehanee and ouadrunalar effects is also inh d e d :and its c w r r i ~ g1s~,zrratly erpnndrd f n m rhr enrlirr I ~ m kT u l r ~ ninch& lmth a w s for uncuuplrd rqunll) pq,ulatrd sire exchange, exchange rates from spin-lattice relaxation and saturation transfer, as well as exchange involving paramagnetic species. Effects of coupling of spin %nuclei to quadrupolar nuclei are discussed. The author has included a thorough and timely discussion of NMR of solids including magic angle rotation, a discussion of second moment effects, motional effects on relaxation time, cross polarization, shielding anisotropy, obtaining high resolution NMR spectra in the solid state including CP!MAR techniaues. In contrast. a .~.~ h e s t i oof n sNMR sprctrwiupg t u r ; w z i i r ~mlrlrrclgomltred. Orhcr ;area- m t i ~ w r r din. ludt hiult,dl,al appliciltiutli. CIL)\II', spin imnglng and rrlated topics. Although this text would he most suitable for an undergraduate special topics course in NMR spectroscopy most chemistry departments in the US. do not provide such a course and a special strength of this book is its amenability to self-directed study. The author's style is concise and clear. The book's contents allow interested individuals to master the basic principles of NMR spectroscopy and gain an appreciation of the present capabilities of this powerful technique, and extensive references and a bibliography provide direction for further study in specific areas. Nancy S. True University 01 California Davis. CA 95616
