Chemical Education Today edited by
Cheryl Baldwin Frech University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK 73034-5209
Environmental Chemistry in Society by James M. Beard CRC Press/Taylor & Francis: Boca Raton, FL, 2009. 345 pp. ISBN 978-1420080254. $69.95 reviewed by Shannon Andrews
I was excited to review Environmental Chemistry in Society by James M. Beard after reading the publisher's description of this new textbook. The book is touted as being accessible to readers without a mathematics and science background. I was also impressed by the diversity of environmental chemistry topics included in the text, such as toxicology, energy, indoor air pollution, and hazardous wastes. A college professor with an interest in environmental chemical education, Beard wanted to write a book that focuses on the “laws and principals that regulate the function of the environment” rather than approach the subject from a “human-centered” perspective (p 1). Before reading the book, I was hopeful that it could be used as part of an undergraduate science course for nonmajors. Such a course is an integral part of a well-rounded education; students learn how to make informed, scientifically sound decisions about environmental issues and controversies. Unfortunately, several problems with the textbook (in particular, a lack of focus on the “society” aspect of each topic) detract from its overall utility. How does one go about teaching environmental chemistry to students who lack a basic chemistry background? Beard addresses this deficiency by dedicating the longest chapter in the textbook to “Some Basics of Chemistry”. The result is an overzealous and unrealistic attempt to teach the reader a semester's worth of introductory chemistry within the course of one chapter. While this chapter covers some important foundational material, I suspect that it will intimidate and possibly deter its intended audience. Additionally, in early chapters of the book, the author avoids the use of scientific notation in order to make the material accessible to students who lack a strong mathematical background. However, as the book progresses, the author veers from his original approach, with the inclusion of several different mathematically oriented discussions. For instance, in the introductory paragraph to the section on radioactive substances, scientific notation is used to compare the Curie, picocurie, and Becquerel. Not only does this material have the potential to intimidate students who are not mathematically inclined, but such an in-depth explanation of how radiation is measured is not really necessary for the subsequent discussion on radon gas in the home. Another problem that I noticed with this textbook is its “unfinished” quality. The book relies heavily on written text. Although a few visual representations are included, these figures are primarily low-quality, black-and-white reproductions from other sources. Within the reading, important vocabulary words are italicized, but they are not defined elsewhere; the lack of a glossary adds to the textbook's lack of finish. Finally, the discussion questions at the end of each chapter are disappointing. 478
Journal of Chemical Education
_
Vol. 87 No. 5 May 2010
_
The majority of questions are low-level memorization and interpretation problems. As a result, the discussion questions appear to be an afterthought rather than a carefully considered, valued part of the text. Also missing from the text are in-depth, well-rounded discussions of how society is responding to various environmental dilemmas. Beard does a fine job explaining the historical causes behind each environmental issue, but he does not provide enough information about current debates over proposed solutions. For example, in the chapter on global warming, it is briefly mentioned that the United States did not sign the Kyoto Protocol. Even though Beard wants to avoid human-centric explanations and discussions, I strongly felt that a book entitled Environmental Chemistry in Society should have provided further insight into some of the science surrounding the Kyoto Protocol. At times, the focus on scientific laws and principles seems to “downplay” the fact that human activity is directly responsible for many environmental problems. Despite these drawbacks, I was impressed with the author's writing style. Beard successfully combines an authoritative tone of voice with an informal writing style, thereby bridging the gap between the scientific arena and the general public. The clever use of analogies also helps put complex chemistry concepts into layman's terms. For example, after explaining that greenhouse gases act as insulators, Beard compares an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases to “putting more blankets on one's beds” (p 226). The author also makes some very insightful remarks with the intent of encouraging deeper thought. One such remark can be found in the section on nuclear safety, where Beard states, “The amount of risk we are willing to take varies with the perceived consequences” (p 136). Another insightful comment is found in the introduction to the chapter on air pollution, where air quality is presented as a problem of utmost importance. Beard explains that when food or water is unsuitable for consumption, humans have the option of searching for more desirable alternatives. However, given that humans cannot survive without breathing, they are often forced to consume polluted air. While I would not recommend this first edition of Environmental Chemistry in Society, the book has potential, and I would not discount future editions. While the textbook does not include a multimedia or Web component, the extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter could be used to develop an excellent Web site. The addition of a glossary and the use of textbox insets to provide required background information would make this book more student-friendly. Finally, with an increased emphasis on the “society” aspect of environmental chemistry and the addition of chapter questions that promote further analysis, this text could help teach students how to make erudite decisions about environmental issues. Shannon Andrews, Oak Park, Illinois 60304, teaches high school chemistry in the Chicago Public Schools; scandrews1@ cps.edu. DOI: 10.1021/ed800072a Published on Web 04/13/2010
pubs.a.cs.org/jchemeduc
_
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Chemical Education Today
Introductory Chemistry: An Active Learning Approach, 4th Edition by Mark S. Cracolice and Edward I. Peters. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning: Belmont, CA, 2011. 784 pp. ISBN: 978-0495558545. $117.50 reviewed by Amina Khalifa El-Ashmawy
There are fewer introductory chemistry textbooks than general-organic-biochemistry (GOB) textbooks on the market. In the world of introductory chemistry textbooks, the fourth edition of Introductory Chemistry by Cracolice and Peters has some interesting and distinguishing features. The first thing I noticed about the book is the soccer ball on the cover. I wondered whether this was intended to connect with today's soccer moms, dads, and kids, or possibly to buckyballs or, perhaps, to both. The next thing I noticed was the lack of a periodic table inside the front cover; it is in the back of the book. Other prominent features of note are the die-cut note cards listing procedures for “How to Work an Active Example” as well as the labeled Post-It flags inside the front cover. There are five different flags that require the student to tab places in the book where there is important information, possible online resources, key formulas, and information that they do not understand. There are also flags that are not labeled, allowing students to use them as they wish. Because Peters passed away in 2006 and did not have an active role in this edition, I will address my comments with respect to a single author. The author's goals are to help students “deal with three common problems: developing good learning skills, overcoming a weak background in mathematics, and overcoming difficulties in reading scientific material” (1, p xxiii). He tackles these goals in several ways. First, he actually incorporates in the first chapter three sections introducing active learning. Although these sections were included in the third edition, the section on Learning How To Learn Chemistry has been considerably enhanced. These sections address time commitment, effective studying tips, use of resources, and how the book is designed to enhance student learning. The activelearning aspect is further supported by end-of-chapter sections such as Small-Group Discussion Questions, and Study Hints and Pitfalls To Avoid. You hardly go a page without having either an Active Learning or Thinking about Your Thinking exercise. Although not unique to either this text or this edition, Cracolice periodically uses “Thinking about Your Thinking” exercises that carry the students through the construction of mental models in a step-by-step process. The presentation is concise with good use of art and graphics showing particulate matter throughout. The in-chapter vignettes are relevant and interesting. The vignette in Chapter 12, for example, ties back to the soccer ball on the cover, showing it next to a model of a Buckminsterfullerene molecule, as some readers may have anticipated at the start. New to this edition are Small-Group Discussion Questions, and Portable Content Cards. The cards are perforated cardstock pages at the end of the book that summarize each chapter with chapter goals, key concepts, and chapter test with answers included. Their purpose is to allow the student to preview and review r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
_
each chapter. The Active Example note cards are designed to have the student cut out the note card from the front of the book to hide the answer while working the problem in the space provided in the book. I wonder about the impact of this feature on the usedtextbook market for this title. This feature, if used as designed, might prove to be useful, provided students read the book. The order of topics is a bit different from other introductory books. Gases are first covered in Chapter 4, just after measurements and before atomic theory. Yet, gases are covered again in Chapter 14 and continued in Chapter 15 with Dalton's law. The author's intent is to provide flexibility to the instructors as to how and when they cover specific topics. Several topics are covered in multiple chapters, including atomic theory, redox reactions, and compounds and bonding. Organic chemistry is introduced as the latter half of Chapter 13, but the instructor has the option of covering it earlier in the semester. Chapter 21 is dedicated in total to organic chemistry, and Chapter 22 introduces biochemistry. I have some questions for the community at large. Is the purpose of an introduction to chemistry course the same at all institutions? How many general chemistry courses include biochemistry? Finally, how many students who take the introduction to chemistry course actually end up taking general chemistry? The dilemma faced at many institutions (particularly twoyear colleges) is that they can offer only one introductory-level course. Such a course serves several populations: students who need to take the course in preparation for general chemistry; those who must have an introductory course for allied health majors; and those who take it to satisfy a lab science core curriculum requirement. If a department decides to use a book like Cracolice's fourth edition, although a good book with the active learning approach, two of the three populations mentioned above will not be well served. Literature Cited 1. Cracolice, M. S.; Peters, E. I. Introductory Chemistry: An Active Learning Approach, 4th ed.; Brooks-Cole: Belmont, CA, 2011.
Amina Khalifa El-Ashmawy is in the Department of Chemistry, Collin College, McKinney, TX 75070; ael-ashmawy@ collin.edu. DOI: 10.1021/ed1001416 Published on Web 03/24/2010
Polymer Data Handbook, 2nd Edition edited by James E. Mark Oxford University Press: Oxford/New York, 2009. xii þ 1250 pp. ISBN: 978-0195181012 (hardbound). $195. reviewed by George B. Kauffman
This handbook, edited by James E. Mark, Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Cincinnati, presents in a standardized, readily accessible tabular format concise information on the syntheses, structures, properties, and applications of the most important polymeric materials currently in industrial use or under study for potential new industrial or academic
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
_
Vol. 87 No. 5 May 2010
_
Journal of Chemical Education
479
Chemical Education Today
applications. The polymers were selected for inclusion on the basis of three criteria: (1) current commercial importance; (2) novel applications; and (3) unusual interest, for example, use in fundamental studies of the effects of chain stiffness, selfassembly, or biochemical processes. The properties presented for each polymer include many of immense current interest such as surface and interfacial properties, pyrolyzability, electrical conductivity, and nonlinear optical properties. Some of the polymers that exhibit properties shown by few others (e.g., electroluminescence) are presented as properties of special interest. The second edition of this handbook has been updated with significant expansions of almost all the original articles and the inclusion of new articles on other polymers, especially those that became important or interesting since publication of the first edition in 1999 (xi þ 1018 pp). It includes better values of properties already reported, properties not reported in time for the first edition, and completely new properties that have become important for modern polymer applications. It presents key data on 217 polymers, 20 of which are new to this edition, especially in high technology areas such as microlithography and nanophotonics. Specific examples include “foldamer” self-assembling polymers, silsesquioxane ladder polymers, and block copolymers that separate into “mushrooms”, ellipsoids, and sheets. The entries, alphabetically arranged from acrylonitrilebutadiene elastomers to vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene elastomers, include acronyms, trade names, polymer class, tables of properties, and references to articles, books, patents, and Internet sites for further study, some as recent as 2007. The entries were written by an international team of 168 contributors carefully selected for their expertise in their particular polymers and were then reviewed by one or more referees. The goal was to facilitate searches on the printed book and electronically on the online Web site (1). This volume should interest researchers and technologists who require a comprehensive reference source on polymers and their properties. Literature Cited 1. Polymer Data Handbook Online. http://www.qmc.ufsc.br/~minatti/docs/20061/polymer_data_handbook.pdf (accessed Mar 2010).
George B. Kauffman is in the Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, California 937408034;
[email protected]. DOI: 10.1021/ed100151s Published on Web 03/23/2010
Laser Chemistry: Spectroscopy, Dynamics and Applications by Helmut H. Telle, Angel G. Ure~ na, and Robert J. Donovan John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Chichester, West Sussex, England, 2007. 516 pp. ISBN: 978- 0471485711 (paperback). $90.00 reviewed by Benjamin A. DeGraff
There is little doubt that lasers have had a profound impact on the way we do science and medicine. No science undergraduate should escape the hallowed halls without some 480
Journal of Chemical Education
_
Vol. 87 No. 5 May 2010
_
knowledge of how these devices work and what they are good for. If you want to expand beyond the eight pages provided in traditional textbooks, you have a number of good resources from which to choose. Your choice may be dictated by how much mathematical heavy lifting you are willing to inflict on your students. At one end of the rigor spectrum is the excellent text by Silfvast, which is a must for anyone who wants to design his or her own system or work seriously in the field (1). For those whose needs are more modest, this book is a worthy candidate. This text comes close to being the complete Wikipedia of lasers and their applications. Just like Ragu spaghetti sauce, it is all in there. The first 14 chapters deal with basics: how lasers and their requisite accessories work (Chapters 3 and 4), general aspects of spectroscopy (Chapters 1, 5-9), a bit about optics and the manipulation of light (Chapters 10-12), and some things about light detection and signal processing (Chapters 13 and 14). If you crave the math, it is often available in the grayed supplemental sections. The level of writing is reasonably consistent given the book's several authors. There are numerous helpful diagrams, and the tone is clearly conceptual. The remainder of the book takes a look at various applications of lasers to modern experimentation in a number of areas. The applications selected reflect the authors' research interests and emphasize gas-phase, small-molecule systems. Thus, LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) and MALDI (matrixassisted laser desorption ionization) techniques are covered in a few pages, while high-resolution, zero-kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy has more extensive coverage. That is OK, because the authors wrote the book and therefore got to choose which applications to present. While the hazards of any applications chapter is the obsolescence of the papers cited, most of the material is sufficiently basic that students can still get a good feel for the area even if the reference list ages. Specifically, Chapters 15-18 deal with small-molecule photochemistry as elucidated by laser techniques. The scene then shifts in Chapters 20-23 to various techniques to probe reacting systems, again gas phase. There are chapters on probing the adsorbed state and surface chemistry (Chapters 26 and 27), as well as studies on various complexes (Chapter 24). The last three chapters give a brief overview of some analytical, environmental, and medical applications. The book comes complete with warts, but none are deal breakers. The authors use two sets of references, a specific set and a general set, which can be a bit confusing. Apparently the publisher wanted to see whether the book would make The New York Times' bestseller list before investing in color, but that is not the authors' fault. The most significant problem is the promised Web site with supplemental material and problems to support the book (2). As of this writing, the site is not fully operational and only a limited amount of material is available. This is unfortunate for those like this reviewer who might like to use this book as the main text in a special topics class. Overall, this is a worthy addition to the laser literature and well suited for undergraduate use. At this point, I would give it a B, but that may well rise to an A- if the Web site finally comes online. The book sells for about $90, but is available for less from discount vendors. For students, this is a real bargain. I'm glad I have a copy, and I will make use of it in my laser course this semester.
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
_
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Chemical Education Today
Literature Cited 1. Silfvast, W. T. Laser Fundamentals; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England, 1996. 2. Laser Chemistry: Spectroscopy, Dynamics and Applications Publisher's Web Site. http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/HigherEdTitle/ productCd-0471485713.html (accessed Feb 2010).
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
_
Benjamin A. DeGraff is in the Department of Chemistry, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807;
[email protected]. DOI: 10.1021/ed100149x Published on Web 03/19/2010
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
_
Vol. 87 No. 5 May 2010
_
Journal of Chemical Education
481
