Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for ... - ACS Publications

78 procedures grouped into two chapters, one on clock reactions, the other on electrochemistry, batteries, electrolytic cells, and plating...
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reviews Analytical Chemistry: Principles, Second Edition John H Kennedy. Saunders College Publishing: New York. NY 1990. xvi + 936 pp. Figs. and tables. 17.8 x 24.2 cm. The second edition of Kennedfs text for undergraduate analytical chemistry is, for the most part, similar to the first edition. This edition maintains the author's emphasis on the "total analytical process", which will he useful for helping students understand the progression of a chemical analysis problem. The text wnsists of three major sections. After an introduction to statistics and a review of equilibrium and stoichiometric principles the classical gravimetric and volumetric methods are dism s e d . The dsssical analysis section presents a g a d treatment of acid-base, complexometric, and redox equilihria. There is a small decrease in the amount of space devoted to gravimetric analysis, hut the essentials and the necessary number of examples and problems are retained. This section is well written with examples that illustrate the principles to students. There is a discussion of acid-base titrations in nonaqueous solvents and an alternative method for solving problems on sulfide solubility in acids. An ap~ e n d i xis included that has comouter woerams written in BASIC ior solving some of the solutioh eqi1ib;ia problems. Given the prevalence of simple spreadsheet methods for solving these types of problems the appendix probably will serve simply a s an example of programming approaches to the problems. The next section involves an introduction to some instrumental methods in chemical analysis. This section covers spectrochemical, electrochemical, and separation methods. A new section has been added on kinetic methods of analysis that provides an introduction to the basic wncepts hehind kinetic approaches. In this chapter a discussion of neutron-activation analysis and enzyme-catalyzed reactions is covered. The main text concludes with two chapters that were not in the f r s t edition. One nice addition is a chapter on sampling. The statistics of choosing an appropriate sample and sample size are discussed along with sampling methods for various physical and chemical situations. The last chapter is an overview of laboratory techniques. The third section is an auxiliary lab manual. The lah manual is similar to the first edition with the addition of two new experiments (one on the determination of A1 in chewing gum by graphite furnace AA and the other on the determination of caffeine in soft drinks by HPLC). The lah manual is an accompaniment to the text with 59 experiments for determining various elemental and m+ lecular species in a variety of common (often household) matrices. Overall, Analytical Chemistry: Principles and Practice is well organized and clearly written with many interesting examples. Students should fmd this text easy to follow, and the accompanying lab manual will help their lab experience.

Steven W. Buckner University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721

Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry, Volume 4 Bassam Z Shakhashiri,The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 1992. xxvii + 290 pp. Figs. and tables. 21.5 x 28 cm. $25.00 (20% discount-$20 plus $2.00 shipping and handling--to instructors who order directly and enclose payment; Volumes I , 2, 3, and 4 are available at $20 each; $75.00 for all 4 volumes). In thls, the fourth and shortest volume to date in a rontrnumg senes o f d e f i n l t ~ esource books "amed at pmwd~ngtcnrhers of sclenec at all rduentmnal levrla wnh detalled mstructmns and background information for using chemical demonstrations in the classroom and in public lectures," Shakhashiri and eight collaborators (Jerry A. Bell, Glen E. Dirreen, Ronald I. Perkins, Radney Schreiner. Earle S. Scott. M a n Ellen Testen. Larw E. Judee. and . last two dfwhok are new to the s e h , havehainDoris ~ o l bthe tained the exacting arandnrdi sct in the first three volumes. rSee re~~ewsm.I. Chem. Educ. 1985,62,A'31;1986.63.A209;1990.6:. A164.1.The wealthofcrurial details thnt otlm spell thcdifk~rencc between success and failure and the scope, aauracy, conception, and price of this series distinguish it from most other collections of demonstrations and render it without peer. The volume includes a 6-114 page informative and inspirational essay, "The Joy of Teaching Chemistry" by Doris Kolb, editor of the Journal of Chemical Education's "Overhead Proiector Demonstrations" series. This well-planned, attractive, and oversized volume contains 48 demonstrations, including 78 separati, procedures, all tested at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere, ranging in length from 2-1/2 pages ("Bromate Oxidation of Manganese," pp 83-85) to 11.113 pages ("Copper Leaves: Electroplating with Copper," pp 212-223). They are gmuped into two chapters-Chapter 10, "Clock Reactions," 15 demonstrations, 87 pp, and Chapter 11, "Electrochemistry: Batteries, Electrolytic Cells, and Plating," 33 demonstrations, 179 pp, each prefaced with detailed introductions (11 and 7 pp, respectively) featuring much valuable background material. Shakhashiri's excellent five-page introductory discussion of pedagogical principles, effective presentation of chemical demonstrations, and practical advice on how to use the hook is reprinted from Volume 1. The 2-113 page list of sources has been updated through 1991. Each demonstration is divided into seven sections-41) a brief description; (2) materials; (3) procedure, subdivided into "Preparation" and "Presentation" subsections; (4) hazards; (5) disposal; (6) discussion (often elaborate); and (7) references. Perennial favorites are included, such as the Landolt Iodine Clack, old Nassau reaction, the electrolysis of water and various salt solutions, the mercury beating heart, the Daniel1 cell, dry cell, fuel cell, and the preparation of metallic mirrors, hut often with elaborate and ingenious variations. The stoichiometric mixture of gases for the familiar photochemically i ~ t i a t e dexplosive combi(Continued on oaue A1881 ~

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Reviewed in This Issue Reviewer John H. Kennedy, Analytical Chemistry: Principles, Second Edition

Steven W. Buckner

BassamZ. Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry

George B. Kauffman

Tony Stankus, editor, Biographies of Scientists for Sci-Tech Libraries: Adding Faces to the Facts

George B. Kauffman

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Volume 69 Number 6 June 1992

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nation of hydrogen and chlorine is produced here by the eledmlysis of hydrochloric acid. Unusual, important demonstrations involve a chemiluminescent clock reaction, various primary and secondary cells, a concentration cell, metallic rrystals, a chemical rectifier, and electrodepositisn of sodium through glass. For wnvenience, the volumes are ms-referenced; this volume contains two references to demonstrations in earlier volumes. For the f r s t time a detailed (11pages, two columns per page) cumulative index for Volumes 1-4 is included with entries for topics, chemicals, popular names of demonstrations, and key words. The hook 1s virtually free ofermrs.

George B. Kauffman California State Universitv, Fresno Fresno, CA 93740

Blo raphles of Scientists for Scl-Tech Libraries Ad8ng Faces to the Facts Tony Stankus, Editor. Haworth: New York, NY, 1992.xi + 228 pp. 15.1 x 21.5cm. 3 Figs. $29.95. According to Dena Rae Thomas, one of 16 librarians who wntributed to this collection of "biohihliographical essays," fewer students i n the United States a r e choosing pursue maduate .. to . . studies or careers in scmnce. Some exploration of snentists' lives might inspire indimdual studcnta to follow any leanings toward science thev. mav - have. The biographies described here were chosen hecause thev attemnt to show the reader the whole oersonal~-~~~~~~~ ,~ ity of the biographee mcludingcontributions made to hidher field. Editor-eanmbutor Tony Stankur, Science Librarian nfthe College of the Holy Cross, wareester, MA, hopes that his guide to hiographies of scientists fmm a variety of fields also will serve to shatter the stereotypes of scientists' lives as "monomaniacal, hut otherwise uninterestine." His volume differs from most mllections of biograplues in that its primary purpme is to identify books, articles, and dissertations (through 19901that will provide xi-librarians and students with insiehts - into the varietv and drama of the lives of these men and women heynnd their more wrll-knnwn wntributiuns and Nobel R u e arwmplishmcnts as well as an a p p w ciation of science as a bmadly based, creative experience. ks would be expeetedfor a compendium with wntrihutions from multiple authors, the individual essays vary in format, style, and content, and the descriptions accompanying the entries range from a line or two to a page or more. Among the scientists (mostly 19th century and contemporary, some still living) profiled are 18 mathematicians, 16 phymcists, 10 chemists, 10 geologists, 10 animal scientists, 6 plant breeders and plant geneticists, and 10 discoverers of medical techniques and m a t o r s of inventions. Also included are a guide to the literature on pioneers i n computing, a n oveniew and bibliography of spectra and spectroscopy, an annotated bibliography of new reference works in science and technology (in small print), and a description of sci-tech online. Unfortunately, this up-to-date volume shows signs of inadequate proofreading; for example, six misspellings or "typos" occur in Stankus' seven-nape introduction alone. Also. he erroneouslv attributes Wdhler's quotation, 7 can no longer, as it were, hold hack my chemical urine. I c a n make urea without a kidney, whether of man or of a doe" (P 6 ) to his published wmmunication rather than to Wdhler's le&;af ~ e b r u a &22, 1828,to his mentor Benelius. Furthermore, Thornas'quotation cited above is attributed to the introduction of her essay, yet i t does not appear there. These minor shortcomings - notwithstanding, I a m pleased to recommend thls evccllent resource guldc to faselnatma saenufic biographtcs, selected far thew humor and human insights, both to ~ c i ~ t e clibrarians h and to teachers of students, who, with the proper enwuragement, inspiration, and understanding, may hecome our future scientists. ~

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George B. Kauffman California State UnivemiM Fresno Fresno, CA 93740

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Journal of Chemical Education