Foundations of Chemistry
Jesse S. Binford, Jr., University of South Florida. MacMillan Publishing Company, Inc.,New York, 1977. xiv + 334 pages. figs. and tables. 19.5 X 24 cm. $14.95.
Chemical Principles for the Life Sciences
Ralph J. Fessenden and Joan S. Fessenden. University of Montana. Allyn and
Bacon. Ine.. Boston. London.. Svdnev. . -. 1976. i9.5 ~ ' 2 em. 4 vii 615 pages. Figs. and tables. $14.95.
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In "The Wizard of 02," Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) said "The best place t o start is a t the beginning" and the authors have done just that. They appear to have all the necessarv, insieht ~. into the Level that the avrmge student taking a tcrm~nalunc-year roursr in rhcmistry has attained. and, ronsrqurntly, tncy Ieaw no idanks that them. struetor must fill in, nor do they assume that allstudents have reached even a high school level in the subject. However, the option is there for the instructor to skip or touch lightly on the areas in which he finds he is simply "retreading" the class, without losing the continuity of the text. It is a relief to see that the authors have recognized the f a d that many students, and especially those whose education in chemistry is squeezed into one year, have trouble seeing the chemistry because the mathematics eets in the wav. Thev have ~- limited the use ofmathematies to the concepts lor which it lsan absolute necessity. and have used easily understood nnnlog~rrin place of the usual mathematical jargon. This allows them to devote more discussion t o the biologically practical aspects of the topics. The prohlems utilize a good sampling of the text material. and are desiened - to involve the student in thinking about the terminology of chemistry as well as applying those principles to the solution af simple or moderately complex problems. The authors cite many examples of the utilityof compound ~~~~
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classes in the technology of everyday praducts, ranging from heavy industry to the hiologically oriented applications toward which the hook is oriented. The answers t o all the add-numbered prohlems are contained in the book. The principles of general, organic, and biological chemistry are presented in a manner which makes the text equally suitable for use in an introductory general course for nonscience majors. The material is divided roughly into two halves, the first containing general and inorganic topics along with the classic principles, and the second concentrating on organic and biological chemistry. Thin makes the book one of the few this revieuer har found that can earilv he used for a twwsemeiter rurwy c w r s e [aught in tandem by two instructora,each tenrhlng in hir own speciality. Lesson objectives are listed a t the beginning of every chapter, an excellent idea which will undoubtedly be used in many forthcoming texts. In some instances the more outdated structures of common compounds have been used, such as 5-membered rings with unequal sides for cyclopentane and the older Fischer form of ascorbic acid. This occurs infrequently, however, and the more correct structures have heen used for ATP and simllnr eampwnds inter in the text 'I'he authors h a w done an ndmirablr )oh in thrir prrsenratrcm 01 the sterrorhrnmiscry of 5- and timembered ring structures ~
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-Reviewed
Richard M. Sheeley Dickinson Coliege Carlisle PA 17013
"Foundations of Chemistry" is a text to aid college students prepare for general chemistry. It contains 13 chapters which are basic to an understanding of chemistry. Included are discussions bf the periodic table, measurements and quantitative properties, the gas state, stoichiometry, atomic structure, bonding, energy and phase changes, solutions, equilibria, acid and bases including titrations, pH measurements, oaidntionreduction, and atomic spectra. There is little or no discussion of such topics as molecular orbital theory, hybridization, free energy, buffers, or prohlems dealing with hydrolysis type equilibria, metal complexes, descriptive inorganic chemistry, or organic chemistry. The questions in the back of each chapter are appropriate and are geared to quantitative chemistry. There are several gwd featuresto this text. The discussion on the LeChatelier Principle in this text is one of the best discussions of this suhjeet that I have read. The sample problems are often amusing, interesting, and relevant. Comic strip characters are utilized in problem-solving situations. For example, in one comic strip a villain is seen holding a gun on Rip Kirby with one hand and a bucket of gold in the other hand. Based on a few assumptions (using what Binford calls the "one-factor method") the author calculates the weight of gold in the hucket. Most examples of applied chemistry are not found in theehapters, but in the problems in the hack of each chapter. For example, in the chapter dealilig with equilibrium, there are prohlems dealine,.with freeze-dried coffee. the tin butt m s on the uniforms of R u w m sold~ers turning grey in thr s:nter, diwri returninn from deep w r e r , and making hurne-madr ire cream. Such prohlems tend to make homework assignments more interesting and students also learn some applied chemistry. Another interestine asvect of this book is the (continued on page A244)
in this Issue Reuiewer
Ralph J. Fessenden and Joan S. Fessenden, ChemicalPrineiples for the Life Sciences Jesse S. Binford, Jr., Foundations of Chemistry Stewart M. Brooks, Basic Chemistry. A Programmed Presentation. 3rd Edition Charles 0. Wilson, Ole Gisuold, and Robert F. Doerge, editors, Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, 7th Edition
Richard M. Sheeley Elliot L. Blinn Grihapati Mitra Robert Filler
P. Schuster, editor, The Hydrogen Bond: Recent Developments in Theory and Experiment. Volume I: Theory. Volume 11: Structure and Spectroscopy. Volume 111: Dynamics, Thermodynamics and Special Systems Ruth M. Lyndell-Bell and Robin K . Harris, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Edward G. Bourne, JI., editor, and Jeanette G. Groselli, Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy. Part A J . W . T. S ~ i n k sand R. J. Woods. An Introduction to Radiation Chemistry. 2nd Edition Sidney W. Benson, Thermochemical Kinetics, 2nd Ed. Methods for the Estimation of Thermochemical Data and Rate Parameters Joseph Edward Mayer and Mario Goeppcrt Mayer, Statistical Mechanics. 2nd P.Aitinn -...-..
Zbigniew Galus and G.F. Reynolds, translator, Fundamentals of Electrochemical Analysis
J. Wayne Rabolais, Principles of Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy Joseph B. Lambert, Herbert F Shuroell, Lawrence Verbit, R. Graham Cooks, and Georee Structural Analvsis " M. Stout., Oreanic " George B. Kouffrnan, editor and translator, Classics in Coordination Chemistry. Part 11: Selected Papers (1789-1899)
H. Lawrence Clever Stanford L. Smith
J. E. Katon Charles W. Owens Leonard D. Spicer Donald D. Fitts Fred M. Hawkridge Dale H. Karweik
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John D. Reinheimer
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John C. Bailar, Jr.
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Volume 55, Number 5, May 1978 / A243
