m d e r n (hence "frontier") chemical research, comes off somewhat less successfully. In conclusion. Gmv rand Hainht have writlrn n lmll~anthmk, put togrrhrr with the h r i l . r d $ t & dwaftmxd,ip. It ml. Iw rrcoumwnwd with x l m w nu rezewations to a very wide range of introductory chemist.ry students.
.
.
.I. M. ANDERSON Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Chemistry:
Principles and Proparlies
Michell J . Sienko and Robert A . Plane, both of Cornell University, Ithacs, New York. McGrrtw-Hill Book Co., New 623 pp. Figs. and York, 1966. vii tables. 17 X 23 cm. 58.95.
+
This is an excellent text for today's demanding general chemistry courses. I t is the more advanced level stemmingfmm an extensive revision of Sienko and Plane's extremely popular "Chemistry." While this is not a text for honors students, it is s. text which drastically reduces the need for supplemental materid8. But, shove all, it remains within the grasp of most first-year students. The most noticeable chanees from the
kinetics, crystals, and complex ions. Many qualitative statements have been made quantitative. While the organization and much of the text are elemly taken from the previous edition, the new topics have been osed throughout the book rather than ss isolated inserts. In particular, thermdynamics is used in most of the chapters and is included in the problems. Topics such as fuel cells, NMR, and semi-conductors are effectively used to maintain the student's interest. Calculus has been used sparingly and in such s. manner that those students who have not had this preparation can still follow the arguments. The clear exposition which characterized the previous editions is maintained and there are remarkably few typographical errors. I can think of no readable text which does not require supplemental material (indeed it is hard to imagine one which would also be portable); this text however, is sufficiently thorough to allow the student to proceed directly to much of the best material mailable (e.g., King's "How Chemical Reactions Occur" [Benjamin] ). I t is s bit unfortunate that no references to other works hhve been included. The objections to the text are mostly trivial and usually are easy to correct. The periodic table inside the front cover daes not contain atomic weights. The graphs of acbivstion energy versus reaction coordinate (implying the same path for both a, catalyzed and en uncatdyzed resction) have unfortunately been carried over from the previous edition. The electroncloud representations could he further improved and some of the references to the
shading in these diagrams are confusing t,o the student. The text begins with atomic structure; then logically develops bonding. A o h q ter on stoichiometry (which may be easily bypassed) precedes the states of matter and changes of state. Two chapters on solutions lead to kinetics; the kinetics is then used to introduce equilibrium. Electrochemistry and thermodynamics com~letethe theoretied m r t of the text. The I4 chnptrrs of dc..rriptivr rhrmi.,rry which follm dl, n drfi~itrlynlnovr ovrragr jub uf relnring the priwiplr~t u thp pwprrties. An interesting chapter on noble gases has been added, but this has been done a t the expense of the previous edition's chapter on organic ehemistry. The last chapter is a very standard treatment of nuclear structure and radioactivity. The problems are plentiful, cover a wide variety of topics, and are graded in difficulty. A reasonable number of answers are provided and attention is usually given to both units and significant figures. Here is a text with the added coverage needed in a modern first-year course; a. realistic size which permits coverage in one year; and finally, a presentation that most students can follow. Student reaction has been unusually favorable; important topics are clearly developed and the better students have had their imaginations whetted. I would heartily recommend a thorough reading of this book for all who have found the standard texts too shallow and the advanced texts beyond the reach of their students.
.~~
~
~
~
of Molecules) which contains much of the discussion of bonding, should be quite elementary for the student who has taken s CBA course in secondary school. Simple molecules such as H.0, CHs and NH, are discussed making use d hybrid orbitals. Bond angles are not shown in the accompanying figures (perhaps because the suhject of bond angle determination is deferred until the final chapter). There is also brief consideration of coordination n m p l ~ x , viwdvnty (1 d,ltal-, nnllriple larrd.;, m d ~leh,r d Imrd~ug IS quite limited, though in writing a one-semester text one must obviously make difficult choices in selecting materials. Chapters 5 through 10 have a content roughly paralleling a 1-semester non-cdculus physical chemistry course. The titles are: Gases, Solids, Liquids, Solutions of Nan-Electrolytes, Solutions of Electrolytes, and Reaction Rates. A final (11th) chapter (The Experimental Study of Chemical Structure) gives an excellent series of thumbnail sketches of experimental methods which the modern chemist has at his disposal. These include: ESR, NMR, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction, magnetic suscep tibilitv. ete. The eist of each method is
~
~
E.TAYLOR TAOMAS Heidelberg College Tifin, Ohio
Principles of Chemistry Keith J. Laidler, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Harcourt, Brace, and World, Inc., NewYork, 1966. xi 386 . DD. . Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. $8.50.-
+
This introductory college and university text is intended as a one-semester or twoquarter course for students who have taken secondary school chemistry a t the CBA or CHEM level. It presumes no mathematical background other than elementary algebra and logarithms; graphical methods are frequently employed. Exponential expressions are found in numerous olaees in the text. The first chapter (The Chemical Equation) and the second (Chemical Equilibrium) provide the background deemed necessary far the student to pursue quantitative experiments early in the semester in his laboratory work. Chepter 3 (Atomic Structure) is somewhat out of character in rtn otherwise reasonably well-written volume. A number of the explanations concerning original experiments which were employed in demonstrating properties of fundamental particles, are misleading, to say the least. Chapter 4 (The Structure
The volume gives very little attention to thermodynamics. There is s well dune section dealing with the heat capacities of p q v.-. Free rnrrgiw, r n t r q k , and hrati resrti
