Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry by James E. House and Kathleen A. House Brooks Cole: San Diego, 2001. 515 pp, ISBN 012356770X. $108.95 reviewed by Christopher L. Cahill
House and House’s Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry is an intermediate level text that could be used in an undergraduate curriculum modeled after the ACS guidelines for a one-semester core course in inorganic chemistry (1). This publication joins other texts at this level—notably Rayner-Canham and Overton’s Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry (2) and Rodgers’ Descriptive Inorganic, Coordination and Solid-State Chemistry (3)—yet distinguishes itself in a number of interesting aspects. The Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry begins with a refreshing chapter titled Where It All Comes From, that looks not so much at the physical origin of the elements but rather uses a “structure of the earth” perspective that includes fundamental geological processes such as weathering. Further, there is an informative timeline of the various metal-ages and the respective processes employed for their production. The authors continue with a fairly straightforward progression of chapters on atomic and molecular structure, ionic bonding, reactions and energetics, and acid–base chemistry before entering a systematic exploration of the elements themselves, followed by a solid introduction to coordination and organometallic compounds. This is an appropriate avenue and thus serves as an expansion of the topics covered in general chemistry. This progression is essentially identical to that found in Rayner-Canham and Overton, but is markedly distinct from that of Rodgers. Highlights of this text include a good boron chapter, an excellent chapter on Group IVA elements that is a welcome introduction to silicate chemistry, and a very sound section on acid–base trends with respect to inductive effects. Coordination chemistry is introduced rather well; the (intentionally) spare bonding component will undoubtedly encourage more advanced study. Further, the thermodynamic section (Chapter 4) is rather informative and may serve well to repair any misconceptions a student may have after having taken a general chemistry course. The end of each chapter includes extensive suggestions for further reading (with some insightful comments) that serve as an excellent survey of the pertinent inorganic chemistry literature. This is especially relevant for students interested in tracking down the standards such as Greenwood and Earnshaw’s Chemistry of the Elements (4), or Cotton and Wilkinson’s Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (5). The end-of-chapter problems are rich and heavily emphasize reactivity. Solutions to these may be downloaded from a textbook Web site (6). Finally, a rather subtle theme that runs through the text is continued reference to mineral names and formulas. This is quite effective and, in my opinion, often not emphasized enough in many inorganic chemistry texts, regardless of level. Like the introductory chapter, this reminds us where it all comes from. Shortcomings include the chapter “Atomic and Molecular Structure,” which appears to be struggling to decide on www.JCE.DivCHED.org
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its audience and its coverage. In the span of this chapter, the student is introduced to wave functions in a rather confusing fashion that left me to wonder why they were included at all. Some periodic trends and molecular orbital theory follow at levels no more advanced than found in a general chemistry course. An introduction to symmetry elements is next that is, in my opinion, of little value, largely because it is not revisited in succeeding chapters, nor is an understanding of symmetry necessary for the level of MO theory employed throughout the text. This chapter hence suffers from trying to do too much. The authors provide a few explanations for this approach in the Preface, yet I must confess that encountering this so early on actually soured me slightly. Fortunately, the book makes a rapid recovery for the remaining chapters and proceeds in a more even fashion. Another minor complaint is that the index does not do well for quick reference. For example, expected entries such as inert pair effect, Slater’s Rules, and shielding are notably absent. Diagrams are adequate but a bit lackluster in quality, especially in the crystal structure chapters when compared to similar sections in the texts by Rodgers or Rayner-Canham and Overton (3, 2). Overall, House and House’s Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry is a solid text that is worthy of consideration for course adoption and should certainly be present on both instructor and library shelves. Students need not have taken a course in physical chemistry to make use of it and the above-mentioned shortcomings are not lethal and could be remedied rather easily through supplemental readings and lecture coverage. Literature Cited 1. American Chemical Society. Topical Supplements to the Guidelines: Inorganic Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003; http://www.chemistry.org/portal/ a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=education\cpt\ts_inochem.html (accessed Jan 2004). 2. Rayner-Canham, G.; Overton, T. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Freeman: New York, 2003. Rayner-Canham, G. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Freeman: New York, 1999. Rayner-Canham, G. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, 1st ed.; Freeman: New York, 1996. The first edition of this text has been reviewed by Daniel Rabinovich: J. Chem. Educ. 1998, 75, 697. 3. Rodgers, G. E. Descriptive Inorganic, Coordination, and SolidState Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Brooks/Cole: Toronto, 2002. The second edition of this text has been reviewed by L. L. Pesterfield: J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 491. 4. Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd ed.; Butterworth-Heinemann: Woburn, MA, 1998. 5. Cotton, F. A.; Wilkinson, G.; Murillo, C. A.; Bochmann, M. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, 6th ed.; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: New York, 1999. 6. http://www.brookscole.com/cgi-brookscole/course_products_bc. pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=012356770X&discipline_number=12 (accessed Jan 2004); login required for instructors.
Christopher L. Cahill is in the Department of Chemistry, George Washington University, 725 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052;
[email protected].
Vol. 81 No. 5 May 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
647
