book reviews the first ten or so chapters of textbooks used by chemistry majors) there is no useful foundation in this book that would help the average non-science college student to understand the subjects presented. Derry L. Fishel Kent State University Kent. Ohio
Environmental Chemistry: An Introduction Experiments in Environmental Chemistry (Laboratory Manual)
Lucy T. Pryde, San Diego Mesa College. Cummings Publishing Company, Menlo Park, California, 1973. 316 pp. Figs and tables. 22 x 24 cm. $9.95. This teat is a good starting point for use in an introductory course in environmental chemistry, providing students have either had some prior background in chemistry, or have access to other teats more oriented toward the fundamentals of chemistry Traditional chemical principles are primarily located in two of the book's nine chapters, and are for the most part discussed very superficially. The first part of Chap. 2 introduces, in seven pages, the concepts of elements and atoms, the electron cloud, atomic weight, gram atomic weight, and the periodic table. Chapter
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four returns to these concepts, develops them a hit further, then goes on to consider ionic and covalent bonding, bond ang l e , polarity, and organic chemistry. This chapter also deals briefly with chemical reactions, balancing equations, kinetics, and equilibrium. Other than a short (and confusing) description of redox in Chap. 5, and a bit about the chemistry of water in Chap. 6, the remainder of the book concerns itself with descriptive environmental chemistrv. . . which is doneauite well. The ropics considered arc nuclear power. air, water, pesriridrs, lwds and drugs, and plasrira. R,r each of thew topicl, the a p propriate chemistry is discussed, sources of pollution are listed, environmental effects including health effects are considered, standards and criteria are given, and courses of action are proposed. While the author tries to avoid value judgements and t o remain as objective as possible, now and again one finds debatable statements such as The first director (of the EPA), William Ruekelshaus, has provided strong leadershi~ for the new aeenev. . .. the AEC insists upon superior quality in design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants
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The book has several features which are unique. A "Flowchart of the Nuclear Industry" provides a clear picture of how uranium is processed and used in nuclear power plants. Other flowcharts included are the nitrogen cycle, the sulfur cycle, the
photochemistry of smog, water treatment and sewage treatment plants, and others. Insets of various kinds of information, appmpriate to the subject matter being discussed, are distributed throughout the book. Diagrams and illustrations are extensively used throughout the text. At the end of each chapter, two types of study questions and a short bibliography are presented. The first group of questions deal with the chemical aspect of the ehapter; the second group tends to be thoughtpmvoking questions which could be used as topics for class discussions or essays. Both sets of questions have been well thought out. A more extensive bibliography, grouped by chapters, appears a t the end of the book. In general the bibliographies are reasonably representative of various viewpoints, if not complete. One notable exception: The "Report on 2,4,5-T by the President's Science Advisory Committee'' is listed as being a valuable history of a case study which reflects the scientific considerations that lead t o public policy decisions. But nowhere is the critique to this controversial report by the Committee for Environmental Information, or the AAAS Assessment Commission Report, referenced. Another important omission: in s list of "National Organizations with Strong Interests in Environmental Proteetion," many groups are given; but the foremast group which deals with the scientific considerations of environmental problems, the Scientists Institute for Public In(Continued onpageA188)
book reviews formation, which publishes "Environment" magazine, is not listed. The author has also written a laboratory manual containing twenty-three envimnmentally oriented chemistry experiments. Most of these experiments have been greatly simplified, and only qualitative or semiqualitative results can he expected from the analytical experiments. For ex. ample, in testing for phosphate, ammonium phmphomolyhdate is precipitated. The amount of precipitate is compared visually to estimate the phosphate content of various detergents. For the nitrate test, Bray's nitrate test powder containing zinc, naphthylamine, and sulfanilic acid is to be used. The author suggests purchasing the prepared powder from a commercial lab, a very expensive procedure for a large class.
Bray's powder was initially prepared for testing moist soil for nitrate, and so insoluble magnesium sulfate is used as a filler in the powder to form a consistent "white" blank when sprinkled an the soil. In water, the precipitate interferes with color comparison. Furthermore, the use of any reagent containing either n- or 8-naphthylamine should not be allowed in a basic chemistry course, since 8-naphthylamine is a potent carcinogen. (This hazard is not labeled on the vial of Bray's powder obtained from the commercial laboratory.) The lab manual, like the hook, is unsuitable if basic concepts of general chemistry are to be taught. The manual is acceptable if only crudest techniques of environmental testing are to he demonstrated. David L. Frank California State University Fresno, Calilornia
Used Math for the First Two Years 01 College Science
Clifford E. Swortz, State University of New York a t Stony Brook. PrenticeHall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973. xii 270 pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 1sem. $8.95. "Used math," in the author's view, is somewhat the apposite of "new math." The hook is by design a how-to-do-it book for the freshman and sophomore science student. That it is not a math textbook is clearly stated in the author's preface and is apparent throughout the hook in the nonsequential manner in which material is often presented. Thus "unit vectors" are mentioned in chap. 9, while the subject of vectors is not studied until the next chapter. Similarlv.. s derivative amears on P. 32 although the chapter on d&rentiation begins on p. 171. Situations such as these do not cause serious difficulty if the book is employed as intended-as a reference baok used after topics have been studied formally in appropriate math courses. The book is very definitely written with .he beginning science student in mind and ioes not aim over his head. Thus the au.hor discusses the "peculiar growing power 11 the exponential" (function). This repreients an honesty of language for the heginling student. More sophisticated mathenaticians would properly maintain that .here is nothing really "peculiar" about my function-hut they probably were a t me time impressed with the rate of growth ,f the exponential function. The author nlso tells the young student how to pronounce "sinh." The book is one with many applications and many "sample" problems for the student (with answer or hints given). The applications are chosen well to produce reading that is interesting even for more advanced students. For example, several "Fermi questions" are analyzed in the initial chapter on notation and orders of magnitude. Such questions, named after Enrico Fermi, are ones for which the student can estimate an approximate answer on the basis of very little information indeed. Then in a later chapter a Fermi question appears in the problems following the discussion of the exponential function. (Haw much rice has been grown during all of the earth's history?) The subject of the logarithm function is made interesting by consideration of the response of human senses to stimuli. This leads to a discussion of the decibel a i a unit of sound intensity, and to the history of the scale of stellar magnitudes. The definition and meaning of p H occurs nearby. The statistics chapter is particularly well done for an elementary level, and in keeping with the philosophy of the entire book clearly instructs the reader in what to actually do as opposed to confusing him with many side issues. It would clearly he a mistake to attempt to use the hook as a textbook. The emphasis of the examples is directed more toward physics than chemistry, but if used as a supplement to early chemistry courses i t could he of considerable value.
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L. K. Runnels Louisiana State Unrverslty Baton Rouge. La. 70803
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