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media exchange One of the auiet nleasures of having a long hot summer away from the b i n d of the school year is the ti& to reflect and think. T h e summer break gives hoth the body and the mind a chance to change gears and generate a new vitality before the start of the next semester. While swimming a t the local "watering hole," one can observe the local fauna, the repetitive motion of the waves, the texture of the particles of the beach, and even the chemistry of the suntan lotion odors (was that coconut?). By observing nature and our surroundings, we build our repertoire of ideas without any effort. It is not that innovative ideas require a concerted effort on our part, hut rather that we mustlearn to absorh the natural phenomena that occur around us. Rudolf Flesrhsaid,"Creati\,e think in^ may mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done." Yes, the summer vacation period allows us a respite from the repetitive actions of our everyday life. It is a welcome time for allowing the creative ebb withinus to become a tidal wave. And as we approach another year, we realize that our goal will he to do something differently: to try one new experiment, to add one new lecture and take out the old, to add one new dimension to the chemistry lecture by including a poem, to reverse the order of presenting topics, to wear a green lab coat instead of white, or to play some of Aleksandr Borodin's music in class. (He was also a chemist and physician in addition to being a composer.) These are not earth shattering changes; there are no rewards except that inner feeling of accomplishment. Consequently, as you begin anew, your creativity will give you the energy and electricity for some months to come. In trying to encourage you, the readers, we become encouraged and resolve to help you continue. Judging by the mail that we have received, quite a large number of our readers have found varietv that using ~ ~ -a ~ ~ - "e of media resources within the classroom has been successful. We would like to share your experiences with other chemistrv instructors through this column. However, we need to have you write a short synopsis of the film or Perhaps you feel that filmstrioand send it ~ O T H I SJOURNAL everyone uses the same film or filmstrip and rkview would not be necessarv. T h e truth of the matter is that there are hundreds and h k d r e d s of films, filmstrips, audiotapes, and now comuuter discs. Unless each of sou decides to write a short page describing your experience, we will never be able to serve the chemistry teacher. So take some time now to send us your reviews. What film is your favorite? Why? Which filmstrip series do you find extremely easy to blend into a lesson? Dnvou find anv orohlems in usine these materials? ~. Ha\.e you a particular suggestion on using audiovisual material within vour class session'? \!''ell then. how ahout takinr H few minut& to share this information w i ~ hyour collmgueswithin this column? Welcome hack to school! ~~
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mis featureallows for coverage of all instructional aids 1e.g.. games. models, kits, charts, booklets, brochures, and, of course, the standard audio visual items). With the large volume of print and A-V materials available and the limited budgets of most chemistry departments,this exchange offersa valuable sewice. If you are interested in assisting in this process, send your name and address to the feature editor.
Rochester institute of Technology P.O. Box 9887
Rochester, NY 14623
DE LlRRlf JUDICIA Foundations of Chemistry Daniel Murphy and Viateur Rousseau, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 3rd Ed., 1980, 767 pp.
"Foundations of College Chemistry" by Murphy and Hou4seau is a text designed to fulfill thr divers? requirements of vtudentc in an introductury college chemistry course, prdralrly nwciatrdwith particular sucrcsscs. I.ittleof how science was or is done is communicated. The writing style is eminently clear and direct. The authors use many apt analogies to develop a principle conceptually before introducing the mathematics.The developmentof the concepts of chemical kinetics, entropy, enthalpy, ionic equilibrium and wave-particle dualitv,oroceed on an intuitive level and are consistentlv tied to concrete . cxperwnce. Thir elwidation of concepts through clean prow and sound analogies ir m e 01 the outsranding tentures otthc tcxr. Murphy and Rousseau do a fine job of including a great number of fully worked out problems within the context of each chapter. At the same time, they provide over 800 problems for the student. Answers to all odd-numbered problems requiring a numeric answer are included at the end of the book. Many of themoredifficult even-numbered oroblems have answers included at the end of the oroblem. .About a quarter of the prohlemu are conceptual in nature and would seem to lend themaelves readily to a class discwsion of salirnt points from within a chapter. These problems are of great value. Of particular note is the exceptionally well annotated bibliography which appears at the end of each chapter, which will save the reader endless hours of purusing nonproductive titles. Many referencesare The majority of the to articles that have appeared in THIS JOURNAL. listings are easily accessible and are surprisingly current. A study guide has been designed to accompany this text. The guide contains a brief review of each chapter subsection, a list of important terms from that subsection, a self-testand solutions for the self-test. The self-test allows the learner to assess the degree of mastery that has been attained in a given area. The guide offers an advantage over the general text problems in that solutions, rather than simple numeric answers, are provided in every case, and that it points to a specific chapter subsection for remediation. This may he of use in a programmed learning environment. The utility of the guide would improve if it contained well-documented solutions to all the general text problems. This text would be an excellent source of supplemental reading for chemistry classes at both a general or advanced level. The clear, thoughtful, conceptual treatment given many topics with which students traditionally struggle make it a resource well worth its price. The annotated biblioeranhv contains such a wealth of information for both student and < alike that the cost of the text would be justified for this item alone. ~~
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JAMES L. FROGGE Bishop McNamara High School
Kankakee. iL 60901
706
Journal of Chemical Education
