book reviews Editor: W. F. KIEFFER College of Woortsr W m l e r , Ohio
Foundations of College Chemistry
Daniel B. Muurphy, City University of New York, and Viateur Rowseau, Iona College, New Rochelle, New York. Ronald Press Co., New York, 1969. xiii + 676 pp. Figs. and tables. 18.5 X 26 em. $10.50. The authors have produced an exceedingly well written general chemistry text intended for students with diverse backgrounds. The material within each chapter is logically arranged, given the author's inductive approach. Those responsible for the format are commended as the pages artre neat and easily read. The tables of data and illustrations are generally excellently executed and appropriate (Figure 8.21b may ccanfnse students, however). The book is also exceptionally free of typographical errors: only three were noted, on pages 77,476, and 605. Professors and students dike should find their "Suggested Readinps" at the end of each chapter useful. Chapters 1 4 are standard treatments of stoichiometry, the gas laws, kinetic molecuier theory, and a historicd approarh to the periodic law. Chapter 5 (Electrolysis; Oxidation-Reduction) seems out of place since it comes before any discussion of the nature of the atom and chemical bonding. A s s result, the authors are forced into talking about ionic versus covalent bonding before preparing the students to anticipate either. (Their historical-inductive approach also necessitates the students' memorizing a table of "valences" in Chapter 2.)
-Reviewed
Chapters 6 and 7on atomic structure are above average. Chapter 8 (Electrons and Chemical Properties) contains some simple MO theory, a discussion of hybridization, and s and r bonds. Unfortunately, the chapter gives the impression that hybridization determines geometry (the electron-pair repulsion theory is briefly alluded to). Chapters 9 and 10 cover Gases, Liquids and Solids (including a short discussion of the band theory of metals) and Solutions, respectively. Thermodynamics is well treated in Chapter 11, and the discussion of entropy and free energy is more lucid than in most general chemistry texts. The statistics of placing marbles in boxes on p. 288 are clearly incorrect, but the error does not affect the following arguments. Chapters 12 and 13 cover kinetics, dynamic eqtiilibria, and ionic equilibria in the usllal fashion. Electrochemistry is covered in Chapter 14, and again the author's thermodynamic approach seems more convincing than in most elementary texts. The remaining chapters deal with descriptive chemistry, and it is in this ares. that the authors fall far short of their stated goal of emphasizing periodic trends. The chemistry of metallurgy (Chapter 15) is not at all ssytemstised nor r6lated to the E M F series or the periodic table. The reactions listed in Chapter 16 do little to illustrate trends in the reactivity of the Group IVA elements. Furthermore, no attempt is made to explain the trends that areevident (why is Pb(I1) morestsble than Pb(IV), and vice versa for carbon?). In Chapter 17 (Organic chemistry), there is
M. DAVIDCURTIS University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Chemistry:
A Brief Introduction
Mark M . Jones, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, John T . Nettervzlle, David 0 . Johnston, and James L. Wood, all of David Lipscomb College, Nashville. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1969. ix 354 pp. Figs. and tables. 17.5 X 25.5 em. $9.50.
+
in this Issue
Daniel B. Murphy and Vialeur Rousseau, Foundations of College Chemistry. . ,791 Mark M. Jones, John T . Nelteruille, David 0. Johnston, and James L. Wood, Chemistry: A Brief Introduction . . ,791 Joseph F. Muck and Robert L. Slearns, The Fundamentals of Physics and Chem. . ,792 istry John D. Hineha, Practical Statistics for Chemical Research . . .792 . . .A828 Robert F . O'Malley, Problems in Chemistry . . .A830 K . F . Reid, Properties and Reactions of Bonds in Organic Molecules Morris Zief, editor, Purification of Inorganic and Organic Materials: Techniques . . .A830 of Fractional Solidification H. J. V . Tywell and A. E. Beezer, Thermometric Titrimetry . . .A830 . . .A830 R. S. Cahn, An Introduction to Chemical Nomenclature E. X.E. Pietseh, A . Kotowsk-l, and the C m l i n Institute, editom, Gmelin Hnndbuch der Anorganischen Chemie. 8. Auflage. System Nummer 3, Sauerstoff. . . .A836 Lieferung 8 The Grnelin Instilute, editors, Gmelins Handbuch der Anorgtlnisehen Chemie. 8, Auflage, System Nummer 57, Nickel. Teil C, Lieferung 2, Schluss der Koordinationsverbindungen mit Neutralen und Innerkomplexbildenden 1.irn.ndan . . .A836 -. Harry H . Ku, editor, Precision Measurement and Calibration: Statistical . .A836 Concepts and Procedures . . .A836 Neu Volumes in Continuing Series 0-------
something of nearly everything, from biochemistry to reactions of diazoninm salts; hut very little is presented on mechanisms or any other general principles which would tie the whole together. The reactions of non-metals (Chapter 18) are likewise disjointed. In Chapter 19 (Transition Metals and Complexes), the discussion of the interactions of periodic trends and electronic structure is excellent, as is the section on coonlirrwtion conrpwmdi. Ilowrver, on p. $:!I tlir authors >tat", "Az mighr I,? ex~ e c t r dtlw , bonds fnrmrd by thc tmrkcitirm metalsappear to become &re covalent as the oxidation state increases." This reviewer could not find anywhere in the text a discussion which would lead a student to such an expectation. In view of the fact that polaririeability is never mentioned, it is also not surprising that no rationaliaation is offered for the varying strengths of oxyacids, or the change from acidic to basic character of metal oxides as the olddation stateof the metal decreases. The text concludes with a chapter on nuclear chemistry and appendices on numbers, nomenclature, constants, etc. The qnestions at the end of each chapter (answers given for odd-numbered questions) start with simple study-guide exercises and progress to difficult, thoughtprovoking problems. In spite of the lack of coherence in the descriptive chemistry sections (a defect common to nearly all general chemistry texts, in this reviewer's opinion), the overall quality of this text recommends its serious consideration by anyone teaching general chemistry on an intermediate level.
In their preface, the authors note that their text is designed for a one quarter or one semester terminal course in college chemistry, with an emphasis on the historical and philosophical aspects of the growth of chemistry into a modern science. They have attempted to solve the monumental problem of what subject matter to include by devoting the first half of their book to cumulative physical snd chemical principles which led to the Bohr theory of the atom. The chapter on the Shriidinger equatron represents the transition to the last half of the book which contains chapters on principles of chemical bonding, molecular shapes, some principles of chemical reactivity, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and nuclear energy. How well have the authors met their stated goals? The love1 of presentation is appropriate for non-science majors. Although there are relatively few quantitative problems, the authors include some
Volume 46, Number 7 7 , November 1969
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