ity test on all four liquids. The average time that it took the students to do this was one hour. I was surprised to find out that the students reported no difficulty in running the nromam. I reallv exoected them to have o r o b n s w i t h thk su&rsaturation seement. u I do helieve that rheonly reason they did not have problems was due to the rlarifymg mformation that I supplied to them with the printed materials. No knowledge of computers seems to be necessary in order to run this program. Some of my students had never used a computer before, but appreciated this experience as their first exposure. With the helpof the orinted sheets that I suoolied to them. the students did not need arsistanee to run the pngram or to understand the d m e tiona. I dosuggest that the program be modified to have just one menu to access all four modules. As written, the students need to make three different selections in order to get to either the solubility of a known suhstance segment or the supersaturation segment. One menu and one key press should he sufficient to access any of the segments. The students were asked whether they found the program useful. Eight of the nine students answered affirmatively. One student appreciated the fact that it covered material similar to that which we were discussing in class. Another liked the fact that it was much ouicker to do the exoeriments by computer than hy traditronal lahoratory procedures. A t h ~ r dstudent enpyed finding t yan unknown substance Oththe ~ d e n t ~of ers commented that the program clearly showed them how to find the solubility of a substance and that it cleared up for them the distinction between solute and solvent. The student who didn't find the program useful stated that she did not learn anvthine new from the program, hut that sheenjoyed usmg it. Thestudents uere asked what thpy had learned from [he program. T u o students mentioned miscibility and another mentioned the generalization that solubility of a solid increases with increasing .tempera. ture. Favorable comments from the students included the following: "It helped me in the understanding of solubility." "The computer is much faster than the normal experiment." "I enjoyed the part where I had to figure out the identity of the unknown." "The supersaturation segment was interesting." Negative comments from the students included the following: "Trying to determine which mixtures were miscible in each other was difficult because the graphics were not clear." "The adding of the solute was slow and monotonous. I t took too long." Overall, I do not recommend this program for college level General Chemistry. I t may be more appropriate in a chemistry eourse for nonscience majors or in high school chemistry. The material covered in the program is too small a part and too simple a part of the overall general chemistry curriculum. I would cover the material in less than 15 minutes of a 45-hour course. Also the laboratory experiments are too easy for the student to complete in the actual lahoratory, and I believe that the laboratory experience would be more valuable than the computer simulation. As mentioned earlier, the
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supersaturation demonstration may be useful on the college level, hut the directions need to be written more clearly. J e a n n e M. Gizara Columbia Greene Communltf College Box 1000 Hudson, NY 12534
General ChemMry, Third Edltlon Kenneth W. Whinen. Kenneth D. Galley, and Raymond E. Davis. Saunders College PublisningCompany:New Vork. NY. 1988. xxxii 884 pp. Figs. and tables. 20.8 X 26
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This is a beautifully printed book. I t abounds with multicolored photographs, illustrations, and reoroductions. The mint is clear, generally spaced, and highly iegihle. The paper 13 pleasantly glossy. Taken togprher, these factors make for a wry read. able hook. One of the features of this book, as has been the case in previous editions, is the abundance of exercises to be found at the end of the chapter. The users will encounter little trouble in making homework assignments. The text does a thorough joh of solving an adequate number of sample problems. The authors have seriously atwmpted to present up-to-date materials. Thus, recent developments in such areas as supercanducting ceramic materials and tunneling microscopy have been included. In this vein, the list of elements includes those having atomic numbers 10P107, which have no stahle nuclides. The organization of the h w k is traditional. The usual introductory chapter is fallowed by several chapters on stoichiometry and then structure and bonding. The chapter entitled "Molecular Structure and Covalent Bonding Theories" devotes considerable coverage to the VSEPR theory and perhaps leaves the student with the feeling that it has unusual importance. Chapters 15-21, which cover 204 pages, introduce the student to physical chemistry. All basic physicochemical subjects are adequately covered. Each of these chapters solves a representative number of numerical problems and includes an extensive number of exercises. The last 10 chapters can be classified as "descriptive chemistry". The first of these deals with metallurgy and includes a very brief description of zone refining. Chapter 23 covers the nontransition metals. The halogens and the noble gases are covered in the same chapter. Because of this reviewer's interest in arsenic chemistry, he must object to the statement on page 726, viz., "All ar. ." Insenic compounds are poisonous deed, arsenic compounds are, relatively speaking, not very toxic and arsenocholine and arsenobetaine are really quite innocuous. I t serves little to perpetuate such myths. Transition metal chemistry is the subject of chapters 28 and 29 which cover 47 pages. The chapter on nuclear chemistry includes the important and honest statement, fusion ass practical energy source lies far in ~~
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the future at best." Some of us still remember the 19503s,when we were told that a lump of uranium, the size of a baseball, would furnish abundant, cheap and clean energy almost forever. The final two chapters are concerned with organic chemistry. The approach is quite conventional. The first of these chapters is devoted entirely to the hydrocarbons while the second is concerned with the chemistry of functional groups. The volume reflects the philosophy of most current general chemistry texts in that physical chemistry and numerical problem solving receive the greatest emphasis. Nevertheless, the text is highly recommended. The physical appearance and format are first class, the authors write well and the instructor is assisted by a wide choice of questions and problems for thestudent. The text will serve to provide a solid and up-todate foundation for more advanced chemical training. Raloh A. Zinoaro " Texas A 8 M University College Station. TX 77843 ~
Fundamentals ol Chemislry: General, Organic, a n d Biological Joseph D. Deleo. Scott. Foreman and Company: Glenview. IL. 1988. 793 pp. Figs. and tables. 20.5 X 26 cm. This text is a new entry into the very competitive market of chemistry for the allied health sciences. The standard course for these students includes elements of inarganic ("general"), organic, and biochemistry. The author does admirably well on the latter two areas but slips badly in the first area. Let us address first the good features of this book. The presentation makes frequent use of excellent examples from the areas of medicine, health, and biology to relate the concepts to the students' future careers. These vignettes add a great deal of interest to the textual material. The use of frequent illustrations, margin notes, chapter summaries, and lists of key terms and concepts should enhance the learning process. The concise treatments of organic and biochemistry occupy approximately 58% of the 793 papers and are organized along the standard formats of funetional groups and classes of compounds. The last three chapters on metabolism are especially well done. The quantitative sections include the usual treatments of stoichiometry, equilibria, kinetics, etc. The oxidation-reduction treatment is probably the weakest of these. The author is weak in the realm of descriptive inorganic chemistry. I t is probably desirable that the author was parsimonious as this reviewer has serious objections to some glaring errors. We find an page 119 Hg+ as the ionic species for mercury(I), but curiously Hg202 appears on p. 153. This axide is not well characterized and should he omitted. In the area of nitrogen chemistry,
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we find a new compound "dinitrogen trichloride" in an exercise on p. 129. Similarly, how many professional chemists can emrectly predict the decomposition products of Cu(C10h and AI(CIOJ)~?The wrong products (HNOB and Hz01 instead of the correct NI and Hz0 are given for the reaction between N2H1 and HZOZon P. 155. Although these may seem like "picky" criticisms, they would serve to start off the course on weak footing. Chemists who teach the course for which this text 1s intended are constantly lookmg for an improved text. This is another which shuuld he taken under advisement. Wayne C. Wolsey Macslester College St. Paul. MN 55105
Intermediate Organlc Chemistry John C. StoweM. Wlley: New York, NY. 1988. xv 268 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.7 X 23.6 cm. $34.95.
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Theexemplary andchallenging aim of lntarmediate Organic Chemistry is to bridge the gap between the completion of the firstyear sophomore organic chemistry and the world of the practicing organic chemist. Selection of material is identifi~das the key feature to accomplish this formidable task in 264 naees. ,. The resultine 10 chanters renresent varying levels of fulfilling the ohjertives within the confines. For some selections the choices are near optimum whereas for others, the treatment may he too fragmentary or the choices not adequately focused. Overall the book is a t its best when it addresses large focuses and its weakest when it goes into detail. The initial chanter is an excellent h t r o duction to the use of nomenclature in the current liwrature and there are good problems On theother hand, the following chapter on literature is far looser and economically useful choices are less obvious. Four of 15 pages are devoted to computer searching with sample printouts. However, the treatment does not serve for actual use, so that selection is current and visually appealing hut less than optimum. The stereochemistry chapter has a good range but lacks the inclusion of rigorous definitions, such as those described in Mislow, K.; Siegel, J. J. Am. Chern. Soc. 1984, 106, 3319. Nevertheless, the problems and many of the references are very good. The synthesis of Functional groups in 31 oaees is anontrivial task. and the author has EoGred much ground. +he treatment doer not have sufficient reliance on organization and tablesandlor charts. Equally importnnt emphasis on pervasive strategies is lacking. Similarly in Chapter 5 an earbon-carbon bond formation a greater reliance on charts would strengthen the overview and avoid the instances of thin coverage.
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Chapter six on planning multistep ryn. theser is the best in the hook and one of the heat trentment of this kind of material I have seen. Excellent choices are presented to illustrate the principles of disconnecting. In each case these are followed by actual experimental methods used (with yields) to bring together the theory and experiments. Chapter seven an mechanisms and predictions succeeds better in the broadbrush than it does a t details. For example, many methods have provided direct observation of intermediates and mechanisms need not he hypothetical. Similarly, thereare far better ways to establish reaction order than the integrated form of the rate equations. The discussion of representative mechanisms is a valuable overview of t h e important schemes with mod examnles. Chapter 8 on Electron I)elocaliation, Aromatic Character and Concerted Reactions does a far hetter job on concerted reactions t h s n m the introductory material. A deeper understandma of h a w molecular orbital theory would be preferred to the condensed review. Chapter 9 on the Physical Influences on Reactions is an interesting idea and couches things in a valuable framework for the student. Chapter 10 on NMR spectroscopy has some problems with choice of material. One could wish far Less simulated patterns although the two-dimensional plots are useful and clearly focused. There are ohvious errors relating coupling constants to field strength, the position of the magnetization after the pulse and the NOE effect. There is no author index; there are three references to material published after 1985 and in the synthesis chapters 28 of 218 references are for 1985. Not surprisingly given the limitations some interpretations or conclusions are presented without the balance of differing points of view. While some of these omissions mav bother narticular instructors (or workers not referred to) they do not seriously detract from the presentation. Shelton Bank State Unlverslty of New Yo* at Albany Albany. NY 12210
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instrumental Methods of Analysis, Seventh Edition Hobarr H. Willard, Lynne L. Merrln, Jr.. John A. Dean, and Frank A. Senle, Jr., Wadsworth: Belmont. CA. 1988. Figs. and tables. 19.3 X 24.7 cm. Compared with the sixth edition (reviewed 1984.61, A222), the seventh edition has five fewer chapters. Chapter 1,entitled "An Introduction to Instrumental Methods", is new. I t eonsista of six short sections which review the Analvtical Method.,~the role of inslrumentation, criteria for evaluating instrumental methods, and the primary literature sources for analytical methoddogy and instrumentation. I t is supplemented by Appendix A, in which the common techniques of analytical chemistry are contrasted with respect to principal applications, ~
qualitative and quantitative analysis capabilities, sample size, method limitations, and sample limitations. The addition of this chapter and its supplement are very appropriate; laboratory instructors who depend heavily on the lecture textbook to supplement laboratom texts will narticularlv, anpreciate this addition. Hy contrast, the experiments have been replaced with e rhmt hihli#rgraphy (Appendix R) oi sources. This modification is also appropriate, because the experiments possessed insufficient details to "stand alone" as a laboratory manual. Reduction in the number of chapters has been achieved by eliminating some topics and reducing others to the size of sections, which are then incorporated into an appropriate global category. "Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy" and "Refrsctometry and Interferometry; Polarimetry, Circular Dichroism, and Optical Rotatory Dispersion" have been eliminated. "Chemical Analysis of Surfaces", which covered ISS, SIMS, AES, and ESCA, appears as two sections of the chapter on X-Ray Methods (AES, ESCA) and a section of the chapter on Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). ISS, ion scattering spectroscopy, has been eliminated. Two sections of the chapter previously entitled "Potentiometric Titrations" have been retained. The section on classification of indicator electrodes now appears in Chapter ;ll,"lntrodurtion toElectroanalytiral Methodsot Analvsis".. while that im the location of the equivalence point now appears in Chapter 22, "Potentiometry" Electrogravimetry, coulometry, and conductance methods have been consolidated into one chapter entitled "Electroseparations, Coulometry, end Conductance Methods". Similarly, the two electronics chapters have been consolidated into a chapter entitled "Electronics: Fundamentals and Applications of Solid State Devices". As before, the chapters can be grouped into six broad categories as follows: General (Chapter 1and 2), Computers andElectronics (Chapters 3 and 4), Spectroscopic and Spectrometric Techniques (Chapters 5-13, 15-16), Chromatography (Chapters 17-20), Electroanalytical Methods (Chapters 21241, and Miscellaneous (Chapters 14, 2526). The order in which the material is presented is more logical than that used in the sixth edition, although a further improvement might have been to follow electronics with electroanalytieal methods. As one might expect, the greatest amount of new material has been added to the Spectrosconv and Snectrometrv cateeorv. New teeh&uer d;aeussed include photoacoustrr spectroscopy, thermal lens spertrmcopy, flow injertionanalprs, fluorescence lifetime measurements, room temperature phosphorescence, ICP atomic fluorescence, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, prompt gamma-ray analysis, two-dimensional FTNMR, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, plasma and laser desorption mass spectrometry, FT-MS, FT-ICR, tandem mass spectrometry and ICP-mass spectrometry. In addition, the sections on FTIR, Raman theory, physical processes in X-ray methods, and relaxation processes in NMR have all been significantly upgraded. In addition to Chapter 1, a section on chemometrics is new material in the General category.
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