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Introduction to Molecular Thermodynamics by Robert M. Hanson and Susan Green University Science Books: Sausalito, CA, 2008. 296 pp, ISBN: 978-1891389498 (paper). $42.50 reviewed by Hal Harris
This textbook was written for the second semester of an introductory chemistry sequence at an institution like St. Olaf College, where the authors teach. I wish we could accommodate material of this kind in our course, but like most general chemistry offerings, there just isn’t room for this much thermodynamics material, no matter how good it might be. I requested a copy in the hope that it might be adopted for the first half of our physical chemistry sequence, but it really is neither as broad nor as deep as would be appropriate for that purpose. On the other hand, an exposure to the concepts that Hanson and Green teach so effectively here would certainly lubricate the introduction to physical chemistry. Chemistry students need to develop a molecular imagination; this text furthers that goal, in an engaging and attractive way. The authors begin with a chapter on probability theory, elementary statistics, and equilibrium that is applied immediately to the distribution of energy among molecular levels in Chapter 2. Before one can develop the statistical distribution of energy into quantum levels, it is necessary to provide a rationale for the quantization of energy, and the understanding of these topics generally requires their development through quantum mechanics. Hanson and Green finesse this difficulty by simply explaining that molecular energy comes in shades of translation, and quantized rotation, vibration, and electronic energies. The authors provide explanations and abundant diagrams that are sufficient, I think, to allow students to grasp the essential idea without seeing where it all comes from. All of this lays the groundwork for the topic that usually appears first in thermodynamics textbooks: internal energy and the First
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
Law. Chapter 5 uses Hess’s Law and bond energies to show the practical implications of internal energy. Some of the ideas of the first two chapters are reiterated in Chapter 6 in which the temperature dependence of equilibrium is developed. Because excellent groundwork was laid earlier, this chapter is only 11 pages in length. The statistical interpretation of entropy is used in Chapter 7 to develop the Second Law. In Chapter 8, the effect of concentration and pressure on entropy is described. Enthalpy and Gibbs Energy finally show up in Chapters 9 and 10, respectively. This leads to a fuller discussion of equilibrium constants in Chapter 11. Gibbs energy is applied to phase changes in Chapter 12 and to electrochemistry in Chapter 13. Virtually every chapter is accompanied by a couple dozen good and witty problems (some of which have answers in an Appendix). I hear the voice of a guiding mentor in this book. The authors frequently use personal pronouns: “One thing you might consider a bit odd…”, “We’ve seen in this chapter how energy is conserved”, and raise questions that logically might occur in the mind of a student, such as “Your body is an incredibly complex mixture of chemicals. Is there a special life force that governs the chemistry of your body, or is it like all nonliving things, governed by the force of nature?” Throughout, Introduction to Molecular Thermodynamics is a friendly and appealing book. There are not many textbooks that are a pleasure to read, and this is one of them. I would encourage its consideration for course adoption, even if you have to make up a new course. Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Oct/abs1349.html Abstract and keywords Full text (HTML and PDF)
Hal Harris is a member of the Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121;
[email protected].
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
1349
