Introduction to Modern Inorganic Chemlstry, Fourth Edltlon K. M. Mackayand R. A. Mackay. PrenticeHall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1989. xili 402 pp. Frgs. and taoles. 22.1 X 28.5 cm.
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It is a delight to comment on atext, which over the years has for this reviewer become a true favorite both as text and reference. The appeal clearly lies in its lucid writing enhanced by the many helpful illustrations. The authors put forth a two-fold strategy; to provides hroad base through a study of the periodic table and to treat selected topics in depth. The text devotes the fust 120 pages to general topiea such as atomic and electronic structure, the solid state, solutions, and experimental methods, and then surveys the periodic table from left to right. In this approach the s elements are followed by the transition elements alone with lieand field " theory and other general prupertier, which are then followed by t h e p elements. Select ed topics are interwoven: warm superconductors, metal-xygen species, postactanide superheavy elements, and relativistic effects for the transition metals; for the main groups: polyaelenium rings and chains, nets and linked rings, commentary an VSEPR, electron density determinations. However, the strength of the text still lies in its liheral use of good graphs and the resulting wealth of information. Thus, each family is introduced with plots on radii, ionization potential, and oxidation potential in addition to oxidation state free energy diagrams which are true gold mines of information. Some illustrations are quite unusual and heloful. such as the lattice enerw . olots and the rllustratmnof bond types witheovalent, metallic, and ronir each at the puintsof a triangle with examples throughout The authors' emphasis on reaction chemistry is obvious.
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Other illustrations are routine such as beryllium acetate and the electronic spectra of Ti(III), which are found in virtually every text. On the other hand, the authors have chosen to illustrate the energy level diagram for a linear field-something not usually found in other texts. There are several production problems with this British publication. Its S3/4 X l l l l p in. size is still unwieldy--although the twocolumn layout helps, the photographs on page 82 are much too dark to be of any use, and occasionally letters, words or entire Linen are bold-printed for no apparent reason. As a potential teaching tent the work lacks sufficient study problems with the longest chapter having no prohlems a t all and the others generally only from three to six. Nevertheless, this is a text worth the investment. Erwin Boschmann Indiana Unlverslty-Purdue University at lndlanapolis Indlana~olis.IN 46202
Physlcal Chemlstry, Second Edltlon Joseph H Noggle. Scott, Foresman: Glen1093 pp. Figs. and view, IL, 1989. xxli tables. 19.2 X 24.2 cm. $33.00.
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The second edition of Noggle's useful book is similar to other leading textbooks of physical chemistry in containing more material (-1000 pp) than can be covered in a one-year course for undergraduates. Classical subjects (thermodynamics, etc.) are fallowed hv nonclassical subiects (auantum . theory, spemoscopy, ew.). Differences between Noggle's book and others include the followine. (1) This book has more discussion and problems involving nonideal gases than is common. (2) Al-
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though this hook contains no chapter that is exclusivelydevoted to polymers, it does contain more discussions and problems involving polymers than is common. (3) There is no chapter devoted to colloids, surfaces, and interfaces, nor are colloids or interfaces mentioned in the index. Most students in physical chemistry will not become physical chemists; they will become chemical engineers, anal>.tical or organic chcmists, soil scientists, etc. Those whoagree with me that weshould teach the / m t course in physical chemistry primarily (nor ercluaivelyJ for nonphysical chemists will orohahlv find that N u d e ' s book orovide; a hette; balance and general approach than do most other texts. I am unable to cite any really serious scientific or pedagogical deficiencies in NoggIds text, but I do call attention to a few minor problems. Noggle is a hit old-fashioned (not inearrect or even unclear) in referring to "heat" and "free energyX'insteadof "enthalpy3'and "Gibbs energy". Like many other authors, Noggle is arhitrary (st least he admits it) and less than clear in his discussion of electrochemical signs. I t is my opinion that this problem arises because Noggle and other authors fail to distinguish between electrical signs (appropriate to experiments) and algebraic signs (used in calculations). Many authors, including Noggle, ineorrectly assign units to equilihrium constants. Actually, thermodynamic equilibrium constants that involve activities (activity is a ratio of fugacity to a standard state fugacity) are dimensionless. Some students spot the difficulty in usine AG' = -RTlnK when K is suppoaed to hive units. The proper procedure is to specify (with words or symbols) the standard state, rather than to assign units to K. There are a few other places in which Noggle is either unclear or incorrect in use or nonuse of units. (Continued on page A54)
In This Issue Reviewer
K. M. Mackay and R. A. Mackay, Introduction t o Modern Inorganic Chemlstry, Fourth Edition Joseph H. Noggle, Physical Chemistry, Second Edition Roald Hoffman, The World of Chemistry United States Environmental Frotection Agency Office of Drinking Water Health Advlsorles, Drinking Water Health Advisory: Pesticides Malcolm Dole, My Life in t h e Golden Age of America Charles Taylor, The Art and Science of Lecture Demonstrations Titles of Interest Continulng Series Monographs
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Journal of Chemical Education
Erwin Boschmann
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Loren G. Helper George B. Kauffman Malcolm M. Renfrew
A52 A54
Malcolm M. Renfrew Kauffman
George B.
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A55 A55 A58 A59 A59
Noggle's text includes many worked-out example problems and sensible prohlems a t the end of each chapter, with answers a t the end of the book. I consider that Noggle's second edition is one of the best texts for undergraduate physical chemistry. I also suggest that this hook may he especially appropriate for courses in physical chemistry in which the majority of students will not become professional physical chemists. This last statement is not intended to imolv . that this book rs too "weak" to provide n good hackground for the small fraction of impurtant studems who will b ~ c o m ephyareal rhrmiutu.
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Loren G. Hepler University of Albena Edmomon. AB. Canada T6G 262
The World of Chemistry RoaldHoffmann. The AnnenberglCPB Project, diss:bmed by ntellimatlon, PO. Box 1922. Sanla Barbara, CA 931 16-1922. For preview and ordering information call tollfree 1-800-LEARNER. COMPONENTS: 13 l-h VHS videocassettes 126 28-min. Drograms; 2 programs per cassenel available now. Textbook. s t ~ d ygusoe, IaDoratori manual, and teacher s guioe will be p ~ b llshed by Saunoers College Publishing n the autumn of 1990. The programs will premiere a s a series on PBS and cable channels In September 1990. Summary Rating: catwory E-
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Sublsct Maner Coment Pedagogic Value Student Reaction:
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Ex~ellem Excellem
A rampant epidemic of chemophohia-an irrational fear of chemistry and chemical*, aided and abetted by "scare of the week" stories in the media, is currently sweeping the country, resulting in higher costs, reduced productivity, more burdensome regulations and laws, less research, and fewer new chemical oroduets. Althoueh the orobIem la a complex one, not anlcnable to any one solution, educating the general puhlrc a b u t the goals, motivations, and methods of chemists; the concept of risk versus henefit assessment; and the multifaceted contributions of chemistry to our swiety should go a long way toward ameliorating the situation. This important new television-based course deals with these ideas in a masterful t'ashion and should help LO combat rhemophohia among its viewers-nonscienre mnjorr at two-year and fuur-year colleges, who, as voters and citizens in a democracy, will be called upon to participate in deciding upon s variety of scientific and technalo~iealissues.
A54
Journal of Chemical Education
The course may he taken for credit from participatingdleges or from the University of Wisconsin Extension Service but will reach a n even wider general audience among the public a t large. I t should provide both distant learners and campus-hased students with a comprehensive educational package and should furnish chemistry professors with a sound and flenihle system of quality instructional resources that may be used in toto oras asupplement to traditional college courses. Co-directed by Isidore Adler of the University of Maryland a t College Park and Nava Ben-Zvi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Open University of Israel, aided by a 14-person hoard of advisors, the series was produced by the Educational Film Center, Annandale, Virginia with television producer Richard Thomas as executive producer. Major funding was provided by the AnnenhergICPB Project, with additional funding from the Dow Chemical Company, Eastman Kodak, the ExxonEdueatianal Foundation, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Johnson Wax, PPG Industries Foundation, t h e Council for Chemical Research, Monsanto Company, and the American Chemical Society. T h e series host, Roald Hoffmann of Woodward-Hoffmsnn rules fame, John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science a t Cornell University and a published poet (The Metamict State, 1987, and Gaps and Verges, scheduled for 1990 publication), shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kyoto University physics professor Kenichi Fukui and recently received the American Chemical Societv's hiehest honor. the Priestley Medal, for 1 6 0 . Afervent ex: ponent of communicating a n appreciation of the beauty and importance of chemistry t o the public, he spends half his time teaching general chemistry and thus is an ideal host for the series. The series demonstrator, Donald Showalter, Professor of Chemistry a t the University of Wisconsin a t Stevens Point, appears in all the programs except for two (Nos. 1and 23), and he performs familiar perennial favorites as well as unusual, unfamiliar demonstrations. Fifty distinguished scientists from industry, government, and academe share their views on topics dealt with in the course. Three Nobel laureates-Christian B. Afinsen (optical acitivity), Linus C. Pauling (structure of proteins), and Glenn T. Seaborg (the actinide hypothesis)-are included among the guests on the series. The programs provide a unified view of chemistry, featuring principles, facts, and theories which are revealed through practical applications, computer graphic illustrations, and experimental demonstrations. Most of the programs begin with a series of questions whieh are answered in depth in the course of the program. Except for the first and last programs, whieh consist largely of statements by guest scientists, the presentation is eminently visual and filled with lots of action and moving images. The historical foundations of chemistry are strongly emphasized; William Henry Perkin's serendipitous discovery of mauve, the first of the svnthetic aniline dves. . . and Sir Erneat ~uthe;ford'salpha-particle rmtwring experiment arc recreated as demonstrarrons or computer graphic aimulntrona; classic serendipitous discoveries such as Friedrich Wbhler's synthesis of artificial urea and Louis Pasteur's resolution of sodi-
um ammonium tartrate are discussed, and a 5000-year-old tablet dealing with a dispute on weights and measures is shown. Except for programs 1, 2, 24, 25, and 26, a review summarizing the main points is included near the end of each program. Although the programs are most effective when seen in the prescribed sequence (Hoffmann links programs 3,5,6,8,9,13, and 25 to the next or preceding programs by his remarks), each may also be viewed independently. The part i c i ~ a n toroiect s their enthusiasm for chemIstry, but they freely admlt its lrmrtat~ons and past mrstakes, esperlally m dealmg w ~ t h the en\,irunmental ettects uf rhem~calprod. uets. The titles and brief contents of the programs give some idea of the wide scope of the series-(1) "The World of Chemistry" (an introduction to chemistry and the series); (2) "Color" (the role of colors and dyes and how color helps chemists study the molecular world); (3) "Measurement: T h e Foundation of Chemistry" (why accurate and precise measurements are crucial); (4) "Modeling the Unseen" (how scientists explain behavior a t the suhmicroscopic level); (5) "A Matter of State" (properties of solids, liquids, and gases); (6) "The Atom" (from ancient to modem views); (7) "The Periodic Table" ("the most important piece of equipment that you're likely t o encounter in a chemical laboratory"); (8) "Chemical Bonds" (the nature of the interatomic glue holding o w world together); (9) "Molecular Architecture" (how molecules are formed from atoms and how their shapes affect their properties); (10) ''Signals from Within" (how chemists use the interaction of energy with matter t o determine the nature and behavior of substances); (11) "The Mole" (chemical change from a quantitative point of view); (12) "Water" ("the strangest chemical of all"); (13) "The Driving Forces" (why chemical reactions occur and the factors governing their mtes); (14) "Molecules in Action" (chemical reactions and the role of catalysts); (15) "The Busy Electron" (redox reactions in electrochemical cells, hatteries, electrolysis, and corrosion); (16) "The Proton in Chemistry" (acids, bases, and pH in the laboratory and natural systems); (17) "The Precious Envelope" (the chemistry of the earth', atmosphere and how human activities affect its future); (18) "The Chcmiatrv of the Earth" (distribution of mineral r e s o k e s ) ; (19) "Metals" (their special properties and how they are manipulated); (20) "On the Surface" (how surfaces differ from the bulk of substances); (21) "Carbon" (organic chemistry and synthesis of organic substances); (22) "The Age of Polymers" (how industrial chemists convert oil and natural gas into thousands of synthetic materials); (23) "Proteins: Structure and Function" (biopolymers of amino acids and their role in the processes of life); (24) "The Genetic Code" (how the body manufactures life-sustaining proteins and how they are passed through generations); (25) "Chemistry and the Environment" (the challenges t h a t chemicals and chemical waste present to chemists and society; risks, benefits, problems, and solutions); and (26) "Futures" (academic and industrial scientists discuss future trends). The only errors that I found in the series are admittedly minor; the periodic table was discovered 120 years ago not 100 years ago (program 7); although Charles Martin Hall's
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