Each frame, or step, is tiny, but the longest journey begins with a single step. Here the steps are not only consecutive so that there is no trouble following, but the repetition and practice appear at such intervals that one gets the impression the program was woven, and the ideas emerge as a single fabric. The very facts which make a program successful will also make it appear at first glance as something "too simple!' The clarity and exact statement and brevity of each frame also make that frame very easy indeed to criticize, hut the ease of criticism results from its being immediately clear and understandsble. A Teachers Manual of 44 pages is meant to be used as the students go through the text. The Manual begins with a dirrcussion of program design and how to use the program. Data is then given on the test performance of 12 students who worked through the finished program, to provide a guide as to what the teacher can reasonably expeot in the way of student performance. This is followed by 10 lesson plans, with suggested reading assignments in standard texts for the students, topics to discuss and how to discuss them far the teacher, and suggested experiments in detail to illustrate various ideas in the program. Drill material, reference data, and suggested tests are included. As the art of programing develops, better programs will be written, hut none more skilfully. This program is of the linear type, and has all the faults and strengths that go with linear programing. JESSE H. DAY Ohio Univemitg Athens
In pursuing this theme Dr. Booth may have gone alittle too far, as he writes: "Another primary objective has been that of clarity, many of the concepts of physical science . . . [are] presented at the This level of the non-science major." attempt appears to have led to an approach too unsophisticated for the college student who has already had one or two courses in physical science. The chapters given to chemistry emphsr siee the principles and theories and minimize "descriptive chemistry!' The chapter titled The Chemiatry of Carbon with its outline of organic chemistry could be called descriptive, and one wonders how much of it would be normally retained. Although he makes a point of using the atomic weight scale based on carbon-12 "in a text book for the first time," the author unfortunately did not use this scale in his Periodic Table. At one place he uses the upper left corner for the mass number accompanying symbols of elements but reverts to the upper right when discussing isotopes. In spite of such minor inconsistencies as have been cited, this book is one of the better texts in this field for the aboveaverage student. EDWARD M. COLLINS Denison University G~anville.Ohio
Infrared Spedm of Inorganic and Coordination Compounds
Kamo Nakamoto, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. John Wiley and 328 Sons, Inc., New York, 1963. xii pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm.
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$9.50
Physical Science: A Study of Matter and Energy
Verne H . Booth, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York. The Macmillan Co. (a. division of the CrowellCollier Publishing Co.), .New York, 1962. xv 713 pp. Figs. and tables. 19 X 23.5 cm. $7.95.
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Since the introduction of survey courses in physical science, there have been almost as many different approaches and emphaserr as there have been courses offered. Dr. Booth begins, as many others do, with astronomy. He follows with physics, chemistry and geology in that order. To each of these respeotive fields he devotes approximately 15,35,35, and 15% of the text. In his preface he states his main purpose: to achieve continuity and "the highest degree of integration.'' In this undertaking whioh amounts to paying out "the continuous thread that holds the course together, gossamer though it may often be," he has been largely successful. Concerning the problem of integrating fundamental geological processes he admits frankly that "there is no good way to do it." "Matter and Energy," as embodied in the title, become the integrating theme.
The author appears to have made a comprehensive review of the literature of the infrared investigations of inorganic and coordination compounds. Over 1000 references a n cited. The book consists of three parts and five appendices, and containa 73 tables and 74 figures and illustrations. The filgt part presents a minimum amount of the theory of vibrations and normal coordinate tnatment. Symmetry elements and point groups, selection rules and an introduction to group theory are discussed. The second part covers the infrared spectra of.inorganic compounds from XY to XY8 molecules. The classification in this section is based on the symmetry and point groups of the molecules. Tables and several typical spectra complement the written discussion. The third part compiles the infrared data of coordination compounds. The classification in this section is based on the kind of ligands involved in the complex. Again many tables and spectra are presented. The five appendices consist of Point Groups and Their Character Tables, The G and F Matrix Elements of Typical Molecules, A Normal Coordinate Treatment of Metal Acetylacetonates, A Conversion Table for Wave Number and Wave Length, and Group Frequency Charts.
All appear very useful, although the appendix on normal coordinate treatment of a complex molecule such as a metal acetylacetonate might be too advanced for beginners. A treatment involving simpler molecules might in- be of more aeneral . terest. The book is very well organized, and is a distinct improvement over previous hooks on this subject. It will be of interest to spectroscopists and inorganic chemists, and will be very vdua,hle as a reference or for supplemental reading in graduate sad advanced undergraduate courses. JOHNR. FERRARO Arqonne N a t i m l Laboratory A~gonne,Illinois
Physical and Chemical Methods of Separation
Eugene W .Berg, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Ine., New York, 1963. Figs. and 366 pp. 16 X 23.5 em. tables. xiv $12.50.
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The author has accomplished his goal of assembling material suitable "for a course in separation techniques to be taught a t the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level in chemistry.'' The breadth of the coverage is indicated by the chapter headings: Introduction; Fraetional Distillation and Sublimation; Liquid-Liquid Extraction; Adsorption Chromatography; Gas Chromatography; Paper Chromatography; Electroehromatography (Zone Electrophoresis); The Ring-Oven Technique; Zone Melting; Ion Exchange; Ion Exclusion; Dialysis; Electrodialysis and Ion-Exchange Membranes; Precipitation; Coprecipitation, Adsorption and Postprecipiti~tion;Flotation; Biological Methods; Elimination of Undesired Reactions Through Use of Sequestering (Maskihg) Agents. The author briefly attempts to justify the order in which he treats the subjects, largely on an operational basis. Those who might disagree will find that each chapter can stand quite well by itself. I t did come as a surprise to find adsorption heing defined and properties of surfaces heing discussed in detail for the first time under flotation when an understanding of these topics was nquired for earlier chapters (4 and 15). An expert within a particular discipline will undoubtedly feel unhappy to find his specialty limited to an average of 20 pages. For example, the important contribution of Rieman and coworkers with respect to calculation of the minimum number of plates required far a given ion-exchange separation is not included. The pressure for brevity has also led the author to omit necessary qualifications of his statements. For example, on p. 69 he indicates that a solute in a Craigtype counter-current extraction follows the normal curve of error when the number of tubes is greater than 25. Such a statement is, of course, dangerously misleading if the distribution coefficient is not close to unity. Likewise, the term Rt is defined
Volume 40, Number 9, September 1963
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