Principles of Chemistry
Donald C . Gregg, University of Vermont, Burlington. 2nd ed. Allyn and Bacon 716 62 Inc., Boston, 1963. xv pp. Figs. and tahles. 17 X 23.5 cm. $8.50.
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The second edition of this texthoak is printed in large, easy-to-read type that necessitates more pages for essentially the same number of words. Each chapter, each paragraph, and each sentence appears to have been carefully considered in the revision. Several changes have been made in the order of topics. The two ahapters devoted to the gaseous state in the first edition have been combined into a single chapter which now comes much later in the book. Consideration of atomic structure now begins in the fourth chspter rather than the ninth. Organic chemistry is still the topic of the final chapter, hut nuclear chemistry has been moved to the chapter next to the last. I n the treatment of the gaseous state, the measurement of pressure is a n example of the kind of topic that has been condensed to make room for topics not formerly considered. The new topics include the equation of state for the ideal gas, the vsn der W a d s equation, the Roltzmann principle, entropy, and the plasma state. New topics have also been introduced into the discussion of atomic structure and chemical hondinc. These include
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bonds, and stereoisomerism in complex lons. The discussions of geometric isamerism and of optical isomerism in organic chemistry are retained from the first edition. The equilibrium constant expression is no longer derived by equating rate expressions far the forward and reverse reactions. The treatment of chemical eauilihrium is now more thermodvmmic. with the discussion involving &thalpy: entropy, and Gihhsfreeenergy. The only chapters devoted specifically to descriptive chemistry in the first edition were a chapter on oxygen and another on hydrogen. I n the new edition there are six chapters of descriptive chemistry entitled Hydrogen, The Oxygen Family, The Halogens, The Nitrogen Family, The Representative Metals, and the Transition Metals. Gregg retains his practice of using such operational symbols for the elements as 6 so t h a t the electronic formula for hydrogen chloride is writt,en H-6 instead of H I : or H I : He represents the hydrated proton as OH1+ and calls i t the ~xoniumion. He discusses the "unlocalizstion of electrons" hut has diaearded the word "resonance." I n his treatment of pH he hits disaontinued d l mention of pOH. The author has again written a. scholarly text and has frequently employed an a p t manner of expression, as when he writes: "The atomic weights of the elements are numbers on a scale." I t is difficult to understand why he retains the gram-atom,
which he uses "to represent the amount of matter in one male of atoms." The book is well printed, well bound, well indexed, and well written. The list of suggested readings has been shortened and no longer includes specific journal articles classified according to subject. The 25 photographs of the first ed~tionare missing, but the text is fully illustrated with diagrams. Eseh chapter is again accompanied hy good questions and problems, wlth answers to problems in the hack of the hook. The first edition of this text was published in 1958 and was reviewed in THIS JouRNAL (37. 107 [10601). Meanwhile, the author has written another text entitled "College Chemistry" which was published in 1961 and reviewed in THIS J O U R N A L (39, A834 [IOfiZ]). Althnugh the seoond edition of "Principles of Cheniistry" is organized much like "College Chemistry,'' the level a t which the new hook is writtenis the highest of the three. IAwRENCE P. EBLIN Ohio University Athens
Fundamentals of General Chemistry
H. Sorum, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Ehglewocld Cliffs, New Jersey, 1963. 707 pp. Figs. and tables. 17.5 X 24 cm. $8.50. f!.
Readers who are acquainted with the first edition of this freshman textbook (reviewed hy Jecob Kleinberg, THISJOURNAL, 33, 304 [19561) will find that the second edition exhibits the careful, logical introduction and development of concepts and the same clear, concise, and readable style which characterized the first. In the new edition, increased emphasis has been given to atomic structure, chemical bonding and molecular geometry, and t,,~ redox phenmnena. Numerous changes in the order of presentation of topics have also heen made. The first ten chapters are devoted t, laying the foundations for, and presenting, the current ideas of atomic structure and chemical bonding. New chapters on Ionization Potential and Chemical Bonding appear in this part. A brief discussion of hybrid orbitals is included. Following chapters on hydrogen and water, comes a section concerned primarily wit,h equilibrium, solutions, and acid-base theory. Redox potentials are discussed next, the Nernst equation heing introduced and used. New chapters on Balancing Redox Eyuations and Chemical Equivalence appear here. Throughout, eramples of various types of quantitative calculations are worked out in detail, step by step. The last third of the hook is devoted to descriptive chemistry, the elements heing discussed by families, representative elements first, transition elements and the inert gases last. Liberal use is made of oxidation potential data and of tables presenting comparative properties of the elements. A chapter on Complex Ions,
dealing with instability constants, s t r u e ture, and magnetic properties comes early in the discussion of the metals. A feature of the book which adds greatly to its usefulness is the extensive set of exercises given a t the ends of the chapters. These are divided into Questions, Basic Problems, and Advanced Problems, and would appear to challenge students of a. wide range in capability. Despite the care and thoughtfulness evidenced in the organization and writing of this hook, it is inevitable that there should he some items t o which exception may be taken: The orbital diagram for ethylene, Fig. 9.8, is unclear and indicates a nanplanar structure for this molecule. On p. 311, as an alternative explanstion for the behavior of HC1 in water, occurs the statement, "It may also he argued that since. . . the water molecule is tetrahedral, the 0-H hond between H.0 and HC1 is an spa hybrid hond. Since hybridization results in increased bond strength, the 0-H hond will he stronger than the nonhyhridized H-CI bond, so the latter will break." One may quarrel, too, with the statements that "midation always inuolues loss of electrons while reduction always involws gain of electrons" (p. 367). I n the reviewer's opinion, this book would he admirably suited for use in a substantial introductory college course designed for students who have had some bigh school chemistry. Able students without such background could use i t pnf~tably, too, hut might require some supplementing of the first chapter on basic concepts. I n any case, the hook is designed to teach as well as to generate interest. ERNESTGRISWOLD University of Kansas Lawrence
Radiation Effects o n Organic Materials Edited hy Robert 0 . Roll and James G . ranoll, California. Research Gorp., Richmond. Academic Press, Inc., New 576 pp. Figs. York, 1063. xv and tahles. 16.5 X 24 em. $13.50.
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The hook is not what its title indicates, namely a. treatise on the effect of nuclear radiation on organic matter, hut a very thorough and up-to-date treatment of the radiation damage sustained by such organic materials as are commonly used in the construction and operation of nuclear reactors. Because of its high degree of specidilization and the restriction to special groups of organic materials, it will not appeal to the student or general scientist as a source of information on a very important subject, hut constitutes a most villuahle source of information for the specialist,, the nuclear scientist or engineer. The two introductory chapters on Interaction of Radiation with Matter and on Mechanisms of Chemical Effects of Ionizing Radiation written by Amos S. Newton are well written, very concise, and instructive; so is the third introductory chapter on Radiation Chemistry of Pure Compounds, written by the editors. The
Volume 40, Number 12, December 1963
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lution, by L. L. Schaleger and F. A. Long, is disappointing mainly because it is too short. Though i t touches on a number of important points, i t frequently offers but a few sentences of general comment and then directs the reader to another article or hook. A Quantitative Treatment of Directive Effects in Aromatic Substitution, by L. M. Stock and H. C. Brown, is 120 pages long. Brown's extension of the Hammett p a relationship to electrophilic aromatic substitution and certain side chain reactions is presented, but nucleophilic and radical substitutions are ignored. A wealth of data. is neatly set forth in tables, but the discussion is tedious and tends to overstate the achievements of Brown and his coworkers. A. I. Shatenshtein's Hydrogen Isotope Exchange Reactions of Organic Compounds in Liquid Ammonia. is valuable because it summarizes a series of researches ~ublished mainly in Russia. Perhaps because of s. too literal translation, the chapter does not read easily. I t seems wordy. Planar and Non-Plenzr Aromatic Systems, by G. Ferguson and J. M. Robertson, is a beautifully organized presentation first of methods for detecting deviations from coplanarity, and then of information about s. host of specific systems or compounds. The Identification of Organic Free Radicals by Electron Spin Resonance, hy M. C. R. Symous, is a careful and thorough review of this timely subject. The Structure of Electronically Excited Organic Molenlles, by J. C. D. Brand and D. G. Williamson, is mainly JOSEPH W E ~ S concerned with the dozen or so stable arFRANCIS library qf Congress ganie molecules whose spectra. have been Washingtm, D. C. analyzed sufficiently to characterize a t least one electronicdly excited state. The chapter is written in the language of the spectroscopist, to which a good introduction is provided. Every college library should have this Advancer in Physical Organic Chemhook. Purrhase is also recommended to istry. Volume 1 individual chemists interested in the field. Edited by V . Gold, University of LnnI t is hoped that future volumes will msindon, England. Academic Press, Int:., tain s. standard such that the latter stato443 pp. Figs. New York, 1963. xv ment can be conscientiously repeated. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $13. JOSEPH F. BUNNETT This is the first volume of a new series Rmwn Unir~ersit!/ which aspires to become a recognized meProoidmee. Rhode Island dium for the publication of authoritative reviews in physical organic chemistry. This field includes two general areas: studies of reactivity and reaction mechaQuantitative Organic Analysis via nisms, and studies of physicill properties Functional Groups and molecular structure. Although two important hooks called "Physical Organio Sidney Siggia, Olin Mathieson Chemical Chemistry" are concerned mainly with the Corporation, New Haven, Connecticut. former area, Dr. Gold stresses t h a t his 3rd ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., series is intended to cover the whole 697 pp. Figs. New York, 1963. xii field. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $19. The first three of six chapters of the The third edition of this book has been present volume concern reactivity and lengthened to 697 pages and, therefore, mechanisms, and the last three deal should be reviewed as a new book and not with physical properties and structure. merely as a revision of the second edition. Though this reviewer's research is mainly 558 [1954]). (THISJOURNALS~, in the former area, he must acknowledge Dr. Siggia has a reputation for doing a that physical properties and structure have thorough job and this volume is no exwon the field insofar as this book is conceotion. Each chmter contains a brief cerned. historical summary, a discussion of each The fimt chapter, Entropies of Activachemical reaction used for the group, the tion and Mechanisms of Reactions in So-
following chspt,ers, all written by eminent experts in their respective field, deal with polymers, plastics, elastomers, coolants, lubricants, adhesives, coatings, dielectric fluids, fuels and shielding materials, coal, woad, and explosives. While all the discussions in the abovementioned chapters deal with damaging or deteriorating effects of radiation, the large field of radiation chemistry and radiation-induced beneficial transformation of matter is presented in the last chapter of the book on 10 pages. This is, of course, inadequate t o oover the subject matter. I n spite of this high degree of specialization and compartmentalization which makes frequent repetitions unavoidable, the book fulfils two very useful and necessary functions. In the first place it makes comparisons between the data easier by adopting throughout the book a uniform terminology and expressing the most important radiation unit, namely that of absorbed dose, in mdds as defined by the International Commission on Radiological Units as 100 ergs per gram of material. And secondly it makes much material accessible otherwise not available through the oonventiond scientific and technical publications up to 1962. For these reasons the book will serve as a comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date reference handbook for all those who need in their work such a well-ordered compilation of data. And the non-specialists who may peruse the volume will get an ides of the great intricacies involved in selecting and protecting materids that are exposed to all kinds of nuclear radiation.
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Journal of Chemicol Education
working procedures presented in full detail, and suitable trace methods for low concentrations. It is pointed out properly that most methods given can be conducted on a mieroseale if desired. This volume will receive some criticism because reaction mechanisms and the like me minimized. However, the author indicates in both the preface and the introduction that this is a working hook and not a theoretical book. On the other hand, this volume has much to make its use a necessity in a laboratory doing organic analysis. All of the methods included have been tested in the author's laboratory and as a result minor variations from the literature are to be found. Any competent technician should be able to do the determinations. The chapter on the use of reaction rates to analyze mixtures is a good practical treatment with understandable examples and should became a, part of every undergraduate course in analytical chemistry. The chapter an Techniques and Reasoning is a lucid account of the steps in prohlemsolving. In a hook of this size minor errors are almost impossible to eliminate, so an occasional "burette" and "NaBsO2" for NaS& were not unexpected. The author states that he has selected the methods for utility in hrs l~boboratoryso some chemists will be surprised to find their contributions overlooked. The printing and binding are excellent. Most academic and industrial libraries will require this volume, hut the price will make it borderline for individuals.
K. G. STONE Michigan State Unzuemzl!~ East Lansing
The Structures and Reactions of Organic Compounds: An Introduction
M. F . Gundon and H. B. Hmhcst, both of Queen's University, Relfast, Ireland. Prentiee-Hall, Englewood 208 Cliffs, New Jersey, 1962. viii pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 X 23.5 em. 56.
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The authors have attempted to present in two hundred pages "the basic ingredients of a modern course in organic chemistry." The problems of choice of topics and how extensively to cover these topics have been handled in a reasonable way in this text. Much more treatment of mechanisms is included than is usual in a book of this type. All too often, however, brevity has been achieved by compression instead of by omission, with the result that some sections would be harder for the student to read than would be come-
,or cross reference, 'iechnied terms (such as ester and amine) which they have not yet defined. The literary style sometimes causes further difficulty, as on page 57: "The name aldehyde is derived from the words 'alcohol dehydrogenation,' as acetaldehyde, the first aldehyde to be die(Contintud on page A974)
