the practice problems should be more comprehensive. I found that the program was not particularly useful t o me in high school chemistry because the concept taught is not particularly difficult, b u t t h e program might he useful in other areas of secondary or middle school science. Joseph M. Pavlovich Flint NorHnern High School 6 3 2 8 4 Mackin Road Flint, MI 48504 Revlew II This program provides a basic drill and tuturial prurram for learning huw 10 write chrmicsl f o r m ~ l a iThe . program randomly ~ I I O V S Cromvound ~~ irum a list uf 11 metals and 11 nonm&ls. The compounds formed are all ionic and none are included which have multiple valences. The program automatically keeps track of the number of errors committed on each formula and allows students t o get tutorial help along the way if they are unahle to figure out a formula. There is only one program on the disk and it automatically loads. The directions are simple and a student needs only t o know how to load a disk and turn the computer on and off t o work with i t effectively. The only problem with input is the need to press the escape key every time a lower-case letter is required. My students found this annoying and a cause of numerous mistakes in their answers.
The pmgmm isnimrd at nwrnyr to hclow cvrra:r srudmrs. I t ~ s w drhc program with eighth graders in an introductory chemistry course and 10th and 11th graders in Chem Study. There is very little classroom prep time necessary t o use the program. My students needed t o have a hrief introduction on how a compound was named (positive ion first, negative ion second, binary end in -ide). The pragram includes only ionic eompounds and hence only the concept that the sum of all charges must equal zero needed to he introduced. The program provides a useful feature for beginning students; the table of 22 ions can he called up with one stroke whenever a student forgets a formula or the charge on an ion. My eighth graders found that it made the pragram very beneficial for them. In my experience the program became too simplistic after one time through far my Chem Study students. I t clearly explains how to determine the number of times each ion appears in a compound by finding the least eomman multiole of the charms: .. . howe w r . for my high whcad arudenLz thnr iz nor thr pnhlem. Their problem comes in thew inability to memorize the charges on the ions and their failure to deal properly with ions having more than one oxidation numher. This program does not make any attempt to deal with this type of problem. My students liked the pragram hut began askine for harder ~ r o b l e m safter the" had used it ~ u s once, t and I could mor mudif? rhs prw gram tu add mure mni althmgh 1 could ger the program t u lrst. The malor prahlem wlrh the pragram is that it does not aceommodate the various ability levels of students. I t is designed specifically for the student who
has trouble with the concept of balancing charges. The eighth graders, however, loved using the program and found it re-enforced the lesson I had gone over in class. I t allowed students who were unahle to grasp the concept of lowest common multiple to struggle with it slowly and quietly instead of asking questions in class in front of their quicker peers. I found it helped these students enormously andgave them the self confidence to ask questions in class. Those students who used the program did significantly better on quizzes. The tutorial sections are clear and will provide the answer if the student is unable to put in the correct information after one try. If a student answers with an incorrect formula the program asks if the student wants help. The program displays a box that will hold the information the student inserts about each ion. If the student asks for help the pragram asks for the formula of the positive ion, then the charge on the positive ion. It then requests the same information about the negative ion. The program asks the student to find the lowest eomman multiple and the numher of each ion needed t o get this number. If the student answers incorrectly, the program branches to a tutorial on how to find the LCM and how the LCM relates to the formula. The program then asks the student t o try t o determine the formula wain. If the student cannot do this thp infmnnr~onnecrsmry is highlighr~don the wrern and the sttrdent is gwen nnurher chance. If r h answer ~ is srdl mccmert, rhe student is given the correct answer. My students found it annoying after the first few times on the program that they had to go
through all the steps described above if they requested help. In some eases they simply needed t o find the charge on one of the ions. Theoreticallvthev should have called up the data sheet, but most did not. Slower students who used the program did much better on their quizzes than those students who did not use it. I would recommend i t highly for a low level chemistry class. I t is not intimidating because the questions are simple and the explanations are clear. A confused hut motivated student would find the program useful.
Kathleen Sweeney-Hammond
me Mare1 School 3000 Cathedral Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20008 Winning the Games scientists Play Carl J. Sinderrnann. Plenum Press, New York, NY. 1982. xii 290 pp. 13.5 X 20.7 cm. $15.95. This practical and insightful guide t o "gamesmanship" in science by an oceanographer who is Director of the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratorv in New Jersey was chosen by L ~ b r o r y~ o u r n n las one of the best scilteeh books of the year. Written specifically far the scientist or nonscientist of the '80s, a time of "prolonged drought.. .and stringency.. .[when] science will adapt, and scientific game playing may achieve new heights of precisian and worth," i t deals with interpersonal strategies in science, much of which could he described as "common sense" yet which is not a t all "common", especially t o scientific beginners. Part I, "A Primer for Scientific Strategists" (6 chaps, 120 pp) answers in great detail questions that are crucial for success in seienee-how t o write, publish, and present papers; how to attend, chair, and organize meetings; and how to participate in committee meetings. Part 11, "Critical Issues for Scientific Strategists" (3 chaps, 72 pp), describes how to get an the "fast track" and how t o get and use power. I t even devotes an entire 18-page chapter to ethics in science. Part 111, "Special Interest Areas for ScientificStrategists" (4chaps, 74pp),evaluates the roles of men and women (it ineludes a 6-page section on "sen in the laboratory"); describes how t o cope with hureaucracy and bureaucrats, the news media, lawyers, politicians, and the public; and considers the role of the scientist in industry. All hut two of the 13 chapters are provided with "Summary" sections, and the book concludes with a 6-page Epilogue driving home the lessons and sound advice given earlier. This delightful and witty guide to the strategies of "real 1ife"seienee makes an appropriate gift for those about t o enter upon a scientific career as well as for experienced scientists and citizens interested in the nontechnical aspects of modern scientific life.
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of the first edition (THIS JOURNAL 1982,59, A370). The second edition differs from the first edition in several minor but notable aspects which enhance the effectiveness of this text. In rough order of decreasing importance these changes are 1. The addition of more problems including summary qualitative problems well chosen for self-evaluation of basic understanding of the subject matter. 2. An increased number of worked example problems in the body of the text. 3. Linkage of problems to specified chapter sections. 4. Additional points in the text where the student is steered around typical pitfalls to understanding. Levine's texts have always been notable for these helpful admonishments. 5. Equations of the most fundamental importance are now signified as such. 6. Expansion of the Spectroscopy and Photochemistry Chapter t o include brief but informative descriptions of several additional spectroscopic methods (PAS, ORD, CD, PES, and ESCA). 7. Additionof somequalitativemolecular interpretations of thermodynamic concepts. 8. The cross-sectional area increment of the text is primarily taken up by eapanded margins. The current outer
p.lyr n l ~ r g i nis 3.5 rm, which may entirr rhr rrdderrumakemar~mnlnorrs. T h n 1 ~ x 1wnndina well ~ u m v lIII B twosemester introductory survey course in physical chemistry and should he given serious consideration for such a course. I t is less likely t o he the one book of choice for a three-semester course sequence of physical chemistry (e.g., courses in thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, and statistical mechanicslchemical dynamics). However, because of its extensive treatment of thermodynamics this text would be an excellent choice of the primary thermodynamics text in such a sequence (we have used it for this purpose with good results), and i t would he a valuable supplementary text (e.g., t o Levine's "Quantum Chemistry") to primary texts in the other courses. As expected for a book by Levine this text is notably free of errors. I have only been able to find one small, obvious one (on p 392) in the main body of the text. If you choose this text you might be well advised to discuss some of this text's examples chosen from biochemistry with your resident biochemists to determine whether the interpretations of these examples are still up-to-date in this rapidly changing field. Thomas G. Dunne Reed College Portland, OR 97202
Georae - B. Kauffman
California State University, Fresna Fresno. CA 93740
Physical Chemistry, Second Edition Ira N. Levine, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. 1985. xix-980. 21.5 X 24 cm. One expects from Levine an exceptional level of care in exposition, and the new edition of this excellent introductory physical chemistry text maintains that level which was noted by D. K. Carpenter in his review
Volume 64
Number 3
March 1987
A9 1
