Foundations of college chemistry; sixth edition (Hein, Morris)

this new edition that begins with eight pages. -. ~- of color pictures showing chemistry and chemists a t work. Illustrative tables, graphs, and figur...
5 downloads 0 Views 1MB Size
cause execution of the program to halt. The user can also readily change data values a t repeated cheek points. Data files are created for later retrieval and can he password protected. During the program the student is asked to supply the experimental factor level names, units, boundary conditions, starting values. and steo size. In the tutorial these vnlues are all displayed by thr donrmentat i m for the user to input. The tutorial then generates a sample data set of respm5ed. For a real experiment the responses would be supplied by the student. The program rapidly performs the necessary calculations to project the cwrdinates of the new vertex of the simplex which corresponds to the next set of factor levels t o he tried. Uo t o 12 faetzr levels can be handled in any optimization stratrgy using this pro. gram. Even with 12 factors the mlculationu areperformed very rapidly,withina fewseconds. A menu provides the user with the choices of inputting responses, displaying data and results in tabular or graphic form, or halting the program. Students wishing t o learn about simplex with no prior knowledge will find the program of some pedagogical value. To those with prior knowledge the true learning that takes place comes from the output of the program as i t generates the next set of factor levels and in the way that i t stores and presents data. Students were pleased to have a painless way of determining the new factor levels instead of having to calculate them by hand. The documentation is ouite eood in 19 enablmg the student to under;tand;hat gem: on and what are the o b p ~ vcs t of the program. James P. Deavor College of Charleston Charleston, SC 29407 Foundations of College Chemlstry Morris Hein. BrookslCole: Monterey, CA, 1986. xvi 567 pp. Figs. and tables. 19 X 24 cm.

+

This textbook intends to instruct students in the basic conceots of chemistw and qualify students ior courses in general college chemistry. It rrmains o revt lor beginning o r preparatory chemistry and srrws its purpose well. I t is difficult not to he enthusiastic about this new edition that begins with eight pages ~of color pictures showing chemistry and chemists a t work. Illustrative tables, graphs, and figures give variety to each page; the text is not tiresome or tedious t o read. Important terms are printed in the margin and two shades of brown highlight section headings, figures, and tables. Precedingeach chapter is a list of learning ohjeetives far that chapter. More than sufficient questions and problems with selected answers in an appendix follow each chapter. Review exercises covering preceding ehapters and interspersed through the hook. At least 20 percent of the book consists of questions, problems, and review exercises. Where quantitative concepts are discussed in the text, clearly worked examples are shown. Significant figures, rounding-off, scientific natation, and S I units are introduced early. Separate sections on how to study chemistry and solve problems will as-

throughout the book makes for a very attractive textbook. The problems a t the end of the chapter are listed by chapter subheadings and are a good mix both in number and difficulty. Opinions differ in the order of treatment of topics in a general chemistrytext. I would prefer to see balancing of redox equations reviewed briefly a t the start of the electrochemistry chapter (Chap. 17). Chapter 9, Properties of Gases might have been placed earlier in the teat because one usuallv encounters eas law erneriments earl", in the ,, lahuratory program. I a l ~ prefer o tu have the Erst law ofthermud~namicsto be pre~ented earlier than in Chapter 12, as the concept of enthalpy change for chemical reactions is very useful through theentirecourse in general chemistry. Sections 16.3 and 16.4 dealing with complex ion equilibria is better placed in the chapter on transition metals and after the section on coordination compounds (Chapter 21.11). Equivalent aelghts and nurmality can be omitted from Chapter 8 and a section on acid-base reacrions using mole and molarity concepts should have been included. It is good to note that the authors have dropped the Kh constant from this version of the text and have treated all ionic equilibria from a K, or Kb standpoint. They do, however, continue to discuss the topics of buffers as either acid buffers or basic buffers. A buffer solution is either acid or basic depending on the K. value and the eoncentrations of the acid and its conjugate base. I would also have derived the HendersonHasselhalch equation (eq 15.9) and showed that i t can be used far any buffer solution regardless of whether i t is either an acid or a basic solution. Energy changes in nuclear reactions could have been expanded t o include not only binding energy but also alpha decay. Binding energy while calculated in MeV per particle (p 826) should also he given in units of kJ per particle. I find i t also convenient t o list in the appendix tables of data such as thermodynamic values, equilibrium constants, and bond energies. New to this text is a software package, The Chemistry Tutor, consisting of six units keyed to the first eight chapters of the hook. Other supplements include a study guide, solutions manual, lecture outline, test file, transparencies, and a microeomputerized testing system. The specific things that I have listed should not discouraee from adoot" anvone , ing this rexr. In general the bwk can be deserihed as "comtortable" and au such, very adequate for trnching and learning. It is obvious that the authors have gone to great lengths to make their book attractive. Many teachers will want to examine it closely. Daniel T. Haworth Marquette University Milwaukee, WI 53233

sist the new chemistry student. Dimensional analvsis is stressed and illustrated in countless solved nrohlems ~~-~ Expanded discussions of pH and solubilit y product and related ralculatimr correct shortcomings of an earlier edition. Joules with the calorie equivalent in parentheses, liters, and tom find general use. As a long-time teacher I was particularly impressed by the 38 pages of appendices. A mathematical review with a worthwhile discussion of graphing and using graphs takes up about one-half of this last section. Other appendices present an interesting solubility table and the periodic table with the new group numbering. Few factual and typographicalerrors were discovered, but a few comments seem necessary about some implications of Lewis dot structures. I t is misleading a t best t o show molecular oxveen with all electrons oaired. ," Cwing the apparent structure would illur. mate one exception to the octet rule. Furthermore, it certainly isn't wrre tc, rhow the dot structure of molecular nitrogen with two three-electron bonds instead of the usual three-electron pairs between the atoms. With over seven pages for discussion of nucleic acids and DNA, i t seems strange that there is nothing on thermodynamics. Although there is discussion of the law of conservation of mass i t is not connected to thermodynamics. There is a reasonable discussion of heat in chemical reactions, but the terms enthalpy, entropy, or free energy are not included. A text like this could describe the idea of a spontaneous chemical reaction in simple thermodynamic jargon. Good sections on water purification and oollutian are included:.however. ~.~~~the current topic i,f acid rain is omitted. Other air pollutants and ph~,tuchem~ral smog likewise are not considered. In spite of the few minor deficiencies, this Sixth Edition incorporates useful changes and additions. I t should attract a wide audience of both students and teachers. Ward Knockemus h~ntmgdonCollege Monlgomery. AL 36 106 ~

~~~

.~~ ~

~

~

~

General Chemlstry Principles a n d Structures, Fourth Edltlon James E. Brady and Gerard E. Humiston. Wiley: New York, NY, 1986.xxil+ 972pp. Figs. and tables. 21.5 X 26 cm. $39.95. This well-received general chemistry textbook, now in its fourth edition, has been significantly upgraded with each succeeding edition over the past 11 years. The current edition contains 24 chapters of which three chapters are directed exclusively t o deseriptive chemistry and the other 21 chapters to the discussion of principles with good mix of "chemical" (descriptive) chemistry in these latter chapters. Several major changes are to he noted in this edition as compared t o the previous edition. Atomic structure and the periodic table is now two chapters (Chapters 3, 4), the material on chemical reactions is also two chapters (Chapters 7, a), a n d a new section has been added t o We chapter on chemical honding (Chapter 5) which serves as a prelude to the discussions on ionic and covalent bonding. The black print with blue print subheadings along with a large number of full color photographs distributed

~

.

~

~

~~~~~

~~~~

~~

~~~~

Elements of Chemlstry R. Boikess. K. Breslauer, and E. Edelson. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs. NJ, 1986. xxiii 768 pp. Figs. and tables. 21 X 26 cm. $35.95.

+

The authors of this text state that it is intended for "students of the allied health (Continued on page A26)

Volume 65

Number 1 January 1988

A25