1000 questions in end-&chapter exercises and a very thorough index a t the end of the book. ROBERT GAMPER Indian Hills High School Oakland. NJ 07436 Foundations of College Chemistry Daniel Murphy and Viateur Rousseau. John Wiley & Sons. Inc.. New York. NY. 1980. 3rd ed.. $20.95. Study Guide.
1 As a orimarv text for an advanced olacement chemistrv course.this hook diservea careful consideration. The varietv of tdoics covered represent a good nalsnre for .o penrral chemistry ~.otwse.'l'hes t y k of wrltmg ir dear and readable 'I he fornut is such that the r ~ t d r n renn use the book readily as a reference in his college chemistry courses. In quantity and depth of material, the hook is best for use with students who have had an introductory chemistry course. Although the explanations of basic concepts are brief, they are complete. A reader eets the feeline that tooics such as svmbols. formulas. and ~~
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namics includes all three laws. The approach taken by the authors is generally historical. The order of the chapters, as well as the order of topics within the chapter, reflects the development of chemistry over the years. As a result of this aooroach. the chsoter on redox chemistrv is found earlv in the book acid-base, etc. Liberal use of examples throughout the teat gives students a variety of representative problems. Factor-label method is employed throughout the t e a t t o illustrate solutions to problems. The number of exercise problems and questions is more than sufficient. The variety and deoth of understandine used in the exercises orovide flexibilitv chapter on quantitative measurements includes use of formulas and equations as well as stoichiometry. This chapter has 6fi problems which contain about 125 questions in total. Many exercises have an entertaining twist: for example, a car is named Belchfire 8 and a compound is named ethylzilch. The wording of ouestions is. however. straiehtforward. and several oroblems are to questions. A significant feature of this hook is its treatment of descriptive chemistry, which comprises 20% of the text. The organization is very attractive. Chapters &elude metallurgy, group IVA elements, nonmetals, and transition metals. The chapter on metallurgy includes discussion of compounds occurring as ores, chemistry of extraction of representative metals from their ores, and the chemistry of some representative metals. The chapter an nonmetals is complete in its discussion of the chemistry of the elements as well as the compounds of the elements. The chapter on the transition elements is outstanding. The treatment covers hoth the descriptive chemistry of the class of elements and analysis of the electronic structure whieh gives this class of elements its chemical properties. Discussion of bonding in the transition metals includes valence hond, molecular orhital, crystal field, and ligand field approaches.
The study guide designed to accompany "Foundations of College Chemistry," is intended as a review of text material. In the preface, the format of the guide and its intended use are explained t o the student. Each section of the text is mentioned in the study guide, but not all sections are reviewed. An outline of the material is presented in the review section, and important terms are listed but not defined. A self-test with answers completes eaeh section. Material in the study guide is very sketchy. Students must understand that the guide is a review and not a replacement for the text. The self-tests are very short, and since the answers fallow the test, the temptation to look a t solutions is greater than if the answers were in the hack. Solutions are given along with the answers to these prohlems. Teachers might suggest to students that they read the text, use the study guide, and then complete the text assignment. Before requiring the study guide, teachers should carefully consider cost effectiveness. The only material not contained in the text is the solution to numerical problems, hut this is offset by the number of solved problems in the text body. Even though the quality of the study guide is not equal to that of the text, the text should he examined by teachers seeking advanced placement chemistry texts. Brebeuf Preparatory School 2801 W. 86th St. Indianapolis. IN 46268
2 This text could be used in the high school setting as an advanced placement text, a reference work, and a supplemental reader. The authors have followed the idea that chemistry is an experimental science which advances "as a complex tapestry woven of many strands, eaeh with an influenee-sometimes a very subtle one-on all the others." The authors provide a skillful and perceptive study of this "tapestry." The usual topics found in an advanced placement program are present in this text, hut the treatment of historical events and the application of principles to industry add a great deal t o the standard fare of an advanced placement course. Each chapter hegins with a thought-pmvoking quote and ends with ample questions and problems. Included with eaeh chapter is a list of suggested readings which orovide more information on t,he tooics found in the ehaoter. These bourees include bmks and iournal articles suitahle for the teacher and information as well as technical information, such as concepts developed in the 18th and 19th century, the concept of the nuclear atom, and metallurgy. Parts of these chapters are also suitable as supplemental readings. Appendices deal with scientific notation, dimensional analysis (which is emphasized in all prahlem solving), inorganic nomenclature, vapor pressure of water, standard heats of formation, and standard entropies of selected elements and compounds. A chart of unit conversions and a list. of constants are found an the pages facing the covers. The text works mostly with SI units, but uses those long favored by the chemist as well. This mixture is good since the student will deal with mixed systems in the real world. The complete text supplies material for a good review ta the teacher who has not taken a formal course for a number of years, and the literature cited allows this review to be executed in greater depth. JOSEPH SOLLENBERGER Hershey Senior High School Homestead Road Hershey. PA I7033
Volume 59
Number 4
April 1982
349
