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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