book reviews Editor: W. F. KIEFFER College of Woorter
Woatsr, Ohio
physics of structure, for example, spherical ~ o l a rcoordinates are presented as being "more convenient" in the solution of the hydrogen atom, with no suggestion as to why this is so. Also the section on lasers in the chapter on photochemistry includes no mention of the spectroscopic basis of laser action. Several topics of known difficulty to the average freshman chemistry student (for .~~~examole. , . Lewis dot structures) are treated almost too briefly in the early portion of the text. Thermodynam~cideas are used to a much greater extent through the latter part of the text than are bonding and structure concepts. The problems, examples, and exercises in the text are relevant in nature and present a Large amount of descriptive ehemistry while the study guide provides an adequate number of drill problems. For average ability classes, use of the study guide is recommended. The illustrations in this text are generally excellent, especially in the sections on atomic structure and phase diagrams, and do not resemble the stock illustrations found in most texts. The authors carefully designed a unqiue set of teaching illustrations and failed in only a few instances to produce just that (the problem in the exceptional cases, such as Figure 6-5, p. 175, appears to have been with the non-scientific art staff). Very few typographical errors were noted, and only one which seriously alters the sense of the text: The magnitude of the k values on the ordinate of the plot.of page 549 (Figure 5-4) should be scaled up by a factor of 10S to make the figure agree with the text. This text, then, hears consideration by teachers looking for a physically oriented general chemistry tent a t the non-calculus level. The illustrations and the treatment of thermodynamics and kinetics are strong, hut the prospective adopter would do well to examine the section on bonding and structure carefully. ~~
General Chemistry
Ralph S. Beeker and Wayne E Wentworth, both of the University of Houston. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1973. xiii 779 pp. Figs. and tshles. 24 X 19.5 cm. $12.95.
+
"General Chemistry" belongs to that class of first-year texts (which began to appear some ten years ago) with a heavy orientation towards physical chemistry. According to the authors, it is aimed at the full-year course for science (and chem. istry) majors, some of whom may not have had high school chemistry. That small amount of calculus which is included appears only in the appendices. Keeping the service aspect of the general chemistry course in mind, the authors chose topics 'for inclusion after consultation with engineering, biology, physics, and geology faculty. The text can be accompanied with a 250 page study guide for students (written hy R. A. Geanangel and B. L. Carroll). There is a 1W page instructor's guide available which includes sample multiple choice and subjective exam questions for which answers are available from the authors. The first three chapters comprise an overview of chemistry with special emphasis on stoiehiometry, and the following section (six chapters) is devoted to handing and structure. After a six-chapter section on thermodynamics and kinetics, the final four chapters cover transition metal and nuclear chemistry, biochemistry, and photochemistry. The seventy pages of appendices contain supplementary textual material, data tables (an index to the numerous tables would have been useful), and answers to all of the problems and exercis-
es in the text. The chapter on molecular structure and bonding in polyatomic molecules contains about 20 pages of descriptive orgsnic chemistry, and there is one chapter of descriptive inorganic chemistry of the representative elements in addition to the chapters on transition metal ehemistry and biochemistry mentioned earlier. Although there are only a few references to outside reading, the text contains a number of optional sections end chapters (identified with asterisks) on topics such as liquid crystals, corrosion, air pollution, and the ehemistry of vision, which the authors claim can he omitted without harming continuity. The authors have done an extensive cross-referencing throughout. In the opinion of the reviewer, the strongest section of the text is the section on thermodynamics and kinetics, written clearly and with what seems to have been much enthusiasm on the part of the authors. Material developed in this section is used extensively throughout the remainder of the text. The section devoted to strueture and bonding is not as strong. Since this material occurs towards the beginning of the text the authors have pitched the general level of presentation relatively low, hut the presentation abounds with written and pictorial hints that bonding is really not as simple as the authors are letting on. For example, the figures on pages 169 and 171 illustrating dissaeiation energy also depict the potential minimum characteristic of the quantum mechanical zero-point energy, although zem-paint energy is mentioned neither in the caption nor the teat. It would seem that student curiosity will force the instructor to cover zero-point energy extensively with no support from the text. The authors also miss opportunities to point out the simplicity of the basic
Edward K . Mellon Florida State University Tallahassee. Florida 32306
Preliminary College Chemistry
Stanley M. Cherim. Delaware County
-Reviewed
in this Issue
~ a l p S. h Becker and WnyneE. Wentworth. General Chemistry
. . .A299
Stnnley M. Cherim, Preliminary College Chemistry
. . . A299
J G . Dauber and A. T. Moore, Chemistry for theLife Sciences
. . .A300
C. T. Kenner, Instrumental and Separation Analysis
. . . A300
Community College, Media, Pennsylvania. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1973. xv + 386 pp. Figs. and tables. 26 X 18 cm. $8.95. "Preliminary College Chemistry'' is a one-semester text designed to meet the needs of beginning college chemistry students who lack the fundamental hackground necessary to cope successfully with
(Continued on page A3W)
NOTICE TO PUBLISHERS
Albert Zlatkis, Eberhard Breitmnier, and GuntherJung, A Concise Intmduction to Organic Chemistry
. . .A301
P. C. Hamwolt sndR. H. Hnynes. The Chemical Basisof Life: An Introduction to Molecular and Cell Biology
. . .A301
Beginning June 1, 1974, all books for review should be sent to: Jourml of Chemical Education, W. T. Lippincott, Editor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721.
Volume 51, Number 5, M a y 1974
/
A299
