lntroductlon t o Chernlstry, Flfth EdHion T. R. Dickson. Wiley: New York, NY. 1987. xxlii 600 pp. Figs. and tables. 19.1 X 24.2 cm. $39.00.
+
Any tent popular enough to appear as a fifth edition must have something going for it. Indeed, this well-written text has a lot going for it. The text is intended for a onesemester course to be taken by students who need only an introductory course or by students who need preparation for subsequent chemistry courses. The text succeeds very well at meeting the needs of both groups of students. The first chapter introduces chemical terms and measurements and uses this topic as a vehicle to introduce the factor-label method of calculation that then is used throughout the text. Chapter two covers the chemicalelements (thestates of matter, elements and compounds, atomic theory, the nuclear atom, and atomic weights). Chapter three introduces chemical formulas, the mole, empirical formulas, and calculations based on the mole concept. A hrief introduction to reactions and equations also appears in chapter three. The details of atomic structure and electron configuration make up chapter four. Subsequent chapters cover bonding, nomenclature, reactions end equations, stoichiometry, gases, water and solutions, chemical equilibrium and rates of reactions, acids and bases, onidation-reduction, liquids and solids, nuclear energy, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives and key terms to know. Each chapter begins at a level that a student with no previous chemistry should be able to understand and builds to a level of sophistication which is admirable for a text of this size.
For example, the acid-base chapter concludes with a brief, but lucid, discussion of how buffers work and how to calculate the pH of buffers using the equilibrium constant expression and the conjugate base conjugate acid ratio. The author's style is clear and very readable. Clarity is enhanced by the frequent use of nonchemical analoeies to exnlain ehemieal concepts. The text ahounda with welldrawn diagramaand iliustratims which alsv add clarity. Scattered throughout the text are several special topic sections which relate textbook material to current topics such as acid rain, alternate energy sources, and nuclear reactor safety. The numbers of nroblems found at the end ot chapters 19 approx~mafelytwice the numher found in thp fourthed~tiun(fifty or more problems is not uncommon). Solutions toselected problems are found a t the end of the text. Appendices which cover math skills, instructions on how to use a scientific calculator, and some additional materialon the factor-label method of calculation will prove useful for many students. Teachers will find this text to he a very usable book. Students will find it to be well written, detailed, and a help in mastering the subject matter. Instructors who teach courses for which this text is written would be well advised to consider selecting this book as a tent. There are a few minor points on the newtiveside. .Many ofthestudents who use t h i ~ hook will go on to take an introdurrory I+ ganic course where they surely will encounter the concept of hybrid orbitals. These students would benefit from an introduction to bonding in terms of orbitals and hyhrid orbitals. Although a number of other supplements are available, the one that the
nvrrage student may find most uaefui-e solutions manual containing solutions to all the trxt problema-is not available. Ned Daugherty Colorado State University Fort Collins. CO 80523 Inorganic Chernislry, Second Edltlon A. G.Sharpe. Wiley: New York. NY, 1986. 696 pp. Tables. 16 X 24 cm. xvii $39.95.
+
The second edition of Inorganic Chemistry has retained the same basic organization and strong thermodynamic emphasis of the first, but within a new hardbound cover. The 27 chanters contain onlv 14 more oaees: .. . there are 11 paxe:es irf douhle columned indicer: about 24 new references hare been add. ed to the end-of-chapterlist* and some old. er ones deleted; and one new problem has been added in each of seven chapters. In chapters 1, 2, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 26, and 27 there are essentially no changes, whereas minor changes only are featured in most other chanters. Modest attempts have heen made in the new edition to address selected uhemirtrier of hioinorganic, solid state, and transition metal organometallic systems, as well as electron transfer mechanisms. Among the minor alterations included by chapter are 3, the new ACS recommended periodic table; 4, metal to nonmetal transition; 5, added 3-D structural representations; 6, cursory treatment of the defect solidstate; 9, Hz economy discussion; 12, added donor/acceptor discussion: 13, SizNd discussed nr n refractory material: 14, deletion of wme a i d e chemistry: 15, additiun of ATP hydn,igsis and changes in sub~titution
.
(Continued on page A1391
Revlewer
T. R. Dickerson, Introduction to Chemistry, Fifth Edition A.
G.Sharpe, Inorganic Chemistry, Second Edition
Ned Daugherty David E. Pennington
S. Pine, Organic Chemistry
Milton Orchin
Jerry March, Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions. Mechanisms, and Structure
Bruce E. Norcross
P. Sykes, A Guidebook to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry, Sixth Edition
Aris Merijanian
Miguel E. Alonso, The Art of Problem Solving in Organic Chemistry
L. G. Wade, Jr.
Daniel C. Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Second Edition
Royce C. Engstrom
Textbook Announcements Titles of Interest Continuing Series Volume 65
Number 5
May 1988
A137
