Appleton and Co., New York. 1923. xii 198 pages. 12.9 X 18.8 em. $1.00.
+
This neat little laboratory manual is written to aeeompsny A FIRST BOOK I N CHEMISTRY by the same author. There are 92 experiments, 22 of which are indicated ns of fundamental importance by asterisks in the Table of Contents. Students majoring in Domestic Science will find 11 experiments marked with a D. Freedom for choice by the teacher ie allowed by numerous optional cxpetimentn. A happy choice of types sets off the different parts of each experiment. Question* are in italics; each question forms a paragraph by itself: and the questions are u~uallygrouped ai the end of the experiment or rubdivision thereof. Most of the experiments are thme vsually iouod in laboratory manuals of elementary chemistry. There are 12 q,,aotitative crpetimenta and all but two of them are placed a t the end of the book. Directions are worded with an attempt t o effect improved handling of apparatus. Fifty-seven line cuts illustrate the directions. The appendix contains 18 pages of helpful tables. W m m m SBosasrola Intermediate Chemistry Compnioo. JAXB~ KBNDALL. Columbia University. The Century Co.. New York and London. 1925. 197 pp. 20.5 X 13.5 em. 51.35. This book practically parallels its predee-r by the same author. the College Chemistry Companion, written expressly as n supplement to the Kendall revision of Smith's College Chem-' istry, and is intended to supplement the eorrc spending Smith-Kendali Intermedintechemistry. If is accordingly somewhat restricted in scope and treatment, but otherwise shows few changes of importance. Many teachers complain that elementary textbooks of chemistry present thesubject inaformnl. not to say formidable, and academic manner. They contend that these texts follow a timehonored precedent and that they do not convey the spirit of present day science with its intense appeal to human interest. If the purpose of the text is t o instruct the heginner, "Why,-they ark. "should it not address him directly in a manner t o excite his interert and stimulate his voluntary effort)" Others contend that i t is not the proper function of n t e x t t o do this. but rather toprerent a clear systematic account of the science as it appears t o the chemist, without any pedagogical pretense. If so, then same supplement to the text appear. t o be necessw; for the average student approaches his study of chemistry with s very meager appreciation of its nature and importance, and almost wholly laekitlg in knowledge of how to study any science. Most of us will agree with the avthor of the present volume that '.the average stvdent 'takingmchemistry for the first time will not take
it very far unless his regularlectureandlaboratory periods are supplemented in several ways." Professor Kendall believes that this is best aceomplished by a thorough trainiqg io chemical ealculatians. "Problem work," he says, "should be the most interesting branch of hrrt year chemistry; it is only too oiten the most monotonous." "Only thmugh continued practice in solving numerical exertires can a beginner appreciate fully the sipnificance of the various topics diseurred in his textbooks. A series of carefully selected problems will demonstrate to him as nothing else can, the concrete applications of abstract chemical thcory to industry and t o everyday life." The value of such problem solving is often lost by the practice of referring the student t o unrelated auxiliarv books on chemiral arithmetic, or by assigning a woup of problems a t the end of n chapter of the text. The virtue of the author's method lies in the fact that the problem. are introduced a t the time when needed to supplement the study of the text: for the chemistry follows the text systematieall~, chapter by chapter and experiment by experiment. But the companion is by'no means merely a problem book; it is a guide to the interpretation of text and laboratory work and it seek t o stimulate the interert and effort of the student by pointing out the "high spots" in each chapter, rtrusing the important ideas and correlating the minor facts. Graphic methods of representation are freely med and topics of special difficulty are selected for more detailed discussion and illustration. At times the language is delightfully informal and conveys the spirit of a ~ympathetic teac er, but unfortunately the author apparently momentarily forgets this style and lapses into the academic diction of the more formal text: for some of his explanations seem more difficult of comprehension than the corresponding statements of the text itself. But these are minor faults and do not obscure the great virtues of the author's presentation. Especially praiseworthy is the Appendix on "Who's Who and What's What inchemintry," containing a paragraph on "The present Age is the Age of Chemistry," also paragraph. en "Nobel Prize-Winners in Chemistry'; "Nichols Medal Awards." "Perkin Medal Awards," and "The American Chemical Society," followed by a heart-to-heart farewell chat with the student and a bibliography of interesting articles for vocational guidance and supplementary reading. Meeh~nieallythe book measures up to the standard of its pubiidms and is delightfully free from the common typographical errors so often found in poorly proofed first editions. While intended expressly for the use of the student, instructors and laboratory arsistantn will find it interesting and helpful. Teachers will naturally d i m r in their opinions 88 t o the proper content of such a student's companion and the emphasis t o be placed upon
b
VOL.2, No. 8
RECENT
different phases of the work, j l ~ as t they discr concerning methods of instruction in the elamroom; for the personality of the teacher is the important factor in both eases. The nutho. is to be congratulated upon his recognition of the real need for such a book. and even more upon his courage and enterprise in attempting to meet thi. need. How well he has succeeded is indicated by the favorable reception already accorded hio book. w e may well leave the final appraisal t o the many teachers who will gladly give the Intermediate Chemistry Companion a fair trial and t o the students themrelves who are the r e d judges of its chemical companionship. G. A. Aaaon.
A Pronotmcing Chemical Formula Speller m d Contest Goide. C. A. J~masou.West Virginia University. Tha Williams and Wilkins Co.. Baltimore. xviii 279 pp. 13.5 X 20.5 cm. $4.00. The appearance of this book on the market ia due to the success achieved by recent chemical spelling matches. I t will be received with open arms by many teachers, p M l y because of the help it will give in such matches and partly because of the vast amdunt of data condensed in its pages. I t s scope is best expressed in the words of the second paragraph of the introduction:-"The pxsent volume contains about 2850 names of inorganic chemical compounds together with their formulas and waters of hydration. It also contains more than 1000 names end formulas of the more common organic compounds, as well as in the neighborhwd d 300 minerals. I n addition t o these three lists of compounds, the volume contains 1554 questions and answers covering the typical chemical reactions of all the accredited ehemieally active elements. The answers t o these questions are expressed in the form of balanced equations." The lists are very full. The presence of five Hafnium compounds s h o w they are up t o date. The quertions and answers covering typical chemical reactions are unusually full. Here, a. in the lists, the rare metals are given much prominence. I t is refreshing t o see the name beryllium given preference over glutinum. That greatcarehasbeen t a t e n t o havethetext accurate is shown by the fact that numerous authorities such as Prof. C. James and Prof. E. C. Franklin, have contributed from their respective fields and have read proof thereon. The use of the prefix "thio" for "sulfo" shows an attempt to bring nomendatin line with that used in the A. C. S. publications. The names in the lists are syllableired, m a t e d , and marked with diacritical marks, for the last n helpful key t o pronunciation being gium. There is no hint aa to why somenames are printed in caps and some in small type. Two pages are devoted to dercribing the method oi condvcting spelling matcher and "ring the apcller. I t is unfortunate that in thc formulas for
+
hydrated ralts the period is raised above the line, became in mathematics this means multiplication, and there is an attempt under way t o have a series of signs and conventions that.shall be consistent for ell the scientific subjects c o n manly taught in the schools. If separate lines were used for the several salts, when ralts with varying amounts of hydration are given. much might be gained in elearners so f a r e the ~ t v d c n t is concerned. The reviewer ha. made no attempt to find mistakes in the names or formulas; his eye did not catch any as he glanced over the lists; nny such mistskes, if present, will show themselves to those wb0 use the ]isfa. The atatcment that "Modem tendency narrants**.the calling of the metal, represented by the symbol Al, aluminum instead of aluminium" seems rather strong in the light of divided usage and of the feeling many have that the names of the metals should, for consistency's sake, end in -ium so far as possible. In spite of the fact that much enort was taken t o attain eonsiatency in nomenclature (see peg& riv and xv) one's confidence is shaken a little on seeing "University of West Virginia" on the jacket. "West Virginia University" on the title page and in several other places, and " W e t Virginia university" (with the first letter of "university" not capitalized) in another place. One m u t not look for tw great' freedom from little errors, h6wever. in the first edition of a book Wn.a~S ~H r OH~LOII of this sort.
High 8chool Chemi~tw. C ~ a n a m s E. Dmz. Hen* Holt & Company, New York (1925). xi 577 PP* 18.6 X 12 em. $1.80 postpaid. The High Sehool Chemistry, by Charles E. Dull, is an attractive and substantially bound volume, j u t published by Henry Holt & Company. The illustrations throughout the b w k espetia11y modem a n d commendnble. I t follows, in general, the order of the average highschool texts. which are the most popular and satisfactmy. with some changes of arrangement and addition which are especially interesting. Some of these I heartily spprove. Others 1 do not endorse without question. Ail the organie chemistry (earban and its oxides, treated in two chapters, following the order of the average text) is treated a t the end of the book, ro that it may be used, in the words of the author "for students who will not go to college. certain topies may be omitted t o gain time for the study of the chapten on the compounds of carbon." I n my opinion, the chapters on organic chemistry are a. imwrtnnt to thase who go t o collllege as t o thme who do not, and are almost a.important as any of the ~"bjeetstreated in the high-school text. Many of the college t&. do not emphasize organic chemistry, and some teachers omit it entirely, neces3itatir.g a special course, even for t h e e who go t o college. The great majority of eo1iege students taking
+
