Chemistry: An Investigative Approach
book reviews
F Albert Cotton, Texas A & M, C.
Editor: W. F. KIEFFER College of Wooder Woorter, Ohio
Keys to Chemistry Eloine W. Ledbetter and Jay A. Young, Auburn University. AddisonWesley Publishing Co., Reading, Mass. 1973. vii + 332 pp. Fig. and tables. 22 x 28.5 cm. "Keys to Chemistry" is a high school chemistry book which the authors apparently intended to be different from most texts now on the market. If so, they sueceeded. It would he much easier to evaluate the book if the authors would have been more clear as to the kind of student for whom the book was written. They state that the course is designed for students "who want to know what chemistry involves and how it relates to their daily lives" and who "want to study chemistry without heeoming lost in theory or the memorization of facts." This statement is too broad to he useful for definine .. the notcntiol u w s . One never di-cnwn nhether the hook was inrrndrd for college preparatory scwnre st )dent< or, m conlra,r. rollege preparatory nonscience students, or some other category of students. Hopefully, the reader of this review will, if he is a high school teacher, he able to infer from the ensuing discussion whether or not i t is likely to be useful for his students. The self-paced instruction approach is promulgated in this hook with a list of objectives a t the beginning of each chapter and a suggested order of study. Topics are introduced by the observation of phenomena in the laboratory or in demonstrations. Practice exercises and a self-test are included a t the end of each chapter to help the student know when he is ready to be tested. Students are encouraged t o be creative;
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i t is hoped that they will design experiments and invent hypotheses. Also, they are encouraged to write essays and poems or to-create posters related to chemistry, e.g., "Write a poem, using a concept introduced in Chapter 2 as a theme". (Chapter 2 is entitled "classification of matter.") Basically, the hook seems to have resulted from an attempt to "humanize" the presentation of chemistry, to point out the relevance of the subject, and yet t o offer a relatively rigorous development of the topics chosen for inclusion. Most of the same facts and theories that constitute the subject matter of the typical ehemistry h k for college preparatory students of ehemistry are presented in this one, topichy-topic and ehapter-by-chapter, but some chapters are missing in this text. It is doubtful that the average nonscience student would find it appreciably more palatable than the average text; he might very well get lost in the facts and theories. Any teacher casting about for a somewhat different ehemistry text would he well advised to examine this one. He should realize, however, before he decides to make such a n investment of time, that "Keys to Chemistry" does not include the topics of oxidation-reduction, eleetrachemical cells (neither electrolytic nor galvanic), or chemical kinetics. The treatment of chemical equilibrium is not quantitative. Also, there is no treatment of organic chemistry or biochemistry. A strong point of the text is the inelusian of bibliographies a t the ends of the chapters which are quite thorough. Frank S. Ouiring Clavton Hioh School
Clayton. Missouri
-Reviewed in this Issue Elaine W Ledbetter and Jay A. Young, Keys to Chemistry F. Albert Cotton, Leroy Darlington, andLawrence D. Lynch, Chemistry: An Investigative Approach J. Calvin Giddings, Chemistry, Man and Environmental Change R. Aveyard and D. A. Haydon, An Introduction to the Principles of Surface Chemistry Gordon M Barmw, Physical Chemistry John Avefy, The Quantum Theory of Atom, Molecules and Photons W. G. Richords and J.A. Horsley, Ab Initio Molecular Orbital Calculations for Chemists W G. Richards, T E. H. Walker, and R. K. Hinkley, A Bibliography of Ab Initio Molecular Wave Functions Donnld Rapp, Quantum Mechanics Jean Barrio1 and J. Warren Blnker, translator, Elements of Quantum Mechanics with Chemical Applications W L. Braggand G. Porter, editors, The RoyalInstitutionLihrary of Science Samuel H. Willen and Ernest L. Eliel, editor, Tables of Resolving Agents and Optical Resolutions M. H. Green, International and Metric Units of Measurement New Volumes in Continuing Series
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Leroy Darlington, Montclair High School, New Jersey, and Lawrence D. Lynch, Palo Alto Senior High School. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1973. Figs. and tables. 23 x 19 cm. nvii 798 pp. $6.90.
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This text for the high school chemistry course is a complete revision of the 1968 hook hearing the same title. Mr. Darlington is the additional coauthor for this new version of the original CHEM Study material. Directions for student experiments are a n integral part of the text. The major change in this important feature is the addition of new material. Now included are experiments on measuring the length of oleie acid molecules, probability, molecular shapes (using Styrofoam spheres), and illustrating simple redax "replacement" reactions by adding iron powder to s hot aqueous solution of copper sulfate. The directions make the student aware of how important the control of conditions is for the validity of experimental results. The chapters on organic ehemistry, biochemistry, and "giant molecules" have been expanded by 19 pages. The treatment afforded the electrical nature of water is superior to the earlier version. The discussion of the structure of atoms and the nature of ions has been clarified. In linr with II.'PAC rerommendar~uns. standard reductam potcntialc are tshulat ed and used in the s r r t h deahnp with o r . idation-reduction phenomena. An up-to-date touch has been added by inserting excellent two-page summaries of various ecological and environmental topics a t appropriate places in the text. The expanded table of contents should make reference use of this text much easier. This reviewer feels that he would prefer t o have an earlier use af the mole concept and to see more emphasis placed on the consistent use of correctly labeled eonversion factors in problems. He questions the use of formulas such as P V = nRT which may encourage memorizing ahead of understanding. College bound students may n d be helped by omissions of such eoncepts as electronegativity, conjugate acids and bases, or even the Lewis-dot idea of what constitutes a base. The abbreviated section an balancing redox equations could be strengthened by suggesting that half cell reactions supply some laboratory evidence for the use of oxidation numbers. Raymond T. Byrne
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Batavia High School Batavia, New Ywk 74020
Chemistry, Man and Environmental Change
J Calvin Giddinga The University of Utah. Canfield Press, San Francisca, 1973. viii 472 pp. Figs. and tables. 26.5 X 18.5 em. $10.95.
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This text was written for nonscience students desiring an introduction to the science of environmental ehange and presupposes no prior chemical background on (Continued onpageA2541 Volume 51. Number4, April 1974
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