VOL.8, No. 3
RECENTBOOKS
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of Bsses and Salts, Electromotive S e r k . Laboratory Equipment, and Reagents. The reviewer questions, on pp. 4-7,the use of analytical balances, weighing heyond the second decimal figure with the finding of the zero point, for first-year general chemistry students, especially from the viewpoint of time and significance. Where s i l w foil is available, in the quantity needed, the experiment illustrating the law of constant proportions is well planned. On p. 15, the interesting experiment on the drying of paint is one not commonly found in general chemistry laboratory manuals. The ten pages devoted to oxygen and ozone appear, to the reviewer, to be too long for four or even six EMORY UNIYBRSITY hours of laboratory time. Oxygen, bowEWOQY UNIYBRSITY. GBOROUL ever, is especially adapted for much stuLaboratory Manual of General Chemistry. dent laboratory experimentation. The devoted to hydrogen, because of HARRYN. HOLMES,Professor of Chem- five -pages the amount of quantitative work, is also a istry in Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. Third edition. The Macmillan Com- heavy assignment for one or two labora163 tory periods. The use of gelatin capsules pany, New York City. 1930. x for handing milligram-atomic-weight pieces pp. 34 figs. 14 X 22 cm. 51.60. of sodium in the experiments on valence is This laboratory manual is of the inter- commendable although i t imposes conleaved type. The subject material for ex- siderable extra work on thestoreroom staff. perimental work is arranged in accord with Several experiments have been taken, with the usual standardized & h o d , which long acknowledment, from the l0URN.U OF . experience has demonstrated as yielding CHEMIW EDUCATION.Some experithe best results with the average general ments are marked with an asterisk, such as chemistry student in the United States. No. 17 on p. 22 (Fluorescein Test for The thirtv-two chapters, based ~ r o h - Ozone in Air) and Equivalent Weight of ably on thirty-two weeks of dass work, in- Copper in Terms of Silver on p. 32. These clude the usual Preliminary Exercises. are intended for unusually able students. Physical and Chemical Changes. and chap- Some experiments such as No. 44. on p. 41. ters on Son-\letallic Ekments and Com- on Carbon Monoxide, are marked oppounds Thereof, Equivalent Weights and tional. The chapter on determination of Valence, Molecular Weights and For- Molecular Weights and Formulas is a demulas, Acids, Bases and Salts, Neutrali- sirable one in general, although the asterzation, Atomic Structure, Equilibrium, isked experiment on the Molecular Weight and Hydracarbons and Their Derivatives. of Water seems to the reviewer rather These topics are followed by the Metallic costly in student time, materials, and Elements in appropriate groups, also one equipment, for the value the student ohchapter on Electrochunistry (two pages) t a b . It is interesting to note the presand another on Qualitative Analysis a c e of an asterisked experiment illustrat(eight pages). The Appendix comprises ing the Law of DuLong and Petit, a topic seven pages of the common appendix ma- of considerable importance hut one not terial. Vapm Tension of Water, Solubility frequently found in our leading general
arrangement, triphenylmethyl, pinacol reduction and rearrangement, the 1-4 or conjugated systems, or Baeyer's strain theory with Thorpe's modification. For the beginning student a somewhat more extended index would be helpful. While mentioned in the text, ketones and mimes, for example, do not appear in the index. The text is well written and the subject matter included is presented in an entirely understandable manner. It earies a decidedly more technical flavor than the average beginning text in organic chemistry. This should prove interesting to the practical-minded student. J. SAMUEL GW 0. R. QWAYLE
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chemistry texts. The chapter on Solutions is worthy of a place in a Laboratory Manual of Physical Chemistry. Dr. Holmes' efforts t o indude the latest advancements in the field of chemistry and chemical theories led to the inclusion of a chapter (one and one-half pages) an the preparation of atomic structure models according to the Lanpmuir-Lewis theory. The use of toothpicks, chewing gum,and wax by students standing a t the average chemistry work bench does not seem of sufficient value, to the reviewer, t o warrant introduction. Likewise, experiment No. 143 on p. 104 on coal distillation can best be demonstrated to a class. The cleaning of pyrev glass ignition tubes after heating of bituminous coal is not economical to the student, neither is i t desirable to include a piece of iron or steel tube in the student's equipment. It is sometimes alleged that Dr. Holmes stresses aluminum, which is quite natural. The chapter on aluminum comprises only about three pages, however. The chapter on colloids contains
his having written a Laboratory Manual of Colloid Chemistry Questions are introduced frequently t o bring out specific features of an experiment. That this manual is a good one in a large field of competitors is obvious t o all who have had sufficient experience in general chemistry lahoratory work. The student who performs the experiments as directed will have dealt with a mass of experimental evidence an substances and the changes they undergo and generalizations pertaiuing to such changes. C. A. BRAWLECKT
MARCH,1931
This book, which is the third volume of a series, entitled "The Teaching of Science a t the College Level," reports the results of investigations conducted a t the University of Minnesota regarding the value of lahoratory instruction in inorganic college chemistry courses. The author states that the purposes of this investigation are to answer the following questions: "1. What is the value to the student of individual lahoratory work as compared with other methods of instruction, such as oral quizzes, recitations, and outside reading? 2. Do students who spend more time in the lahoratory gain significantly more from the course than students of equal ability who do less lahoratory work? 3. What technics can he devised in the form of written examinations to measure differences in students who have not had the same amount of laboratory training?' The principal experiments conducted are the investigation of the value of five hours of individual laboratory work per week as com~aredwith (1) three hours of
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work with one hour of recitation or oral quiz; and (3) three hours of laboratory work. A comprehensive appendix furnishes details regarding the various tests used and the data from which the table and conclusions of the text were developed. These problems are attacked from an educational viewpoint and are admirably organized and developed in that direction. The author, who maintains a rigid xientific viewpoint, is pleasingly disinclined to adopt spectacular conclusions. He condudes "that two hours of laboratory work out of five do not seem indispensable," URIYBXWY 0. MAIN& that one hour of recitation or oral quiz Onoxo, MAWS seems a fairly profitable substitute for Laboratory Instruction in the Field of In- these two hours of laboratory work, but organic Chemistry. VICTORHERBERT that two hours of outside reading do not. NOLL. Educational Specialist, National These conclusions are accompanied by a Survey of Secondary Education. First caution that the results of the study are edition, The University of Minnesota not yet suitahle for delinite generalizaPress, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930. tions. This view is probably based upon xix 164 pp. 74 tables. 15 X 23 cm. the fact that few of the results ohtained are statistically significant. Due t o this $2.00.
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