Chemical Education Today edited by
Book & Media Reviews Physical Chemistry for the Chemical and Biological Sciences by Raymond Chang University Science Books: Sausalito, CA, 2000. 960 pp. ISBN 1891389068. $88.50 (hardcover). reviewed by Andrew Pounds
Chang’s text, Physical Chemistry for the Chemical and Biological Sciences, was first introduced to me as a “kinder” p-chem text with less emphasis placed on the mathematics found in traditional physical chemistry texts. I allowed a biochemist friend of mine to look over this volume. After about 20 minutes he returned to the office and exclaimed that a physical chemistry text had finally been written for students who do not want to study physical chemistry. What he really meant was that a physical chemistry book had been written specifically for the large number of preprofessional students who are faced with p-chem in their junior year, but who have no desire to be in the class except to fill graduation requirements. This text meets these students where they are and opens the door to physical chemistry from a perspective they can appreciate. The author claims that the text is suitable for either a one-semester course or for the year-long junior-level physical chemistry sequence. All of the major components are in place. After an introductory chapter on units, the book quickly picks up with real gases and the kinetic theory of gases. Three chapters are then dedicated to thermodynamics and the concept of free energy is developed. With the concepts of thermodynamics established, the text moves to nonelectrolytic and electrolytic solutions, where concepts such as chemical potential and Debye–Hückel theory are treated. Chemical equilibrium, electrochemistry, and acid–base theory are treated consecutively in three chapters, which are followed by a chapter on chemical kinetics. These all lead to an excellent treatment of enzyme kinetics in Chapter 13. The next six chapters follow a similar pattern. They discuss concepts found in traditional physical chemistry texts with a capstone chapter that seeks to integrate the topics with an application specific to the biological sciences. For example,
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Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
these chapters discuss quantum mechanics, chemical bonding, intermolecular forces, spectroscopy, and symmetry to lead up to a chapter on photochemistry and photobiology. The last four chapters in the text are dedicated to independent treatments of the solid state, the liquid state, macromolecules, and statistical thermodynamics. Appendices are interspersed throughout the text to discuss concepts from the chapters that warrant further discussion. If this text has any drawbacks, they are most notably in the presentation of quantum mechanics, symmetry, and spectroscopy. In the treatment of the Schrödinger equation, the kinetic energy operator is presented. Operators, however, are generally not emphasized. The chapter on quantum mechanics and atomic structure uses only single-variable mathematics until the hydrogen atom is introduced. In other words, only the one-dimensional particle in a box is discussed. No attempt is made to extend into multiple dimensions and, therefore, no connection is made between symmetry and degeneracy. Although you will find chapters dedicated to the individual subjects of quantum mechanics, symmetry, and spectroscopy, there is very little effort to connect the concepts from these chapters. The text has almost one thousand end-of-chapter problems. These are categorized according to the chapter presentation and are typically followed by additional, more difficult problems. The text provides solutions to only the even-numbered problems that have a computed result. This book does offer an alternative approach to physical chemistry that is particularly well suited for those who want to pursue a course of study more focused on the biological sciences. It could also be an excellent choice for schools that mainly serve preprofessional programs or for schools that have split physical chemistry tracks to independently serve the B.S. and B.A. degrees. Since the book focuses on single-variable mathematics, schools that require only one year of calculus for their chemistry degree could also think about adopting it. However, in general, the use of the text as a drop-in replacement for physical chemistry for the B.S. degree is questionable owing to its lack of focus on quantum mechanics and its implications for spectroscopy. Andrew Pounds is in the Department of Chemistry, Mercer University, Macon, GA;
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 78 No. 5 May 2001 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
