BOOK REVIEWS R
Chemistry Problems
Joseph F. Caslka, C. W . Post College, Long Island University, Long Island, New York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 568 pp. Inc., New York, 1962. viii Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. Paperbound. 8 . 2 0 .
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Stimulating textbooke, 8s well as able and dedicated teachera, are essential paria of an excellent high school science program. Much good has come from the two NSFsupported group efforts in textbook preparation. But it would he most unfortunate if these texts should discourage individual authorship in this field. The book under review is the product of such individual effort. The one major criticism of this book is that the author does not, in the first half, even begin to make use of the theory he so ably presents in the latter. Again and again ideas are presented in the Arrhenius and pre-Arrhenius language. Equations are written that hem little resemblance either to modern theoretical ideas or to the composition of the substances involved. For example, the reaction b e tween aluminum and hydrochloric acid is 6HCI 2A1C1. 3H9.I' written "2Al The problem is to calculate "How many grams of aluminum chloride are produced when 72 grams of hydrogen chloride in the f o m of dilute acid are reacted with excess aluminum?" There is some very important chemistry associated with the fact that AIC13 (or, rather, Al2C4) is not obtained under the conditions described in this problem. Mass number and atomic mass are treated as if they are identical, and later defined correctly, just as significant figures me first ignored and then
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explained. The worst feature is the treatment of solutions of electrolytes. On page 100 there is a table of the equilibrium "process of dissociation or ionization of electrolytes." An example is:
The book is divided into six units. Unit One consists of one short chapter, entitled Problem Solving and Science. The chief illustrative ~ r o b l e m is The Stow of
logarithms, nuclear reactions, oxidationreduction reactions, and protolysis reactions. It also contains much that is useless and confusing. Unit Three is the usual elementary treatment of gas law problems, and of molecular weight determination by the gas density method and by boiling point elevation and freezing point depression. Unit Four treats concentration oi solutions, equilibrium in chemical solution, titration, pH, K equivalents, and Faraday's laws. It is in Unit Five, on chemical bonding and crystal structure, that the author's enthusiasm and ingenuity are made manifest. This long section (182 pages) is the redeeming feature of the book. The language is clear and concise and the problems truly fascinating. Two illnstrative problems: (1) descrihe the hybridiaation and geometry of the nickel carhonyl molecule (p. 370); (2) calculate, by use of simple geometry, the smallest cation-anion radius ration for cubic body centered crystals (p. 406). Enough of these problems are solved to prevent the able student. from giving up before he starts.
in This Issue
Joseph F. Castka, Chemistry Problems Jack Hine, Physical Organic Chemistry Keith M . Sepmur, Introduction t o Organic Chemistry H. V. Malmsfadt and C. G. Enke, aasisted by E. C. Toren, Jr., Electronics for Scientists: Principles and Experiments for Those Who Use Instruments W . BnQel, translated by A R. Katritzky and A. J . D. Katritzky, An Introduction to Infrared Spectroscopy Richard Emst and Ingeborg Emst "on Morgastern, Faehworterbuch der Chemie: Eimchliesslich Verfahrenstechnik und den Grundlagen der verwandten Wissenschaften (Dictionary of Chemistry Including Chemical Engineering and Fundamentals of Allied Sciences), Volume 1, German English Jean Fouchier and Fernand Billet, Dictionnaire de Chimie: Faehworterbuch der Cbemie: Chemical Dictionary Maurice P . Crosland, Hiatorieal Studies in the Language of Chemistry A. H. Beckett and J . B. Sfalake, Practical P h m a c e u t i e d Chemistry: Quantitative Analysis Anselm L. Stmuss el al., The Professional Scientist: A Study of American Chemists Mi108 Hudliekj, Chemistry of Organic Fluorine Compounds
334 / Journal of Chemical Educafion
Unit Six is entitled Preparation for Examinations and Contests. Sample questions from recent Westinghouse and Advanced Placement examinations are given, although official answers to the latter are not published. The reader is impreesed by tho wide variation in the quality oi questions on each of these examinations. Although many misprints and small errors were noticed, there are fewer than are usually seen in s first edition of such a comprehensive text. These errors seldom confuse the good student. The objections to this book, although serious, are objections that apply to practically all high school texts and many college texts in general chemistry. Unit Five is a real contribution to the intelleetual ferment that should bring about much less conlusing textual material far b e ginning chemistry courses. Davm B. CAMP The University of the South Sewanee, Tennessee
Physical Organic Chemistry
Jack Him, Georgia Institnte of Technology, Atlanta. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill 552 pp. Book Co., Inc., 1962. x Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 em. $11.50.
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This second edition of apopular reaction mechanisms text retains all the many goad features of its predecessor. (For review of 35, 368 earlier edition, see THIS JOURNAL, 119581.) Besides s general updating of mast of the text to include significant research appearing since publication of the first edition, there are five major changes in its basic oreanieatian. These are: Addition ofproblems a t the end of each chapter. This is very welcome. Expansion of the material on methylenes (or carbenes) into a separate chapter, which, as might be expected from Dr. Hinds research interests in this area, is excellent. Expansion of the chapter deding with the application of kinetics to reaction mechanisms studies. Since the brevity of this chapter in the first edition was the book's weakest point, this is all to the good. However, this reviewer wishes the kinetics chapter had been expanded still further, and in particular, that another chapter outlining the important n a kinetic tools of the physical-organic chemist's trade had also been included. See, far example, Chapter 5 in Gould's "Mechanism and Structure in Organic Chemistry." Creation of a separate chapter dealing with quantitative correlation of reaction rates and equilibria, principally the Hammett and Taft equations. This chapter is generally well done, except that most students will find the first few pages rather heavy going. Shifting the chapter on acid-base catalysis to an earlier point in the book. (One might note that this chapter is up-to-date enough to include reference to Bunnett's m values papers, even though these were not published until t.he end of 1961!)
As noted earlier, the text generally has been revised to include discussion of or a t least some reference to much of the important research in reaetion mechanisms published since the appearance of the first edition. To be sure, one can find some significant work which has been omitted. One example is Ingold's paper ( J . Chem. Soc., 4054 [19601) on inductive us. steric effects as the controlling factor in determining the direction of E2 eliminations of onium salts, which one might have expected t o see mentioned in Chapter 8. Another is the very limited mention (p. 155) given to Winstein's studies of specid salt effects in solvolysis reactions. However, when one considers the everincreasing volume of physic&organic literature and the need to keep the b w k to a reasonable size, some such omissions were doubtless inevitable. All told, this edition represents a significant updating of the original, and because of the rapid paec of rescarch in reutetion mechanisms, its purchase to replace volumes of the first edition now in personal or institutional librarie. seem indicated.
JOHN L. I
