BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEW pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Review of Principles of Chemistry: A Molecular Approach Scott Smidt* Laramie County Community College Albany County Campus, Laramie, Wyoming 82070, United States Principles of Chemistry: A Molecular Approach by Nivaldo J. Tro. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2010. xviii + 870 pp. ISBN: 978-0321560049 (paper). $170.
was particularly good; several students commented favorably on the quantum-mechanical strike zone analogy. Each chapter begins with a short section that introduces a real-life application of the chemistry covered in the chapter. For example, the chapter on stoichiometry begins with a discussion of fossil fuel combustion and global warming. I am not sure students are always prepared to understand the chemistry introduced in these sections, but the idea is to capture interest, not teach content. From this introduction, the content of the topic unfolds in a logical and straightforward way. Worked sample problems are included with almost every section and questions testing conceptual understanding are sprinkled throughout each chapter. All chapters conclude with a list of key terms, a summary of key concepts, a list of important equations or relationships, and a list of skills students should acquire. Other design features are deserving of comment: Graphics connecting macroscale and nanoscale are common. Sample problems are solved in paired columns with the verbal explanation of what’s being done in one column and the numerical manipulation in the other. A similar style is used to illustrate algorithmic procedures (e.g., drawing Lewis structures or solving equilibrium problems). Lastly, the book can be purchased with access to the publisher’s online course management program, MasteringChemistry, reviewed previously in this Journal.2 In the end, Tro’s text is a worthwhile addition to the current crop of textbooks for the two-semester market.3 Some may not like the stripped down style, in which case the extended version might be more suitable. Personally, I am not sure that students pay much attention to the boxes unless their teachers do, in which case the boxes seem superfluous; sometimes all the additions can confuse the narrative. Instructors who prefer a more data-driven text or one with more integrated connections to current issues will already know the texts they favor; Tro’s book is in another category.
The market for chemistry textbooks seems both crowded and fractured. Numerous texts abound for “preparatory” classes, “GOB” classes, “liberal arts” classes, one-semester “introductory” classes, two-semester classes for chemistry majors, two-semester classes for science majors, advanced texts for “honors” classes, and perhaps some others of which I am not aware. Nivaldo Tro’s Principles of Chemistry is suitable for any two-semester class. Books for two-semester general chemistry courses typically come in two lengths: a long version, often with only the word “chemistry” in its title, and a shorter version, usually with “principles of” added. Such is the case with the textbook under review here. Tro’s Principles is four chapters shorter than its parent text:1 Biochemistry; Chemistry of the Nonmetals; Metals and Metallurgy; and Transition Metals and Coordination Compounds have been omitted. In addition, small sections of other chapters have also been sacrificed, as well as special topic boxes and end-ofchapter review questions. The exercises at the end of the chapter appear to be the same. Comparing the chapter on gases from the long and short version will illustrate the differences: the Principles version lacks short sections on the description of a manometer, deep-sea diving and partial pressures, kinetic molecular theory and the ideal gas law (which mathematically derives the ideal gas law from postulates of kinetic molecular theory), and chemistry in the atmosphere (covering air pollution and ozone depletion). Side boxes on “chemistry in medicine” dealing with blood pressure and “chemistry in your day” on snorkeling are also removed. The book’s organization is similar to other textbooks, but it is not an “atoms first” text. Balanced chemical equations, stoichiometry, and thermochemistry are all covered before the quantum mechanical details of atoms and bonding. Also, the chapter on gases comes earlier than in many books, falling between the chapter on stoichiometry (Chapter 4) and thermochemistry (Chapter 6), rather than being placed just before liquids and solids (Chapter 11). Whatever your preference, the chapter on gases can be covered in either location without losing clarity, or if desired, the book can be customized through the publisher. Organic chemistry and biochemistry are mildly integrated throughout the text. For example, organic compounds are distinguished from inorganic compounds and examples of a few hydrocarbons are given in Chapter 3, which deals with nomenclature. However, naming rules for basic hydrocarbons and functional groups are segregated in the book’s final chapter. I do not have a problem with this, but those who prefer fuller integration should take note. In general, the writing is clear and concise, and the presentation of topics within a chapter usually follows a logical progression. I thought the chapter on the quantum-mechanical model of the atom (Chapter 7) Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ REFERENCES (1) Tro, N. Chemistry: A Molecular Approach, 2nd ed.; Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010. (2) Shepherd, T. D. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 694 695; DOI: 10.1021/ed086p694. (3) Editor’s Note: Publication of the second edition of Principles of Chemistry: A Molecular Approach is expected January 2012.
10.1021/ed2006778
Published: November 23, 2011 13
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed2006778 | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 13–13
