book reviews Editor: W. F. KIEFFER College of Woostsr
Weonor, Ohio
General Chemistry: Experiment and Theory
Richard H. Eastman, Stanford University, Stanford, California. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., New York, 1970. xxii 601 pp. Figs. and tables. 25.5 X 21.5cm. $12.95.
+
The initial response to t,his new text for general chemist,ry records the beauty, format, and green color of the book. The art work is bath esthetically charming and ehemicdly enlightening. On further study, i t is apparent that the text is a pmdigions attempt to make chemistry excib ing, comprehensible, and logical. Professor Eastman has devised an heuristic approach to the study of chemistry which in challenging and rewarding. I t will appeal to the developing scientist of inquisitive mind, who will appreciate the applications of chemistry to environmental questions as well as find x challenge in test,ing the theories of chemistry. The most outst,anding feature of thin text is its new approach to t,he organiaation of general chemistry. Atomic theory is delayed until the foundation is estahlished far its comprehension. This is so novel that some teachers will find i t difficult to accept, but the depth is so much greater that t,hey will he able to discuss idea- they have had t,o avoid in other h e ginning courses. Derivation of the wave equations is discussed in a very logical manner and minimizes the complex mathematics, hut i t is not a topic for all students. This can be easily omitted as can the thermodynamic3 without loss of comprehension. The inq~dsitivestudent and discriminatin~professorwill he well-served by this text.
-Reviewed
I n the discussions, the solntions to the exemplary problems are given in a rational form and steady rat,e of growth. Some of the problems a t the ends of the chapters are labeled as to the pertinent chapter section. This is especially vahable as a teaching aid in assigning problems. The problems which must he solved by logical, "on-met,hemetical thinkine m e interestine ~~" and challenging. More should he included in all text books. The selection of this text for use by chemistry majors is very logical, and other scientists and eneineers will find that i t provides x stepwise development of c h e w ical experimentation and theory. The student need have had no previous chemistry, hut he probably should have s. scientific interest or a positivism toward science. A liberal arts major who is antagonistic to soience will not he "turned on" by the hook (probably a vacuous hope today), and pre-meds and other life sciences majors will find i t more relevant than most of the current texts. Some of the excellent features me the continued exploration of principles, e r pecially the gas laws and equilibria, the introduction to photachemist,ry, and the incorporation of organic molecules into t,he text with their m p t m c e as normal c o w pounds. This reviewer has s. negativistic attitude toward the optical activity approach t,a organic chemistry a t this level. The relatively few (35) pages of elegant discussion will reqnire a proport,ionately greater percentage of study t,ime than other chapters unlcss one concentrek5 only on the rancept of stereoisomerism. Since oreanic chemistrv is relat,ivelv easy to comprehend and very difficult use, the survey approach is misleading s s ~
~
tb
in this issue
Richard H . Easlman, General Chemistry: Experiment and Theory. ..... A853 Harold G . Cassidy, Science Restated. Physics and Chemistry for the Nan-Scientist.. ................................................
A853
J . W . Dan Spronsen, The Periodic System of Chemiml Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years.. .............................. A856 Mildred D. Johnson, Problem Solving and Chemical Calculations. . . . . . . . . A856 Peter O'D. Offenenhartz,Atomic and Molecular Orbital Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . A860
William P. Jacks, Catalysis in Chemistry and Enzymology.. ...........
A860
Joseph Needham, editor, The Chemistry of Life: Eight Lectures on the History of Biochemistry.. .......................................
A862
New Volumes in Continuing Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A862
well as superficial. The appendixes are good and give summaries of some phenomena usually reserved for physics but which are excellent for comprehension of the text. The chief objection is that the periodic table is put in the appendix instead of printed inside one of the covers. The student should out i t out and glue i t into the cover. Chapter 12 is the most difficult chapter to wmprehend but much can be omitted. The diagrams make amajor contribution to understanding Lhe ideas. The size of the hook will be considered a. disdvmtage by some. Few courses will cover d l chapters, hut this is logic$ since the teacher will modify the printed hook from his own experience. The overall view is that this text,book will stimulate the above-average student to think in depth and will challenge the great majority of students to understand t,he logic of chemical theory developed from experimental observations. While i t will be demanding, i t is within the student's gmsp, and i t answers the major requirement of a good course--% demand for and acceptance of learning. GLORIAG. LYLE University qf New Hampshire Durham 03824
Science Restated. Physics and Chemistry for the Non-Scientist
Harold 0. Cassidy, Yale University. Freeman, Cooper and Co., San Francisco, 1970. xii 526 pp. Figs., tables, and appendices. 17.5 X 24 em. 88.75.
+
This is an excellent book, one of the rare kind that appear once in a decade, or longer. I t is exactly what is needed if we are to eKeetively meet tho proper demands of today to give an account of soience to our non-science students. I recommend it strongly for serious consideration as the text to use for those who have determined that i t is preferable t o remark upon physical science as a whole to nan-science students, as distinguished from those who prefer to deal with the various sciences separately. I n Lhe preface, Professor Cassidy indicates his intention to connect science t o the student's life through h i percep tions, enhancing his ability to transmute experionoe into mental constructs by symbolic transformations, to emphasize a philosophical underst,anding of what the student is doing as he connects his world of experience to the ordered uoguitive world of scientific oonstructs and then returns by his own volition t o apply the resulls of that activity. I t is clear that the author hns succeeded for any alert, reasonably intelligent student. The strategy of the book is interesting. Professor Cassidy has selected "those aspects of physics and chemistry that I think will still have important influences upon world cultrue twenty years or more from now." Only the nerasary classical background is included; any other pro(Continued on page A856)
Volume 47, Number 12, December 1970
/
A853
book reviews fessor esn add, modify, or delete according to his own conscience. The base is now available. The book begins with an overview, frankly designed to be used by the student both initially and five or ten years later, which presents science in perspective. Topicel content begins with the electron, magnetism, and light. Special relativity comes next fallowod by eloetromagnetio rndintion awl quanta. I t may seem to some that continuity is lost by jumping from classical ideas on the electron and magnetic phenomena t o special relativity. On the contrary, there is x thread which the author exploits successfully; this can be presented to studcnts if one follows Cassidy's lend. One of the remarkable strengths of the hook is the elear, conversxtioosl, and patient style used, buttressed by extended and sophisticated prior considerations by the author before pen was put to paper. Examine the book yourself to see how it is done. The fourth part of the book is largely chemical: an overall view of matter, then atomic structure, properties, nuclear phenomena, molecular properties, i'onctions, and slruet,tlre. The last, part deals vit,h probability, cybernetics, fields, universal laws, and some remarks on natural philosophy. A useful appendix is svsilable, and the inside front and back covers present s. general chronology ("anchor points") of Western intellectual mile stones, from Moses, Homer, and Pythxgoras t o Rutherford, Einstein, and Bohr, and inch~dingDarwin and Mendel; commonly used scientific symbols; and an interesting (I disagree with it,) periodic table. However, the r e d flavor, and strength, of the book daes not lie in a prosaic enumeration of topics covered. Listen t o these brief qnotations, selected a t random (there is one on almost every page, and often more than one, that could have been presented): "we would like the power inherent in the interphv of fact and theory t o become evident," "he then did a most ingenious thing; he put a tube. . .hetween the poles of n. strong magnet," "the human brain is a patterwforming organ," "as we are making a model we (can) arrange it t o suit our needs," "in one sense, Science is a search for basic properties by which phonomens can be classified," "reasoning plus algebra. daes the job," "the wise scientist is the cautious one: he keeps in mind tho old aphorism 'seek simplicity -and distrust it.'" Each of these quotations is accompanied by topical discussion on facts and principles. This is a hook about science and its philosophy, related t o reality. The ilh~strations are profuse, and pedagogical. The questions and exorcises me delightfully imaginative. Some require loose translation from Fronch or German into English; there is one on the estimated numher of drug stores in t,he United States, with a good pedagogical point made as a consequence; n carnival wheel (several feet in diameter, hump in the center, rotating a n a vcrt,icnl axis) gets into another; and there are also a proper number of a more solemn nature,
pers and has passed on the contents and his comments to the reader. I n addition to the expected material the author hss included a veritable host of topics that deal with the matter. The discovery of isotopes and the important finding that the periodicity applies t,o atomic numbers rather than atomic weights eliminated many of the difficulties that previously presented serious roadblocks. Among the many topics discussed in depth me: the theory of classifications; precursors and discoverers of the periodic system; prediction of elements; deviations from the increase in atomic weight; the noble gases; the place of the transition elements; lanthanides, actinides, t,he rare earths; radioactivity and the system; limits of the periodic system, etc. Considerable atteriJAY A. YOUNG tion is given to the matter of the various Auburn University proposed formq in bath two and three Auburn, Alabama 56830 dimensions, and to the priority polemics. I n short, the aubhor has spent a tremendous amount of labor and study on this book and he has given the chemical world an outstanding treatise that should endme for a long time. Every inorganic chemist should have a copy readily rtvdilable to read, reread, and ponder.
on parabolic mirrors, threshold wavelength for the photoelectric effect,, tuning forks, hydrogen bands, equation balancing, Le Chatelier principle, cis-trans isomerism, to list a few. This review is long enough; to go on furt,hcr would diminish some of your delight when you look through your copy. When you order your copy of this book, also ask for the "Vade Mecnm"; this delightful and unusnzl75 ppagc off-sctprinted hooklct is a useful oxtension of tho remarks in the preface and first chsptcr of the hook itself. Bobh arc loaded with tressurcs for professors and students, and the hook is well worth serious consideral tion as a text for teaching the u s ~ f uwhole of physical science to non-science students.
RALPHE. O I I S P ~ R Uniuersit~,of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years
J. W. van Spronsn, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Elsevier Publishing Ca., 368 pp. Figs. New York, 1969. xv and t,shles. 16 X 24 cm. X18.
+
One of the best ways t,o commemorate the centenary oi an important scientific event is to publish nn ootstandirrg hook about it,. This has been done in the present instance by the eminent Dutch scientist and historian. The well known American authority on the history of chemistry Aaron J. Ihde has stated in his Foreword: "It is appropriate t,hzt this book should he published in the centennial year of the contributions of Mundeleev and J. Lothar Meyer. I t will serve as the definitive study for many decades i n k the future." The author is definitely of the opinion that the idea of the periodic system of the chemical elements was not the creation of one or two men as is so often st,ated. Rather he views no less than six men as independent discoverers. The six are: Menddeev (Itussix), Meyer (Germany), Newlands (England), de Chnntcourtois (France), Odling (England), IIinrichs (Denmark-U.S.A.). Still other have pushed their own claim butwith little success. I t is not feasible to present here the basis for these claims hut the hook contains all that most people will wish to know ahout the work of everybody that has been involved, even to a lesser degree, in this great systemat,iaation. The type-size is somewhat smaller than usurtl hut is perfectly legible and this choice permits much more text to be presented without unduly increasing the size of the volume. Each chapter is provided with a long list of references to the literature and the author has obviously read and digested most of these books and pa-
problem Solving and Chemical Calculations
Mildred D. Johnson, City College of San Francisco, California. Narcourt, Brace and World, Inc., New Yark, 1069. viii 341 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23 cm. Softbound. $3.95.
+
"How do you 'set up' this problem?'' "Once the problem is set up it's easy!" How often instructors hear these comments from students a t all levels. This book is intended to teach the "setting up" of problems and it succeeds very well. StudenL5 are first taught to analyze the problem carefully. Then they are led through a variety of problem-solving methods, starting with simple examples and advancingupward in difficulty. After the approach to a problem has been discussed the hook zeroes in on such tools as unit and dimensional analysis, nlgehra review, graphing, logarithms, and the development of m a t h e m s t i d functions from experimental dat,a. The second half of the book covers many categories of elementary chemistry problems using the attack methods presented earlier. The mole method is emphasized wherever possible. Throughout, the problem are imaginative and intriguing-such ils speculating about males of elephants and the physical laws of the "snt,iuniverse" where water flows uphill twice as fast as i t flows downhill. The text is concise, simple and easy to follow. Almost any college freshman or high school senior could profit greatly by spending 8. few eveninm to maqter the idea? presented here.
JANET VANDOREN Collep of Woosler Wooster, Ohio (Continued on page A860)
