Understanding Chemlslq
Robert J. Ouellette, The Ohio State University. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1976. xiv 441 pp. Figs. and tables. 19 X 24 cm.
+
The Prlnclples of lnorganlc Chemlslry William L. Jolly, University of California-Berkeley. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1976. Figs. and tables. viii + 376 pp. 17 X 24 cm. $16. The stated purpose of rhis short text is to provide an outline of the "few simple principles" which serve as the foundatim of modern inorganic chemistry. In keeping with this purpose, descriptive material is avoided, although most of the principles are presented in the context of soecific chemical examnles. he selection of tdpics is quite similar to'that found in other recent inorganic chemistry textbooks. The treatment of each topic is generally good, although not always along traditional lines. For example, it is rather startling to read through the chapter titled "The Solid State" without once encountering the term unit cell. While the author demonstrates that the solid state can be discussed at the introductory level without unit cells, it is still not clear that this is the way in which it should be done. The concept of the unit cell is so important in solid state chemistry that it should be afforded at least a brief mention. The related term asymmetric unit is used once in the chapter, but it is not defined. In spite of a few such problems, the departures from traditional pathways represent improvements over the standard methods for discussing inorganic principles. The treatments of metals and semiconductors (chapters 11 and 12) are especially good. This book is designed for students who have had one year each of general and organic chemistry. It should not present such students with grave difficulties, except possibly for Chapter 3, "Molecular Orbital Theory." Some af the techniques employed in this chapter will be over the heads of those students whose general chemistry experience
was not heavily laced with quantum mechanics. The most unique feature of this text is the concise manner in which the subjects are presented. The book is less than a third of the size of the widely used "Advanced Inorganic Chemistry" by F. A. Cotton and G. Wilkinson, and about half the size of the popular "Inorganic Chemistry: Principles of Structure and Reactivity" by J. E. Huheey. If words per page are considered, these fractions are even smaller. The author has produced a collection of important inorganic principles in a format having the convenience of a catalog. Each subject is described briefly with examples, and sources of further information are noted. Professor Jolly's writing is first-rate as slwavs. The onlvdifficultv arises from the fact that some top& are juit not well served by brevity. For example, the short outline of symmetry will probably not enlighten the beginning inorganic chemist unless a considerable amount of time is spent by the instructor in connecting loose ends. Although adequate references are provided, it is unrelaistic to expect that the average student will take advantaee of them. The oroblemsat the p n d uf carh chapter are challengmg and 11l~~srrate wrll the mort lmponnnt pomw uf the chapter. This book ought to be adopted by those instructors in inorganic chemistry who feel that a text should not overwhelm a student with an excess of material that he cannot be expected to absorb. Unless a supplementary descriptive text is employed, this book is not advisable far courses in descriptive inorganic chemistry. It should be possible to cover the 19 chapters in one semester, even if the instructor wishes to spend extra time on some of the topics. Donald D. Titus
Temple University PhMadelphia. Pennsyivania 19122
The primary purpose of this book is to "provide an approach to learning chemistry for students whose science background isvery limited." The material is oresented in "sufficient detail and a t a leveion which thestudent may study and learn without the need of a lecturer to provide additional or clarifying material." The text is designed for one semester. The subject matter is that expected for a book of this type in addition to a chapter on nuclear chemistry. Appendices include a short mathematical review, electronic configurations of the elements, vapor pressure of water at various temoeratures. solubilitv of salts, naturally occurring isotopes, and answers to selected problems. In general the text is clearly written. After a brief introduction measurement and mathematical operations are considered before taking up elements and compounds, the atomic theory, and bonding. In my opinion chapter 8 on the periodic table should appear earlier in the text for use in the preceding chapters on atoms, compounds, and chemical bonds. In solving problems the factor unit method is used. In the opinion of the reviewer this is unfortunate as this method seems more designed to provide an answer than to contribute to an understanding of chemistry. Interconversion of Centimade and Fahrenheit trmperatures, not very useful ~ a I c ~ ~ I a t i o n ~ . a l , ~are included. Throughout the text there are many eraniples t,t pnhlrms complrtrly worked out and numerous exercises at the end of each chapter which one could reasanably expect the student to do. Probably the least effectively written chapter in the hook is the chapter on bonding. Several analogies used do not seem to be helpful in understanding the chemistry involved, and could justifiably be omitted. Formula writing is presented in considerable detail, hut the method of writing formulas is unnecessarily complex. The statement that "every pure substance is composed (Continued on page A4281
Volume 54, Number 10, October 1977 1 A427
book reviews of ih own fundamental pnrticlr" ucmlll *?em to rxclude iunic mmpwnds. Hawng Iwed for mnny years at nn altitudr of appra&ately one mile, I cannot agree with the statement that a t this altitude the human body cannot operate efficiently and becomes tired easily. Most healthy individuals do not seem to notice a change in altitude below 8,000 ft and become adjusted to this altitude quite rapidly. The metabolism of sucrose a t 98.6'F to form carbon dioxide and water as described in the text is not t o my knowledge the primary source of energy for the body. The definition of mole, "A mole is that amount of material which contains a mass in grams equal to its mass on the atomic weight scale" would lead me to believe that the mass of a mole of H 2 0 would be 2.99 X I t is difficult to write a self-study text for beginning chemistry which is free of errors and this book is no exception. For a first edition, however, it is remarkably free of serious problems and should be useful in many classes provided the instructor reads it carefully before making assignments.
example, discussion of the geometry and bonding of saturated three-, four., and fivemembered ring heterocycles is done almost solely from the point of view of the related alicyclic compounds. Similarly, aromaticity and its implications on physical properties are discussed with benzene and not pyridine as the example. The arrangement of material in a number of chapters does not follow any systematic pattern and the relationship between the various sections of these chapters is not adequately explained. An example of this is the choice and coverage of topics in Chapter 3. Chapters 5 and 6 on five- and six-membered aromatic heterocyclic comoaunds are oerhaos the best written of all of the chapters. The final chapter on heterocyrlir enmnnnnds in nature and medicine. a
.
.
covered from the standpoint of examples. This hook on the whole is fairly well written and includes most of the important areas in heterocyclic systems. In spite of some limitations in thechoice and depth of coverage of topics, i t would serve as an adequate reference book for senior undergraduate students in chemistry and biochemistry. Vasu Nair University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa
John A. Beel university of Northern Colorado Greeley. Colorado
Heterocyclic Chemlstry
D. W Young, School of Molecular Science. Universitv of Sussex. Lonmnan. New ~ & k 1975. , 133 pp. Figs. and Gbles. 16 X 23 cm. $3.75. This book is designed for advanced undergraduate students of chemistry and hiochemistry and assumes a prior basic understanding of structural and reactivity aspects of organic chemistry. Chapter 1defines what heterocyclic compounds are and explains their IUPAC nomenclature. Chapter 2 discusses some simple molecular orbital representations, molecular dimensions, and conformational aspects of cyclic amines, ethers, and thioethers. The last part of this chapter mentions some ring opening reactions of small-ring heterocyclic compounds, and discusses the synthesis of saturated heterocyclic systems. Chapter 3 mentions some unsaturated (olefinic) heterocyclic systems, and also includes acylaziridines, lactams, laetones, and cyclic ureas. The chapter concludes with medium-ring heterocyclic ketones. Chapter 4 discusses heteroaromatic compounds in terms of aromaticity and antiaromaticity. Included in this chapter is a section on tautomerism in heteroaromatic systems. Chapters 5 and 6 cover in some detail the organic chemistry of five- and sixmembered aromatic heterocyclic compounds and Chapter 7 presents material on polycyclic heteroaromatic compounds. The last chapter of the book discusses some heterocyclic systems found in nature and the use of heterocyclic compounds in medicine. Each chapter in the book ends with "Key Points" which is essentially a summary of the material covered in the chapter. A reading list is also included with each chapter. The table of contents and the index are adequate. Some detailed comments about the various topics covered need to be mentioned. For A428 / Journal of Chemical Education
Statlstlcal Mechanics Donald A. McQuarrie, Indiana University. Harper & Row, New York, 1976. xiv 641 pp. Figs. and tables. 18 X 26.5 cm. $29.95.
+
The first 12 chapters of this book (253 pages out of 591) were previously published as "Statistid Thermodynamics" (Donald A. McQuarrie, Harper and Row, 1973)and cover the material that makes up the core of the standard introductory chemistry course in statistical mechanics. The topics treated in these chapters include the derivation of the canonical partition function using the method of undetermined multipliers, ideal monatomic, diatomic, and polyatomic gases, chemical equilihrium, and the Einstein and Debye theories of solids. There are also brief treatments of classical statistical mechanics and Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistin. While the above topics are interesting and are subjects every chemist should he familiar with, they do not even hint a t what present day researeh in statistical mechanics is all about. And it is on this point that the remaining ten chapters (representing new material) are very exciting. For here, in a very readable fashion, the author covers many of the areas in statistical mechanics that have been developed only in recent years. A partial list of the topics covered includes distribution functions (with illustrations from molecular dynamics calculations and discussion of the Percus-Yevick equation and other integral equations), perturbation theories of liquids, continuum mechanics (with a discussion of the Nnvier-Stokes eouationi. the Boltzmann
sekhar equation) and two chapters on the time-correlation function formalism (with
discussions of the Wiener-Khintchine theorem and the memory function). Among the topics not covered are lattice statistics and theories of phase transitions and critical phenomena. In this regard the boak hy Stanley [Stanley, H. E., "lntroduction to Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena," Oxford University Press, 19711 complements the new material in the present text for a second course in statistical mechanics in offering students a readable account of current research. As a whole, the topics treated center around imperfect gases and liquids with very little mention of applications to problems in solid state physics. This, in my view, is not a defect since there are many excellent books available in the area of solid state physics and chemistry, hut very few (and not so up t o date) covering the material treated by McQuarrie. The author acknowledges a deht to Terrell Hill's hook [Hill, Terrell L., "Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics," AddisonWesley, 19601that has seen long senice in the chemistry curriculum as a general introduction and survey of more advanced topics. The later chapters of the present book offer quite a bit more mathematical detail than the corresponding treatments in Hill and are much more up to date, covering many topics not found in Hill. Hill's boak remains agood introduction to such older approximate theories as the Bethe approximation and hole theories of liquids. Even if time does not permit the instructor to cover all or any of the new material in this book, it is to he highly recommended for introductory courses with the view that the curious student will browse through the later chapters and become captivated by the exciting and beautiful new areas of statistical mechanics so clearly expounded. And that is the best reason for recommending any book. Douglas Poland The Johns Hopkins University Ealtimore, Maryland
IS It Really So? A Guide to Clear Thinking Dwight J. Ingle, Emeritus, University of Chicago. Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1976. 160 pp. No figs or tables. 12 X 19 cm. $3.50, paper. Do you want to help your students recognize faults in their reasoning? Do they need assi.
