Basic concepts of chemistry

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The study guide is arranged according t o the same chapter titles aa the textbook. Each chapter of the guide begins by outlining the

major objectives. New terms used in the chapter are listed, and a short summary of the chapter is presented, including additional example problems. A self-test is presented along with answers. Detailed solutions are provided for some of these problems. The guide would he usefulonly when combined with the teat; it is not designed to heused alone. JOHN A. VARINE Kiski Area School District 184 Sherman Avenue Vandergrifl. PA 15690

This is a wall-written hook that vwdd serve a useful purpose as a supplemenrnl text. The authur stater that ' t h e text is primardy for students whu wish tg, obtann the background and confidence needed to pursue a main sequence general chemistry course."If that purpose is kept in mind, then the omission of some topics usually discussed in high school chemistry texts-i.e., descriptive chemistry, crystal structure. molecular eeometrv. mold and normal solutionsdaes not nppenr t;, he impo&nt. ~ x c c p th,r the omirsion 111 descriptive rhemtstry, the srudent wing this text yruldlly wuuld suffer nu

would seem to he as a primary text for a second-year course in organic and bioehemistrv. for students oriented toward health .. es~eciallv . wienws. Thrs text is mor~adequateb r tlliv purpmr than most shurrer texts which ntrempt tc, provide n hriel werview of orgtanic and hiw rhemrstry. C w r m ~ e of thegeneral cl>enlistrv,.4thuuyh q u a l l y wpll written, is probably too brief for a first-year course. It may, however, he useful as a reference hook. This text would be a fine choice for an alternative chemistry program which covers general, organic, and hiochemistry in a one-year course. The reading level is appropriate for average and ahove-average hieh school students. The authors devote about 200 oaees eaeh to " general and organic chemistry and an additional 300 to biochemistry. Arithmetic and simple algebra are the only math prerequisites. Learning objectives appear a t the beginning of each major section and, together with chapter summaries, should prove helpful in guiding the attention of the reader t o the main concepts involved. Terms and definitions are italicized, and many key terms are defined in the margin of the page where a term is introduced. A sufficient number of good quality problems with varying degrees of difficultv.. followed hv answers. are orovided after each section. Add~tionalprol~lcmifullou the chapter summary. Anewers to a p proximately one-hell uf these additmud prddems nrr gwen in the study guide, which includes add~tiunnlquestwns, pwhlemr, and self-tests with answers.

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KEITH W. BUCKINGHAM

T o estahlirh an easy-to-read format, new terms are lirted in bold type and defined aisimply as paiihle. Thew ikaglwsary in the text uhich the student ran use to review the definition uf any term forgotten. As much as possible, everything has been reduced tosimplerules. For the first time in over 40 years, significant digits have been made intelligible. Simple diagrams are often used to explain mare complex topics. The number of examples in the text is adequate, and the examples are clearly explained. Each sample problem has explanatory material outlining the thought process leading to eaeh step. Inaddition, the page margins listproblem numbers that relate to the topic discussed. Thus, the student can read the text and know which questions and problems are related to the readings, gaining immediate feedback on the level of understsnding. Additional problems are given in the accompanying study guide, which also contains chapter objectives, a list of new terms, a chapter overview, a self-test, and the answers to the self-test. A 6psge treatise on "How to Ace Chemistry" is also included and is well worth the time spent reading it. The examples and concise explanations will he an asset to students seeking extra help on particular topics. As a supplemental text, it is well done.

JAMEST. MARTINO Talawanda High School Oxford. OH 45056

This text is designed for use in undergraduate nursing programs and related fields. The pages devoted t o general chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry cover too wide a range of content for a one-year general high school chemistry course. Many high schools do offer a second year of chemistry that includes oreanie and hiachemistry, and these schools conce&hly could use this text. It is not as difficult to read and understand as are the standard textn based upon CHEM Study. Its main drawback is that all examples and applications are drawn from the health sciences. That might he desirable for the nursing student who has already taken a general chemistry course in high school and is looking for the applications t o the health field, but the high school student needs a broader point of view. This narrow outlook can be seen,for example, in Chapter 2; radioactivity is discussed there. hut it is done with relation to w e e r theraov. A table shows uses and bricks, and a sponge. The only other example of Boyle's Law is an inflammed Eustachian tube. There is no descriptive inorganic chemistry in the text except for two pages devoted to periodicity. Petroleum refining is given three sentences, the use of alkanes for gasoline is given one line in a table, hut a whole paragraph is devoted to the use of Vaseline" for treetine diaoer rash. 'l'he t e x t is prohahly most useful ar. a relerpncr text for the teacher and the ~itudentIhmking pecifiraily tlrr rrannpler and applications of clwrnirnl prinriplt:~from the health field. in the dixussiun of speriticpravity, thea~thursexplninhowa urinmwtcr iluied toderp,.t r l ~ a h a r ~ m e l l ~ t u s ndiohere3 nd iwipidus. (Tlw urine ot the yerwn wth uiabrtcs mt-lllrus has n h~yhers p ~ r i f i gravirv ( than that of3 heahhy person.) In the chapter on electroche&stry, a section is devoted the electrochemistry of life; such processes as the occurrence of redoa reactions in the res~iratarvchain and the electrical conduction of nerviimpulses and muscle contractions are discussed. Other chapters discuss the function of compounds occurring naturally in the hody-amines, narcotics, amphetamines, and hallucinogens.

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General Organic and Biological ChemistryChemistry for the Living System M Lynn James, James 0.Schreck, and James N BeMiller, D.C. Heath and Co., Lexington, MA, 1980, 576 pp., $23.95.

1 This text is remarkably coherent and readable for a text which covers this breadth of material. The authors have managed to extract

the essence of the topics from the detail which frequently obscures the overview for the typical student. This has been accomplished a t little expense to necessary theoretical and descriptive material. This text stresses chemistrv of livine svstems. It is well intemated with most principles relating to physiological and health science applications. The excellent diagrams and analogies are clear and concise. The most likely application for this teat a t the high school level

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Wyoming Seminary Kingston. PA 18704

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Eva Deck

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Flat Rock Senior High School 28639 Division St. P. 0 Box 158 Flat Rock. MI 48134

Volume 59

Number 6

J u n e 1982

535