nonnscienee student.
"Chemistry, the
book reviews
Unlverslty Chemlslry. mlrd Edltlon
Bruce H. Mahan, University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley, California. Addison-Wes-
ley Publishing Company, Reading, Mas-
sachusetts, 1975. xv + 894 pp. Figs. and
tables. 17.5 X 24.2 cm. $14.95.
Several hundred pages of the Third Edi-
tion of this excellent text are identical with
those found in the fvst two editions, and thus
the- first two reviews [Tobias, R. S., J.
CHEM. EDUC., 42.345 (1965)], and [Ken-
ney, M. E., J. CHEM. EDUC., 46, A214
(1969)l must he regarded as an integral
part of this updating. Six years have
elapsed since the last edition, and Profes-
sor Mahan obviously feels that little change
in the basic format of the tent is necessary
Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by 47.247.75.211 on 09/27/18. For personal use only.
(After all, why tinker with a winner?).
While one may take issue with Mahan's po-
sition (Freshmen should now be learning of
the operation of chemical systems,
shouldn't they?), helshe will have t o admit
that the changes made are skillfully done
and do imorove the overall text.
In a very ens) and clever mnnner, the au-
thor has worked into his earlier mawrtal new
section.; denling w ~ elcrtrorhcm~cal
h appli-
J. Chem. Educ. 1976.53:A305.
cations, units of equilibrium constants, the
experimental determination of AE, nodal
structure of molecular orbitals, ligand field
~ and
thenrv. , .tetrahedral
~ ~ cmtal field solittine.
~ ~
Further. all sectiuw denling with p - I' rwrk
have been rcwmtwn to rrtlrrr rhe mcrearingly
cummon definiti~rnof the pusitive term in
terms of work done on the system by an ex-
ternal pressure.
The author has intentionally refrained
from converting entirely to SI units, although
he mentions their coming use and attempts
to prepare the student for later courses by
frequently (in the thermncbemieal chapters)
presenting energy values in bath SI and cgs
units. Included in the Appendix, however, is
a masterful discussion of the concept of units
and the relation between the several common
systems. Unfortunately, the entropy unit (eu)
is defined in terms of calories per degree, and
this apparently restrictive definition will
surely cause unnecessary confusion. Had this
definition been made more general, and both
SI and egs units heen used for comparison in
the tabular displays of thermochemical
properties, this would have been a very sat-
isfying approach indeed.
With an obvious need to address environ-
mental and energy applications of chemistry,
Professor Mahan uses the concept of ther-
modynamic efficiency in discussing fuel cells,
but the teat structure established in the
earlier editions precluded reference to a
.
nrevinus definition and some backmound
~~
mformation 'l'nnt d~finitimand harkground
ra lucidly presented in a new diavwsion of
heat engines found inn later chapter, hut im
required earlier use represents (to this re-
viewer) the only awkward aspect introduced
into this new revision.
As the reviewer of the First Edition sug-
gested, the author is obviously happier in
dealing with principles rather than descrip-
tive chemistry, but Professor Mahan recog-
nized the need for an enhancement of the
descriptive aspects and applications of
chemistry and has included significant revi-
sions in appropriate chapters. Classes of new
descriptive material are: (1)biochemical ap-
plications (e.g., chemistry of Na and K in
body fluids, new section on enzyme catalysis),
(2) inclusions of (now) obvious earlier omis-
sions (e.g., chemistry of silicate minerals,
ammonia, and alumina), (3) industrial ap-
plications (e.g., Solvay process, fuels, syn-
thetic polymers), (4) environmental appli-
cations (e.g., atmospheric chemistry of oay-
gen and nitrogen oxides), and (5) qualifiea-
tion of previous edition statements, updating
of descriptive material, etc. Also of note are
two rather complete sections on transition
metal csrbonyls and organometallic chem-
istry.
In summary, this Third Edition represents
a minor (though useful) change over the
Second Edition, and it may therefore be ex-
pected to continue to provide an exciting
challenge to highly motivated beginning
science students (and more advanced stu-
dents seeking an elegant review).
Richard W . ZuehLe
university of Bridgeport
Eridporr. Connecticut 06602
Chemistry: The Sclence and the Scene
Ronald D. Clark and Robert L. S. Amoi,
New Mexico Highlands University. Ham-
ilton Publishing Co., California, 1975.355
+ix pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 19 cm.
$10.95.
In the past decade there has heen a spate
of chemistry textbooks intended for the
Science and the Scene" is such a book. The
works in this category run the gamut from
those which would he easy for a mediocre
high school student to some which would
present difficulties to the average college
chemistry major. This book probably falls
about half way between these extremes. The
authors state that "The course should be
sufficiently well-founded in chemical prin-
ciples so that the student would be able to get
s feeling for the science of chemistry. . .and
... should have an introduction t o [the
technology of chemistry]."The hook appears
to meet these requirements quite ably.
The use of green ink throughout the text
was disconcerting a t first. It was observed,
however, thar under an incnndescent lamp it
is almost impossible to dtmngumh hemren
green and black ink. The latter r d u r ii; wed
where a word or phrase is to be emphasized.
At the beginning of each of the 20 chapters as
well as the prolog and epilog there appears a
full-page illustration (also in green ink) which
might be an indistinct photomicrograph of
some farm of matter. None of these is la-
belled, hence adds little t o the value of the
book. There are, however, many excellent il-
lustrations. Had these been numbered and
referred to in the text i t would have heieht-
enrd the reader's interest. Urrasimally the
illuitrationr art. not tu,, helpful. I t is hard r t r
see the connection between the one-man
rocket prupul-ion device on page 223 and
biochemistry, while the'.reyrrerentati\,e rol-
Iectimdelements" !"ace :lo, i. tn blackand
white and none of the elements is reeagniz-
able. Reproductions of National Bureau of
Standards metric equivalent charts on page
21 are of poor quality.
The development seems to follow a logical
order, going from fundamentals through a
study of atomic structure, nuclear chemistry,
periodic relationships (an interesting pre-
sentation of the various attempts t o classify
~. . eomoounds.
the elements is eivenl. , redox.
a< id-lure r ~ u d i rorgnni~.
, and I,~whami*~ry
a rnaprrr on d r u g , la,tr*.hdd ch~m,*try.xnd
then n eonsidemrrcm ot the ehmmiitr) of the
atmosphere and of water supplies. The book
ends with a look a t chemistry in the energy
crisis and in space exploration. Each chapter
is followed by 12 to 15 questions and three or
four problems. Answers to questions and
problems are not furnished.
In a few places the wording is a trifle awk-
ward. For example, a simple statement of the
Law of Conservation of Energy on page 15
might be preferable to the statement, "A law
of conservation similar to that for matter
exists far the energy components in matter
(Continued on page A3061
Volume 53,Number 6,June 1976 / A305