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Physical chemistry, third edition (Levine, Ira N.)

Article  in  Journal of Chemical Education · December 1988

DOI: 10.1021/ed065pA335.3

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 Using the second part of the program,
various properties were graphed onscreen
against the atomic numbers of elements of
several periods of a group, reinforcing the
trends noted in part one.
Using the third portion of the program,
covalent radius was related to first ionic ra-
dius, with the elements being studied shown
in their position on an otherwise blank peri-
odic table. This provided a timely change in
the visual presentation.
Finally, the students were directed on
their report sheet to graph properties versus
atomic number using the data they had
gathered and to draw conclusions about the
trends they had observed. They were asked
to relate all of the property trends to effec-
tive nuclear charge and metallic and nonme-
tallic nature, eonceptsdiscussed before class
hut not presented or mentioned in the pro-
gram itself. All this turned out to he a very
See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.
successful wedding of "high tech" and ex-
perimental learning, and in the process I
was able to present far more actual data in
some sort of reasonable order while utilizing
the same classtime as in past lectures.
Downloaded via 158.46.221.9 on December 19, 2019 at 23:53:05 (UTC).
Student Reaction
The students were asked to complete
their report sheet with an evaluation of the
program in comparison to a "conventional"
ledare on the topic. In the two sections of
about 20 students each, only three students
were unenthusiatic, disliking all the data
gathering. The vast majority felt that hy the
time they had seen the data, graphed it, and
rediscovered the trends for themselves they
had learned a lot more than they would have
learned from a usual lecture, and they ap-
preciated the novelty of the non-routine ap-
proach, even with the extra work involved.
Summary
Tnis program provides for the instructor
a u,ealth 01' data from which to huild an
excellent classroom presentation, complete
with three modes of display. The Kodak
Datashow or other eomputer-overhead in-
terfacing devices bring computer programs
to the classroom even if a computer per stu-
dent is not available, and I am discovering
that this is a quantum leap forward in the
teaching of chemistry. The use of the pro-
gram by individual students would work
well in a computer lab situation if available.
Sharon L. Gardlund
Mscomb Community College
14500 Twelve Mile Road
Warren. MI 48090
Chemlstry: A Flrst Course
G. Rayner-Canham and A. Last. Addison-
Welsey: Don Mills, Ontario, 1988. xiii + Rice Univsrsily
594 pp. Figs. and tables. 20.8 X 24.2 cm.
$24.95 Can.
As stated in the Preface. this textbook is
aimedat the introductory high school ehem-
istry student. Assuch, it providesa rlpar but
rigorous description of chemistry. Indeed,
its rigor is apparent, with very little water-
ing down of the subject. Indicative of this is
the attitude taken with example prohlems
throughout the text: dimensional analysis is
pushed almost exclusively as a problem
solving method, and the answers are demon-
strated in detail and a t length. At the end of
each chapter is a long list of questions and
nrohlems to test the readers' comnrehen-
sion. Some instructors may think the auth-
urs'attitude roo rigorous ior beginning rtu-
dents; others (myself included) will welcome
this perspective.
I t was easily noticed thatthe authors tried
to point out meaningful connections he-
tween textbook chemistry and the world
around us. Acid rain and nuclear accidents
are orominentlv discussed. and illustrations
point out how various chemrcals are used in
everyday living. Scattered through the
chapters are "Fearure.," short essays ex-
pounding on particular people or subjects
related to the textual material. These fea-
tures are sure to invoke interest.
The text and prohlems make exclusive
use of metric units, eschewing common
units as atmosoheres and Molaritv (using
kilopascals and'mo1es.l- in stead)..^" lac;;
the hook does not even mentivn molalitr. or
normality as concentration units; dimen-
sional analysis, again, is used to solve proh-
lems that usually use these units.
The book bas refreshing sides to it. I n the
discussion of the scientific method, the au-
thors point out that not all great discoveries
and advances arise from strict adherence to
the scwnufic method, they rite thediscover.
be- of Teflon and nohle gas compwnda as
examples. Such admissions are rare in first-
year textbooks and promote the idea of sei-
entists as human beings. Color plates show
many elements in their elemental forms, as
well as productions of aluminum from haux-
ite and oetroleum oroducts from oil sands:
the illustrations in general are aptly chosen.
The fact that the text isobviously Canadt-
an may be considered a drawback by poten-
tial non-canadian instructors. Surely the
principles are the same regardless of nation-
ality, but some of the references may not
evoke the same level of comprehension in
non-Canadian students. There is even a wel-
come chapter on industrial chemistry near
the end of the book-titled "Canadian In-
dustrial Chemistry"! Why "Canadian"?
Why not just "Industrial Chemistry"?
I wish the authors had included certain
topics that are surely worth studying even
by high school students: solution properties
(like freezing noint de~ressionsand boiling
noint eleva&s). hvdioeen hondine. some
;hermodynamicsithete~hasnone&h the
exception of the definitions of enthalps.
exothermic, and endothermicl, and should
even have some mention of plastics and
polymers and their almost universal uses.
Still, this hook would he an excellent aid for
learning the basic fundamentals of chemis-
try.
Davld W. Ball
Houston. TX 77001
Physlcal Organlc Chemlstry
NeilS. isaacs. Wiley: New York. NY. 1987.
xviii + 828 pp. Figs. and tables. 24.4 X
15.4 cm. 549.95.
At the beginning of his foreword to this
hook, Neil Isaacs defines physical organic
Volume 65
chemistry as "the study of the underlying
principles and rationale of organic reac-
tions.. ." It is thus in the line of earlier
works of the same title by Hammett, Hine,
Kosower and others, and in a certain con-
trast to the Advanced Organic Chemistry
texts of Wheland. Fuson. Fieser and Fieser
~ ~
and March. The latter emphasize advanced
material: the former, an advanced way of
lookmg at the marerial runsidered.
Thm edwnced way is thnrugh molecular
orhrral theory, and lvaacs does a fine job of
introducing it and applying it to specific
cases. As a compendium, his work is admira-
ble; it covers the literature up to 1986. The
prmciplea,"and the~jtherseven with specif-
- ..
first nine chaoters deal with the"underlvine
~c reaction types. One surprising feature is
the grouping together of all substitution re-
actions at carbon in chapter 10: nucleophilic
and electrophilic at saturated, aromatic,
and carhonyl centers.
The work falters, it seems to me, as a text-
book. This is a British book marketed in the
United States, apparently without change,
by Wiley. British textbooks have always
been much too terse for most American
tastes. They tend to lay out the essentials
without exposition or explanation, placing a
heavy burden on the hackground of the stu-
dent or the presentation of the professor.
This work is certainly in that tradition. As a
textbook, though it may cover more materi-
al, it cannot compare with Lowry and Ri-
chardson's Mechanism ond Theory in Or-
ganic Chemistry.
The British source of this book affords
other problems. I t t w k m e a while to realize
that "rlpm" did not mean radius per pico-
meter, but rather radius in picameters. The
book should have been edited for American
readers. Besides, the editing that was done
seems to have heen for the convenience of
the typesetters, not for the readers; thus, the
reference an p 416 to the tahle on p 392, and
the displacement of the tahle on p 697.
This is not to deny that this is a most
valuable source hook that should be in every
college library and on the shelves of most
teachers of organic chemistry. Issacs has
done a most thorough job of summarizing
the literature of this important field.
Charles J. Thoman
Stephen F. Austin State Unlverslty
NaCOgdOCheS, n: 75962
Physlcal Chemletry, Thlrd Edition
Ira N. Levine. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY,
+
1988. xvii 920 pp. Figs. 21 X 24.2 cm.
According to the author, "the textbook is
written for the standard undergraduate
course in physical chemistry." Since there
are several such so-called "standard under-
graduate courses," this reviewer will com-
ment on the individual chapters as they
would he used in the average standard un-
dergraduate physical chemistry course. On
comparison with the ever popular textbook
hy P. W. Atkins, this textbook fares very
well. Both Atkins and Levine have tried to
(Continued on pnge A336)
Number 12 December 1968 A335

introduce difficult concepts in written En-
glish with the minims1 use of mathematical
relations. In this area they have an advan-
tage over the erudite text by W. J. Moore
and have the potential therefore to be more
popular with the students that have a math-
ematics phobia.
Chapter one presents a good review of the
course prerequisites that every student
should master in order to succeed in such a
course. The chapters on the first two laws of
thermodynamics are adequate. Nonideal
behavior is introduced a little later than in
the other textbooks mentioned above, ex.,
Chapter 8 deals with the van der Wads
equation and the relations needed to under-
stand liquefaction using the Joule-Thomp-
son experiment are left for the student to
solve as problem 8.30. The chapters on
phase equilibria are very clear. The D e h y e
Hiickel Theory is introduced qualitatively
in Chapter 10. Surface chemistry (Chapter
13) precedes t h a t on electrochemistry
(Chapter 14). The subjects covered up to
this point would he covered in one semester
for a two-semester course. In this division
the second part starts with kinetic theory
(Chapter 15) followed by transport process-
es and reaction kinetics (Chapters 16 and
17). The chapters on quantum mechanics,
atomic and molecular structure and spec-
troscopy (Chapters 18-22) are qualitative
but very up-to-date. The new methods of
computation (e.g., MNDO, etc.) are men-
tioned qualitatively. There is very little on
the principles of symmetry and Group The-
o~ w ., later
. editions would benefit bv elaho-
~~ ~~
rating on this ruhject. The rhapters on sta-
tistical merhnnm and reartiun rates are
fairlycomplete. The final chaptercwers the
liquid and solid states.
Juana V. Acrivos
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA 95192
Organlc Chemistry
Francis A. Carey. McGraw-Hill Book COm-
pany: New York. NY. 1987. xviii 1219+
pp. Figs. and tables. 21 X 26.1 cm.
$43.95.
This text incorporates the classic func-
tional group approach to the study of organ-
ic chemistry, hut rather than being a mere
clone of the other such texts it has some
different aspects that are worth mentioning.
A pseudo molecular orbital approach is used
throughout the text to illustrate the nature
of the orbital interactions and changes oc-
curring during the reactions under discus-
sion. This approach leads naturally into a
discussion of the Diels-Alder reaction so the
Frontier Orbital concept is not treated as a
separate special entity hut simply as a
means of product determination. This in-
clusion of orbital descriptions does not
A338
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Journal of Chemical Education
mean that classical mechanistic treatments
are ignored. On the contrary, mechanisms
a r e presented in considerable detail
~ ~..
thrauehout the text with different colors
used to highlight renters of impurtnnce. The
inclusion of a reparatr rhapter on Organo-
metallics a h a diiierentiares this text from
most others.
The chapters are well written and easily
read. The material is presented in such a
way that it can be comprehended by the
nonchemistry major yet it has sufficient
depth of coverage to make it an appropriate
text for the chemistry majors as well. The
inclusion in the body of the text of bits of
interesting information and discussions of
how some of the reactions are run experi-
mentally helps to hold the readers interest.
Each chapter is concluded by a thorough
summary and the later chapters have an in-
troductorv review section in which relevant
previously discussed material is raretully re-
iterated. The cowmge iscompoied ot agood
hlend ut'detailed mechanisms and extensive
synthetic examples.
The organization of the topics is generally
quite good. A brief discussion ofthe chemis-
try of alcohols and alkyl halides is intro-
duced in Chapter 4. The full alkyl halide
chapter is preceded by the chapter on Ster-
eochemistry. One possible fault in the orga-
nization is having the alkyne chapter sepa-
rated from the alkenes by the Stereoche-
mistry and Alkyl Halide chapters. While
this can make for amore logical treatment of
acetylide alkylation reactions, other reac-
tions tend to suffer hv the break in continu-
ity.
The text contains a large number of prob-
lems, averaging about 33 per chapter, many
with multiple sections. Sample solutions are
given for some questions contained in the
body ofthe chapter and answers to all others
except those s t the end of the chapters are
given in an Appendix. The problems range
from simple reaction completions and reac-
tion reviews to more complex ones requiring
considerable insight for their solution. One
difficulty discerned here is that some areas,
such as alkane bromination and the Diels-
Alder reaction are discussed in the chapters
to a reasonable level of understanding, but
some of the related problems require con-
siderable extensions beyond the actual text
coverage. This can provide the instructor
with the opportunity of presenting such top-
ics in greater depth, or it can promote frus-
tration in the student trying to solve these
problems without assistance.
All in all, though, this teat is well eon-
ceived and has a thorough and generally well
organized coverage. I t appears to be an easy
text from which to teach and should he giv-
en thoughtful consideration during text se-
lection time.
Robert L. Augustine
Seton Hall University
Soulh Orange, NJ 07079
lntroductlon of Instrumental Analysls
Robert D. Braun. McGraw-Hill Book Com-
+
pany: New York. NY. 1987. viii 1004pp.
Figs. and tables. 19 X 24 cm.
This is the largest instruments text puh-
lished in the United States. I t includes 76
salved sample problems, over 430 end-of-
chapter problems grouped by topics end an
abundance of references. mostlv orior to
1982. ~~~
.~
~~~-~ h m t e rend
~ ~
s with a'lone list okimoor-
~
tant terms, most of which appear in the in-
dex. Co\,erage ineluder traditional ropirs
and some promising newer methods such as
photoacoustic spectrometry, laaer-en-
hanced ionization, and laboratory robotics.
Comparison with other texts revealed
greater coverage of electronics, spectrosco-
py (especially atomic absorption, infrared,
chemilnminescence and refmetometry) and
potentiometry. Fewer pages were assigned
to electrochemical methods, flame and
atomic emission, HPLC, and appendices.
Thus, some topics were suggested for closer
examination, resulting in the following con-
clusions.
The chapters on AC, DC, and electronic
circuits, logic devices and computers were
readable end useful, but redundant for
those with a good physics background.
Infrared was given excessive space; the 30
pages devoted to qualitative analysis could
have been omitted since correlation charts
lacked specificity and the spectra lacked us-
able wavenumber scales. The general thrust
was to compare spectra of unknowns to
knowns, without utilizing physical proper-
ties or other spectroscopic methods to pin-
point the identity of the unknown. FT-IR
earned a disappointing two pages. On the
other hand, inclusion of Hadamard Trans-
form was a pleasant surprise, in light of re-
cent developments (C. & E. N., Feb 29,1988,
pp. 22-26).
The X-ray chapter was among the long-
est. I t included critical absorption edges for
most elements hut omitted K. and KOwave-
lengths or common target elements! Analyz-
er crystal d values were listed, but the re-
flecting plane and useful range of the crystal
were not. Differentiation between X-ray
diffraction and fluorescence is unclear and
the traditional derivation of the Bragg
Equation is missing. Crystallography, in-
cluding ASTM tables of d spacings used for
identification, was given only a few sen-
tences.
Mass spectrometry received extensive
coverage. Isotopic abundances were cited
for 54 elements, with little indication of util-
ity. Spectral interpretation was slighted.
The chapter on gas chromatography de-
voted six lines to carried gases but later not-
ed that the TCD functions best if there is a
significant difference in thermal conductiv-
ity of the sample components and the carri-
er gas but gave no numericvalues for either.
Many of the real advantages of LTP and
dual column designs were not discussed.
The author usuallv describes instrument
componenw in derad te g., I f , pages on ton-
seiect~vcriectrodes,seven pages on G1.C de-
tectors and eight pages on atomic absorp-
tion sources). However, tables often focus
on a single parameter (e.g., Table 9-8 lists
inorganic assays for 33 elements, citing only
the reagent or complexing agent end wave-
length used). Too often, tabular data or ex-
tended equations are part of the text mate-
rial (e.g., transparency regions for infrared
solvents, and the expanded form of the Van
Deemter Equation) which reduce the use-
fulness of such information.
Illustrations are often troublesome (e.g.,