Science & Chemistry & General

Chemistry - The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

5 stars (My Story with Chemistry and Silberberg) - I am a chemistry major, that does not translate to "I like chemistry" but more along the lines that it was the only feasible premedical degree major. I never did chemistry in High School and suffered tremendously with the thought of majoring in a science that I was unfamiliar with. What if I hated it? What if I wasnt any good at it? these were questions that haunted me prior to starting my degree. When I did commence, I found textbooks to be very costly and wanted the best for my money. I realized that the price of a textbook does not make it good, nor the length of it. In saying so I started my chemistry studies with two books, one known as Basic Concepts of Chemistry by Malone, published by Wiley and the second was this. Chemistry the Molecular Nature of Matter and Change by Silberberg, published by Mcgraw Hill. The first book helped establish an understanding of the fundamentals of chemistry, it was an excellant transition from the layman's english into the scientific paradigm. However when one is doing undergraduate chemistry especially in a premedical degree, it ends up not only being a study but a competition. I found both these books to take me, an Individual who knew absolutely nothing about chemistry without any prior education in the science to someone who is now relaxed even with Organic Chemistry. My liking and my understanding of chemistry came directly from these two books. I still treasure them to this day and would suggest anyone in my position to get these books. I have seen and in detail read over 13 general chemistry books from Cheng to Atkins and even Zumdahl. I would deem these two (Malone and Silberberg) to be the best of all of them. However I do suggest that you peruse through various textbooks in a library prior to buying as an author's writing style matters a lot. Most people who have an issue with Silberberg see him as being too pleonastic however I would think that he gives substan...
McGraw-Hill Science-Engineering-Math :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology :: Chemistry - General :: Martin Silberberg :: :: Chemistry - The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change

Chemistry for Changing Times- 10th Edition

5 stars (Great for understanding all that is "Chemistry") - Chemistry can be interesting and it can be difficult to understand. This book addresses both of these areas quite well. This is a book that you study from, as well as read. For anyone who is preparing to take a Chemistry class, this book is well worth investigating, because this book, in its 20 Chapters, covers every principle, formula, idea, and topic that will be covered in class. My CHEM 100 course used this as our text, and we covered only half of the book (at a Community College in Maryland). I learned a lot from the course and from this book. I heartedly recommend it! For grandmom to read on your drive to DisneyWorld???? Oh, maybe not. Especially if she's driving. 4 stars (Best of the liberal arts texts) - There are two people that would be interested in this book - those that are enrolled in a liberal arts chemistry course, and those that are just interested in learning about chemistry. This book suits either type of person admirably. While setting up a liberal arts course in chemistry (i.e., Chemistry for Non-science Majors), we previewed a number of possible texts. This one, in my mind, stood above all the others that I looked at. There are a number of reasons why: 1. The scope - this book covers a vast number of topics, from basic structure of the atom to environmental chemistry to toxins and drugs to combustion and energy. We are designing a survey course, and this spread is ideal. Other texts tended to focus too much, especially on environmental issues (e.g., the ACS's Chemistry in Context). 2. Descriptive, non-mathmatical. Since this course has no prerequisites, not even grade 10 math, we needed a book that minimised mathematics. Other books, such as Kelter/Carr/Scott's Chemistry: World of Choices, was too mathematical for this type of course. 3. The pictures - this book simply looks good. Thus, if you're looking for a text for a liberal arts chemistry course, or i...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Doris K Kolb :: Doris K Kolb :: John W :: Chemistry for Changing Times- 10th Edition

General Chemistry 4th Edition

4 stars (Trades readability for depth and rigor) - This text is best suited for very good students who are motivated, comfortable reading English at a high level and mathematically adept: other students would be served much better by a different book. It contains far more material than could possibly be covered in a standard freshman general chemistry sequence, even with a good class. The authors assume that their audience is composed of the students I described initially (I am told it is the textbook at MIT), and leave it to the instructor to "break it down" for the students. Initially, I was not fond of this book, but I have slowly changed my mind, and I believe I have a better grasp of introductory chemistry thanks to the extra depth it goes to and the challenges it made me rise to. 2 stars (Could be much better) - It is because of textbooks such as this one that students lose interest in chemistry, and, worse, science in general. Yes, it is filled with LOTS of information, but there are many instances in which otherwise relatively simple concepts are twisted into something incomprehensible. In some cases, it seemed that the authors went out of their way to explain a topic in the most convoluted manner possible. Come on guys, chemistry is complex enough as it is, so rather than write a tome displaying how much YOU know about the topic, how about a more "student friendly" textbook that doesn't so readily confirm most people's suspicians that chemistry is as dry as saw dust. 5 stars (Excellent Intro Text) - This text was used in 1999-2000 at Oregon State University for the 100-level General Chem sequence for non-science majors. It is an excellent text with a (generally) friendly approach to introductory topics, and there are many nice photographs and discussion boxes containing info about practical chem applications. For some reason, the authors include a significant section on organic chemistry in chapter 2, far before they discuss bonding.... Other than th...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Scott S Perry :: Terry W McCreary :: Ra :: General Chemistry (4th Edition)

Introductory Chemistry 2nd Edition

4 stars (Do The Problems!) - Excellent job of explaining basics of chemistry. The book is the written equivalent of getting a lot of hands-on lab time. By understanding the many examples, and attempting the numerous problem sets, you should get a very good understanding of crucial topics like basic stoichoimetry. None of the topics are especially hard, as presented here. Some of you may recall the various Schaum's Outline series of books, which are basically just big bundles of questions, wrapped in a skimpy explanatory framework. This book is a significant improvement over that approach. ...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry :: Nivaldo J Tro :: :: Introductory Chemistry (2nd Edition)

Principles of Modern Chemistry

5 stars (Great chemistry textbook for college freshmen) - Though many people would find this book distasteful, it is an extremely good source of information for both basic and intermediate chemistry. It is obviously not a book any student can handle, but with a good background in basic chemistry, the book will take the student a long way down the path of chemistry. The book uses colorful pictures and graphs to show the reader what the chemistry looks like in real life rather than just teaching the bare concept. Chemistry is not about doing word problems; it is about actually seeing the results and learning to analyze these results. If you prefer to just get through chemistry and "learn" how to do problems without learning the real applications, choose another book. If you actually want to learn chemistry, this is the perfect book for you. As opposed to the average textbook that drags a subject matter on, this book is very concise and moves on after showing a derivation of an equation or one sample problem. Obviously this book may seem hard and seemingly impossible to comprehend at times, but a good recommendation is to get enough sleep before reading the book because it is much denser than other introduction to chemistry textbooks. 4 stars (Pretty Good) - I never actually used this book; I TAed for a class that used it. I ended up reading alot of it and thought that it was pretty good, but didn't cover all the math and derivations that were used in the course. Its a good book for basic general chemistry, but it does not explain the math very well. I also wouldn't reccommend it for students who have never taken chemistry at all because its probably too advanced. Take home message: its a more advanced general chem book, but fails miserably in explaining the math. 5 stars (excellent) - I have read the other reviews, but I think this is an excellent text for general chemistry (or introductory courses). The fundamentals are well-explained, and the core itself is easily...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry :: Norman H Nachtrieb :: H Pat Gillis :: David W Oxtoby :: :: Principles of Modern Chemistry

Chemistry- Fourth Edition

5 stars (Best Chemistry Book Ever!) - I've taken AP Chemistry in high school, and took chemistry again in college, so I am familiar with a few chemistry texts. This book astounded me. It was much simpler, more organized, and was full of helpful illustrations, graphs, etc. It's one of the best science texts I've ever used. 4 stars (Chemistry, Fourth Edition by John Mc Murry) - The book was clean and in good condition. I did not give it 5 stars because the ends were a little bent. 2 stars (Not good.) - The book was described as "in good condition". The cover was broken and taped on. Seller didn't say that. I overpaid. ...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Robert C Fay :: John McMurry :: :: Chemistry- Fourth Edition

Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity with General ChemistryNow CD-ROM

5 stars (Finally!!! Chemistry Made Easy!!!) - This is the most comprehensive lecture book published. Considering this is a college level text, it is very easy to understand - easy enough for high school students. The authors ease their way, not jump around, into every topic. Also, all examples (including mathematical expressions and equations) are explained in easy, step-by-step format. This text includes one of the most interactive, if not the best, CD-Rom I've ever worked with. All topics are high-lighted per each section per chapter - and with plenty of videos, a deeper understanding of all materials covered is achieved. Along with the CD-Rom, an on-line access code is included. Homework, pre-tests and post-tests navigate and help you in your weakest areas. The biggest high-light of the on-line access is you can reach a Live tutor from the comfort of your own home - an ensured success! This text also comes in a split-volume version. I highly recommend purchasing this version (helps keep the backpack a little lighter). Last, but not least, I also recommend purchasing the Survival Guide corresponding to the text. It eases any confusion - if any. Overall, this is a spectacular book, which simplifies Chemistry and also makes it fun - ensuring success within your studies. ...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Gabriela C Weaver :: Paul M Treichel :: John C Kotz :: :: Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity (with General ChemistryNow CD-ROM)

Chemistry- Matter and Its Changes

5 stars (excellent text) - This textbook is an excellent way to learn chemistry. It provides very nice graphics to explain the text. This text makes learning chemistry very enjoyable and interesting. Senese and Brady did a wonderful job with this book. I highly recommend it. 5 stars (this text does stand out from the pack...) - ...in a number of ways. The chapter on stoichiometry is the first one I flip to when I'm evaluating a new text. This book does a better job of providing a conceptual foundation for the mole concept than any other book I've seen. It shows the rationale behind the concept by working a few simple problems with and without moles. The problem setups emphasize strategic thinking by asking students to identify the 'critical link' that connects given information with the problem's goal. The "Is the answer reasonable" checks given with each problem are more detailed and more helpful than in other texts; they help students develop a sense for what is and isn't reasonable in the answer, using alternative back-of-the-envelope solutions that often provide additional insight into the nature of the problem. The chapter on atomic structure is the only one I've seen that uses the central idea of quantum mechanics (wave-particle duality) as its central theme. It elegantly uses the de Broglie relation to tie wave and particle behaviors together, in the process naturally explaining where quantum numbers come from and why changes in electron confinement in a reaction can lead to color changes. The thermodynamics chapter is also quite innovative, discarding the idea of entropy as a measure of disorder and instead stressing its connection with the number of ways a state can be realized. A simple model of heat flow from a hot object to a cold object makes the connection between probability and process spontaneity clear. The approach for explaining and predicting molecular shapes is much better than that used in other texts, where students end up memorizing a large...
Wiley :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Fred Senese :: James E Brady :: :: Chemistry- Matter and Its Changes

Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques- A Microscale Approach

5 stars (Book in great shape) - Book is flawless, not even scratches on the cover, cannot remember promptness of delivery. 4 stars (Excellent Lab Text But Not Everyone Has To Buy It) - Though a complete laboratory text with 50+ experiments, lab techniques, tables of unknowns and spectroscopy, the organic faculty prepare our own lab manual to be followed. Pavia text becomes a close handy reference for lab techniques and setup. The techniques section, which include filtration, crystallization, distillation (simple, fractional, and steam), chromatogrpahy (column, thin-layer, and gas)... should be carefully studied before conducting experiments for beginning students. Unless your organic lab course follows almost exactly the outline of experiments in this text, you can check it out from the library and read it. 5 stars (Best organic laboratory manual available!) - I have taken a full course using this book and I think that it is the best one I have seen! Organic chemistry is a hard subject and this book lays it out in an understandable way. The "techniuques" section is current, readable, and the pictures are well done. The essays that accompany many of the experiments are entertaining and give good background information that helps doing the experiments more enjoyable. Probably the best section is the "identification of unknowns" section which lays out in a good logical way how to identify what you have in the lab. I think that the book also addresses and promotes a great trend in chemistry i.e. microscale research that reduces waste and promotes conservation of chemicals and the environment. ...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Scientific Methodology And Research :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Research & Methodology :: Organic Chemistry :: Chemistry :: Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques- A Microscale Approach

Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques - A Small-Scale Approach Brooks-Cole Laboratory Serie

1 stars (Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques : A Small-Scale Approach (Brooks/Cole Laboratory Series for Organic Chemistry)) - It has taken this company a month to even send this book. It is quite amazing how slow this company and how it treats its customers. Do not expect books to come unless you want to wait til the book become a classic. Highly suggest to purchase from someone else. Luckly, I've been using a book from lab TA for my organic lab class. 5 stars (WWU grad) - Dr. Pavia's class was so much fun. It was great to have a book written for our facility, by our instructors. I recommend this book to other schools because the techniques are clearly explained and the experiments are interesting. 4 stars (Don't sell this book back!) - An outstanding lab text for sophomore level 1-yr organic courses. Any chemistry/physical science major should not sell this book back at the end of the semester! Half of the book is dedicated to experiments which while informative is not the real gem here. The other half of the book covers techniques in organic and microscale chemistry. If you ever need to build a chromatographic column or do vacuum filtration again, you will be glad that you kept this book in your library. The techniques section alone justifies buying this book. Chemistry majors, microbiologists, environmental scientists and engineers will all find this text valuable in their future careers. ...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Laboratory manuals :: Chemistry :: Organic :: Chemistry - Organic :: Chemistry - General :: Randall :: Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques - A Small-Scale Approach (Brooks-Cole Laboratory Serie

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II - 10 - Volume Set

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II : 10 - Volume Set...
Elsevier Science :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science :: Reference :: General :: Coordination compounds :: Chemistry - Organic :: Chemistry - Inorganic :: T J Meyer :: J A McCl :: Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II - 10 - Volume Set

Chemical Principles - The Quest for Insight

3 stars (Confusion) - Book layout is overly confusing. Text is sometimes not as clear as can be and needs more practice examples (most apparent in sections like isomers and titrations). Yes like one person said before, UCLA does use this text to teach Life science majors, but there are better choices. There are numerous mistakes in the solution guides still, and Zumdahl's "Chemical Principles" is a much better read in my opinion. I actually used it to clear up points this text was muddy on. Your mileage may vary. 4 stars (Generally good) - This is one of the more advanced general chem textbooks available. It has a review section at the beginning of the book for those who are not quite ready for college level chemistry. Unlike its two main competitors(Principles of Modern Chemistry by Oxtoby and Chemical Principles by Zumdahl), it introduces quantum chemistry (at very basic level) first. If you have hard time with this book, you might have to go down a level and find a text for regular science major general chemistry, for example, Brown/LeMay/Bursten or Moore/Stanitski/Jurs. 4 stars (THE COLLOGE 1ST SEMESTER HONORS CHEM BOOK) - I used this book for my 1st semester Honors Chemistry class at Cornell University (CHEM 215). Even though Chem is not my favorite science subject (I'm an electrical engineer, so I prefer physics instead) I have to say the combination of book and professor (Benjamin Widom), makes me remember that class as my favorite one during my first semester at Cornell. I wouldn't listen too much to the negative reviewer (Who wrote this book?). The book is not bad at all; it is just focused towards students who are going to be majoring on Chemistry (Pre-Meds). But that doesn't make it "bad". I do recognize that there are some typos in this edition that our professor easily corrected (that's why I gave it a 4 and not a 5). ...
W H Freeman :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry :: Peter Atkins :: Loretta Jones :: :: Chemical Principles - The Quest for Insight

Chemistry- The Central Science- Ninth Edition

1 stars (Not for beginners) - This text makes chemistry complicated! There is a constant need to flip back and forth through the book to collect information needed for problem solving, and that includes the periodic table. The table in the front of the book does not even have the charges of elements. This book was written by professors for professors and not new students to chemistry. $ 150.00 of worthless 4 stars (Easy to read, excellent problems, solutions manual valuable) - I bought the book to review General Chemistry that I took many years ago because I am taking Organic Chemistry this Fall. The book covers General Chemistry quite well. It is highly readable and develops ideas progressively. The reader is never faced with a term or concept that has not already been explained. The back references interspersed throughout will save the reader many hours of looking into the index to find a topic that was covered earlier in the book. I also purchased the solutions manual and was generally pleased. Apart from the occasional error , the manual provides solutions to EVERY problem which is an enormous help. The book does have a weakness which is relatively unimportant to most readers including this one. Chapters 24 and 25 are devoted to Coordination Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. In these chapters, it almost seems as if the text was written ( or edited ) by a person or group other than those who produced the first 23 chapters. The book no longer serves the reader and you will be forced ( without too much consternation ) to purchase a proper Organic Chemistry text. The authors might have done better to lighten the load in every undergraduate's backpack and simply delete Chapters 24 and 25. 5 stars (Simple and Straightforward) - This book gives a great overview of freshman chemistry. I bought it as a reference to use teaching high school chemistry. I love the illustrations and the way the author makes complex issues simple while providing just enough material to ram...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Julia R Burdge :: Bruce Edward Burste :: Chemistry- The Central Science- Ninth Edition

Chemistry - The Central Science 10th Edition

4 stars (Chemistry: The Central Science (10th edition)) - I am pleased with my purchase of this product. It seemed to be previously owned, which I was unaware of (it was not made clear) when I first ordered it. However I really like the textbook and it even has some bonuses I was not expecting (ie: answers to problems and side comments that ease in the understanding of the text). So the sale could have been made more clear, but I am definitely happy with my purchase. ...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Textbooks :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry :: Bruce E Bursten :: H Eugene LeMay :: Theodore E B :: Chemistry - The Central Science (10th Edition)

Chemistry- Principles and Reactions

2 stars (Absolutely terrible) - Although this book may be useful as a reference, it is a disaster if you are new to chemistry and don't have a professor, who could explain some topics from this book. In order to understand the book's problems you have to buy separately a solution manual. 2 stars (So-so) - A bit too complicated for a General Chemistry text, yet it still fails to touch on certain important aspects (steric numbers, among others). The practice problems at the end of each chapter are highly abstract, but may be viewed as somewhat useful when compared to the extremely wordy and complicated study guide. College students studying Chemistry for the first time, especially older non-traditional students, will find the authors' approach to several concepts to be unnecessarily complex. This text is far more useful when accompanied by a study guide such as Houk's Chemistry: Concepts and Problems, A Self-Teaching Guide. The text's study guide is fairly useless unless the instructor pulls tests from the publisher's web suite. 5 stars (A nice read) - I used this book for AP chem. I know one of the reviewers claims that it doesn't prepare you for the test. I think though, that it covers all the information you'll need to get a five on the AP, as I used this book, and I got a five. Perhaps, the practice problems aren't exactly AP chem test type problems. Therefore, to study for the actual test, go find a practice AP chem book like Barrons. They give you myriad practice problems. This book though, explains chemistry, not just how to do problems. Some people think that its over simplified. I think that its just written well and doesn't over complicate matters. Everything you need to know for a first year non calculus based chemistry course is in this book...and its accessible. The language is clear and concise. The sample problems are very useful because they cover basic problem solving techniques. I also enjoyed the little notes in the margins, they're kinda funny...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - Organic :: Chemistry - General :: Cecile N Hurley :: William L Masterton :: :: Chemistry- Principles and Reactions

General Chemistry- Principles and Modern Applications 8th Edition

1 stars (failed attempt at explaining chemistry) - Incoherence is not an opinion but rather a fact when it comes to associating that word with this book. Petrucci although as a long history with writing chemistry textbooks, still has not been able to provide an adequate explanation to some of the MOST basic concepts of chemistry. I think he is probably a brilliant chemist as the questions in this book can be challenging; I found them trivial however. This is not because I deem myself intelligent (that goes without saying :) but the fact of the matter is that I had better books to rely on when I was studying undergraduate chemistry. Silberberg and Malone's Basic Concepts of Chemistry where to two that got me through. I initially was given this book to study from and I found some of the chapters deadly boring. How Petrucci explains and expounds and Acid-Base, and Quantum Chemistry is satisfactory, however organic chemistry, the concept of the mole and redox are chapters that accentuate the inarticulate nature and the overall dullness of the book. This is not good becase fundamentally chemical reactions are about the transference, absorption and dissipation of energy which is normally expressed as the "movement of electrons". One of the principle topics in chemistry which first introduces this is redox. Secondly the concept of the Mole and basic calculations are required and if an individual has only this book to rely on then there is not much hope that the student would get a good enough grasp of what is at hand. Better Books: Basic Concepts of Chemistry by Malone. A tried and tested book which takes a layman or (laywoman for that matter) and makes a chemist out of them. Chemistry by Silberberg: very detailed explanations on various concepts. Chemistry by Olmsted, if you are short on cash and need a book that does both of the above, then this is it. It is a fairy good book. 1 stars (horrible) - This book is the reason why half of the incoming premed populati...
Prentice Hall :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry (General) :: Chemistry :: Geoffrey Geoffrey Herring :: Geoffrey :: General Chemistry- Principles and Modern Applications (8th Edition)

Chemistry - The Molecular Science with CD-ROM- General ChemistryNow- and InfoTrac

5 stars (one of the best) - This book explains basic chemistry concepts very well. The chapter on entropy is great. The sequence of the topics covered is generally traditional. I like the idea that the chapter on solutions is placed after the basic concept of equilibrium is covered. Some organic chemistry is integrated into the text. I personally believe that the concepts of acid and base should be extended a little to prepare students for organic chemistry. This book has more pages (~1200 pages) than most other general chemistry textbook available (~1000 pages). I wish the publisher could have it available in two volumes so that it is easier for students to carry around and read it. 5 stars (Great book.) - This is the best general chemistry book I've used so far. It is easy to read. It covers what I need for the MCAT's general chemistry requirements. Good reference book. 4 stars (Very Very good Text) - I have a B.S. in Chemistry and am working on my teaching credentials to teach High School Chemistry. I wanted an overall good text for reference. I was searching for one that is readable but not too basic. This text is my choice for the best of both requirements. It has everything you would want in a Freshman College chemistry text. It also has great photos, graphics and tables. It is very easy to read and very interesting. I have not tried the CD ROM that comes with it. It must not be in favor right now. I bought my copy in great condition at a used texbook store (w/CD-ROM) for $21.95. (July 2004) ...
Brooks Cole :: Science & Chemistry & General :: Science&Mathematics :: Science :: Chemistry - General :: Chemistry :: Peter C Jurs :: Conrad L Stanitski :: John W Moore :: :: Chemistry - The Molecular Science (with CD-ROM- General ChemistryNow- and InfoTrac)