A Guide to the Elements (Oxford) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Guide to the Elements by Albert Stwertka is an excellent source of information about the history, origin of name, and important/interesting uses of the elements up to atomic number 112. A chronology of the discovery of the elements and many contemporary as well as historical illustrations enhance the information in the text. Information about physical and chemical properties is not included. An excellent companion for the chemistry classroom is Exploring Chemical Elements and their Compounds by David L. Heiserman which has information about chemical and physical properties as well as abundance, allotropes, and isotopes.

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Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements Review

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(More customer reviews)John Emsley writes excellent books on chemistry and Emsley's The Elements [3rd Edition] is an indispensable guide to the chemical elements for scientists. However, a layperson delving into The Elements may find it tough going because of its myriad numbers and tiny tidbits of text. In Nature's Building Blocks, Emsley dispenses with most of the numbers and expands the tidbits of text into page length essays on each element. Even though the book is clearly a reference book, the section on each element is an enjoyable read. Each section is divided into subsections that relate the element's significance to the cosmos, humans, food, medicine, history, war, economics, the environment, and then ends with a section called the Element of Suprise [one element's suprise is that there is nothing that Emsley could find to say about it that was suprising]. This book contains the kind of information I need as a chemistry and earth science teacher in a high school to spice up discussions on the elements. All laypeople with an interest in chemistry need a copy of this excellent book. Every high school library in the country should have a copy of this book on their shelves.

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The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been teaching hearing students at a local community college chemistry for the last two years, and enjoying it immensely. What I have not enjoyed was trying to find a decent textbook to use. The one we are currently using by Karen Timberlake is pretty good, especially given the horrendous book I started out with. However, I've been looking for some more chem books that can bring chemistry not down to the level of the students, but rather illustrate how chemistry is involved in our daily world.
The first book I got was a great book on the individual elements. that still wasn't what I was looking for. This book by Cobb and Fetterolf was exactly what I was looking for. Not only did it have experiments that I can use as demonstrations prior to my student's own labs, but it also provides significant background and understanding into all the important chemistry concepts. Loads of black and white illustrations, and just a good book overall. I noticed the first review on the back of the book was by the author of our current chemistry textbook, Timberlake...thought that was funny though not necessarily a selling point originally for me.
I didn't get the title "The Joy of Chemistry" until they mentioned the other two famous books with titles beginning with "The Joy of ...." Cute trick. Won't be selling this book off any time in the near future, as I am just now finishing reading it the first time and now I am going back with a 'fine-tooth' comb over the entire book and take out what I can use for different chemistry labs and classrooms.
Karen sAdler
Science Education

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This book challenges the perception of chemistry as too difficult to bother with and too clinical to be any fun. Cathy Cobb and Monty L. Fetterolf, both professional chemists and experienced educators, introduce readers to the magic, elegance, and, yes, joy of chemistry. From the fascination of fall foliage and fireworks, to the functioning of smoke detectors and computers, to the fundamentals of digestion (as when good pizza goes bad!), the authors illustrate the concepts of chemistry in terms of everyday experience, using familiar materials.

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Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving: How Chemistry can Help You Achieve Life's Goals Review

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(More customer reviews)John Emsley has carved out quite a niche for himself in writing popular books (not textbooks) dedicated to scientific matters in general, and chemistry matters in particular. One of his more inspired titles is "Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving", which has a very unfortunate subtitle "How Chemistry Can Help You Achieve Life's Goals". The subtitle makes the book sound like a how-to book (Make your own mascara! Better breath through home-made mouthwash!) It is NOT a how-to book, but rather a how-it-is-done book. In a wide-ranging series of short essays, Emsley covers most consumer topics that exist at the intersection of chemistry and the personal consumer, including food, plastic containers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, birth control, cleaning products (for humans, clothes, and dishes), etc.
The beauty of this book is that it can be picked up and read starting anywhere, and is therefore an ideal bathroom book (especially since there are a lot of bathroom-related topics!) or coffee table book (again, since there are a lot of food topics!). This makes some of the topics a little repetative for someone reading the book cover-to-cover over the course of a few days or weeks, but it's a better choice for a book of this type. I think the science is readily understandable to the average person (although it might be hard for me to judge, being a chemistry teacher), and there is a glossary for more scientific terms and broadened explanations. More importantly, the science is correct and rigorous while still presented in a palatable manner.
I think North American readers will notice the no-nonsense style of writing. British authors (at least, scientific ones) tend to be more forthright than their American cousins, and it's especially noticable in this book's discussions on abortion and rape - two topics that American authors would couch in more subtle terms, with at least an acknowledgement of the cultural/moral issues associated with them. Similarly, most Americans are used to hedging their bets: Emsley comes right out and tells people that they are wrong to believe that aluminum has anything to do with Alzheimers, for example, and debunks other "common knowledge" associations just as ruthlessly, if they been scientifically demonstrated to be wrong.
In terms of sheer readability, I think I prefer Joe Schwarcz's books that cover similar terrain. However, Emsley's book is more focussed and logically presented. It's certainly interesting, certainly entertaining, and even the best-read chemist is likely to learn something s/he didn't know. Unfortunately, the price is excessive compared to other books of this type (even other Emsley titles) - what gives, Amazon?

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Welcome to a tour of some of the recent advances in chemistry, taking in the cosmetic factory, the pharmacy, the grooming salon, the diet clinic, the power plant, the domestic cleaning company, and the art gallery along the way. Award-winning popular science writer John Emsley is our guide as he addresses questions of grooming, health, food, and sex. The trip is for all those of us wanting to know more about the impact of chemical products on our everyday lives.
Each chapter begins with a fictional news item from the future speculating on the possible benefits that might develop from further approaches to research, and each chapter ends by addressing an issue of concern related to the topics discussed. These include whether homeopathic medicines really work, date rape drugs, how the toxic chemical acrylamide got into our food, and whether great artists were affected by the pigments they used.
With his informal style, linking well-founded chemicals knowledge to fun situations, the author presents the information in a way such that the layperson can easily understand the arguments, weighing up the risks and benefits for each product concerned.Includes a glossary containing all the technical terms used for non-specialists.

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Chemistry Connections, Second Edition: The Chemical Basis of Everyday Phenomena (Complementary Science) Review

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(More customer reviews)There are a lot of books out there explaining the chemistry of everyday things. For sheer readability, I recommend Prof. Joe Schwarcz's series of books, which are readily available on Amazon. The shortcoming of Dr. Joe's books, and most books for the general public, is that they aren't really meant to be a resource for teachers of chemistry. They only include the most basic of explanations that the layman can understand.
Thus, the need for a book like "Chemistry Connections." It contains the same "basic-level" explanation for a layperson, but also has a second explanation for each subject giving details on a more scientifically rigorous scale. Then there's a section of references (often reputable websites, vetted by the authors) for people that want to get even more in depth.
The way the explanations are written, and the choice of topics, makes this a resource best suited to the high-school chemistry classroom, or to a "liberal arts" (chemistry for non-chemists) university course. The explanations tend to be a little thin for a true freshman-level calculus-based chemistry course. That's not to say that a thoughtful professor can't make great use of this book for any level course - the choices of chemical questions are varied and thoughtful, making it a great reference when planning lessons.
The book is not perfect. It does not have the zing or flow of many other books for sheer readability - it's best used as a resource to give ideas for presentations and lesson examples for high school or liberal arts courses. There are some typos - there is a pentavalent organic carbon (horror of horrors!) in one diagram, for example. Finally, some of the detailed explanations tend to wander off-topic, for example, explaining how polymers are synthesised in a section on polymer structure. While interesting, it was not relevant to the particular question at hand, and likely to be confusing for the student.

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The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)I am interested in information about important chemicals, and found much to
hold my attention in this book. Each of the compounds is described as to its properties, chemical formula and CAS reference number. For each compound there is a summary of its history, discovery, and uses. Methods of industrial production are given.
I found particularly intriguing the many interesting historical items :
the discovery of mauve, the stories of insulin and penicillin, to name a few.
This said, I must note some irritating matters. As a retired chemistry
prof. myself, I am familiar with much of the simpler chemistry presented.
I would hesitate to put this book into the hands of a student because of the many errors of fact it contains, and the many examples of awkward writing it contains. There seems to have been a major failure of editing.
Here are some of the errors I found.
Misspellings : on page 293 . "methyl" is spelled incorrectly twice.
page 233 "sodium iodine" for sodium iodide. page 111 : "ethyl iodine" for ethyl iodide. page 51: "use" for used. There are many other words where the last letter is omitted.
Incorrect formulas : page 51 secondary butyl alcohol. Also page 51 -
butadiene with three double bonds. page 115: vinyl acetate. page 175
methyl methacrylate.page 168 polyisoprene.
Incorrect names : page 24: " iron(III) oxide or alumina is refined from bauxite" . Page 26: "iron oxide exists as the mineral corundum"
page 178 : ritalin named as " alpha-phenyl-2-piperidine acetic" (?)
page 216 : cumene hydroperoxide is referred to as phenol hydroperoxide.
Strange references : page 52 : "butyric acid is an unsaturated fatty acid,which means all carbon -carbon bonds are single bonds"
page 69: methylene chloride is called " a freon substance". page 112:
halogenation is described as "hydrogen substituting for hydrogen"
page 100: "DEET is the most popular pesticide used as a repellent for humans" page 283: "cycloalkanes are dehydrated forming aromatics" page 303: " xylenes are formed from the reformulation of naphthas..".
"reformulation" is not in the glossary, but "reforming" is. Perhaps this is meant.page 38: in discussing benzene substitution: " The process of nitration produces a number of nitro compounds, for example nitroglycerin".
Awkward wording : page 281 : "TNT is the abbreviation of the aromatic nitrated aromatic compound..".page 282 : "the British made extensive use of picric acid shells in World War I which was called lyddite after the town of Lydd.."
All these examples could have been caught by more careful editing.

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Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs: 67 Digestible Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life Review

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(More customer reviews)Dr. Schwarcz is well-known throughout Canada (and especially, the University of McGill in Montreal) as being the consummate chemistry lecturer. His courses are filled with anecdotes, demonstrations, and humour. He has translated his infectious interest in chemistry to the written word, and the result is a fascinating book that you will enjoy reading, and likely refer to again and again when someone asks, "I wonder why....?" As the title promises, the book is a series of short anecdotes about a variety of chemical subjects. For example, the titular "radar, hula hoops, and playful pigs" gives the connection between these three items (airborne radar, hula hoops, and pig playtoys are all made from the same polymer). The majority of the essays revolve around health, probably reflecting both the author's training (as a carbohydrate chemist) and society's bias.
Schwarcz has two underlying, scientific themes. Science in general, and chemistry in particular, is neither good nor evil - it's the context/use of chemistry that gives a moral distinction. Likewise, chemical effects are generally driven by amount - arsenic is not poisonous in low enough concentrations, while water is deadly under certain conditions (if inhaled, for example). The second point is to make the reader a skeptical consumer. He gives numerous examples of good science vs. bad science - a product trotting out "testimonials" is not evidence that it will work in all cases (or even in the majority of cases!). That's not to say the book gets bogged down in details. His writing style is sharp, witty, and concise. The book can be picked up and read from any point, and you'll still learn something interesting.
I am a chemist, and can assure the chemists considering this book that the science is accurate. It's not the standard sugar-coated fare that appears on television. Likewise, a non-scientist will be able to easily understand the material because Schwarcz never resorts to lingo without first explaining it (for "proof" I point to my mother, who was an English major in university and who enjoyed the parts of the book she's read). Therefore, this book can be recommended to the widest audience, and all will find it informative and enjoyable.

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Have you ever wondered about the science behind Alice's strange adventures in Wonderland, Casanova's experiments with "Spanish Fly," and zombies in Haiti?In Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs, chemist and columnist Dr. Joe Schwarcz offers 67 entertaining essays exploring these and other delightful nooks and crannies of chemistry. Investigate the nefarious chemistry of the KGB, the colors of urine, and the mysteries of baldness.Learn how shampoos really work, and discover which cleaning agents must never be combined.Get rid of that skunk smell in a jiffy, and get a whiff of what's behind the act of passing gas.Read about the ups and downs of underwear, the invention of gunpowder, Van Gogh's brain, John Dillinger's chemical exploits, and Dinshah Ghadiali's bizarre attempts to cure disease with colored lights.Finally, discover the amazing links between radar, hula hoops, and playful pigs! Written by popular media personality Dr. Joe Schwarcz, this 1999 Canadian best-seller is proof positive that a little intellectual dip into the vast ocean of chemistry can not only be useful but pleasurable as well.

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Food Bites: The Science of the Foods We Eat Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book due to a mutual love of food and science, but this piece of work really let me down on both ends of the equation. It's poorly written, seemingly for either the 4-8 yr-old demographic or maybe adults who have never ever encountered food in their entire lifetime. For example, a chapter on wine and chocolate should have been focused on the mutual health benefits of these two marvelous foods. Instead, we discover that both come from plants, and sensory attributes are affected by the climate! Groundbreaking stuff. When it should be swinging for the fences, this book opts to bunt time and time again.

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Food Bites is an easy-to-read, often humorous book on the scientific basis of the foods we eat, and answers those pesky, niggling questions such as: Is the quality of beer really affected by the type of water used? and Processed foods: good or bad? Readers will be captivated by this superbly written book, especially so as their guides are Professor Richard Hartel, professor of Food Engineering at UW-Madison, along with his daughter, AnnaKate Hartel. Professor Hartel has for the last four years penned a witty and illuminating column on all aspects of food science for the Capital Times of Madison, and his weekly wisdom has now been collected into a single publication. With a huge and growing interest in the science of food, this treasure trove of knowledge and practical information, in 60 bite-sized chunks, is sure to be a bestseller.

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Schaum's Outline of College Chemistry, 9ed (Schaum's Outline Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this Schaum's to review College Chemistry that I took over 20 years ago. All I can say is that it is poorly written, fails to explain the theory and formulas that support a concept, and makes unfounded assumptions about your knowledge as it progresses. My advice: look elsewhere.

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Confusing Textbooks? Missed Lectures? Not Enough Time?

Fortunately for you, there's Schaum's Outlines. More than 40 million students have trusted Schaum's to help them succeed in the classroom and on exams. Schaum's is the key to faster learning and higher grades in every subject. Each Outline presents all the essential course information in an easy-to-follow, topic-by-topic format. You also get hundreds of examples, solved problems, and practice exercises to test your skills.

This Schaum's Outline gives you

Practice problems with full explanations that reinforce knowledge
Coverage of the most up-to-date developments in your course field
In-depth review of practices and applications

Fully compatible with your classroom text, Schaum's highlights all the important facts you need to know. Use Schaum's to shorten your study time-and get your best test scores!

Schaum's Outlines-Problem Solved.

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Dreisbach's Handbook of Poisoning: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment, Thirteenth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I find the book to be an excellent field guide for first responders in rural areas where cell phone and internet access is unreliable. The guide also includes legacy chemicals which are often found at rural sites. The guide recently received the British Medical Society Highly Commended Award. This is a must reference for all rural first responders and emergency treatment facilities.

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Now in its thirteenth edition, Dreisbach's Handbook of Poisoning is long established as the definitive handbook of poisoning for all physicians, nurses, crisis and hotline workers, paramedics, and students. Rapid response is critical during the initial management of poison cases. This ready-reference guide provides antidotes, antivenins, and more for a vast number of substances. It covers medical toxicology - including prevention and management of exposures, poisonings, adverse effects, abuse and withdrawal from pharmaceuticals - and household, environmental, and natural hazards.The book begins by providing general information about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of poisoning. Then it considers the important medicolegal aspects of poisoning. The remainder of the book focuses on specific poisons, organized into agricultural, industrial, household, medicinal, and natural hazards. Chemically- and pharmacologically-related agents have been grouped together wherever possible. For optimal care of critical or unusual poisonings, the book also contains guidelines for consultations with medical toxicologists and regional poison information centers. A concise summary of the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning, Dreisbach's Handbook of Poisoning provides an extraordinary amount of practical information in a compact format.

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Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction, Third Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This book explains the subject matter in an interesting and clear manner. I found this subject helped bridge the gap between solid state physics and chemistry/material science.

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Intended for first- and second-year undergraduates, this introduction to solid state chemistry includes practical examples of applications and modern developments to offer students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real-life situations.
The third edition of Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction has been comprehensively revised and updated. Building a foundation with a thorough description of crystalline structures, the book presents a wide range of the synthetic and physical techniques used to prepare and characterize solids. Other fundamental discussions include: bonding, superconductivity, and electrochemical, magnetic, optical, and conductive properties. The authors have added sections on fuel cells and electrochromic materials; conducting organic polymers, organic superconductors, and fullerenes; mesoporous solids and ALPOs; photonics; giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and colossal magnetoresistance (CMR); and p-wave (triplet) superconductors. The book also includes a completely new chapter, which examines the solid state chemical aspects of nanoscience. Each chapter contains a set of review questions and an accompanying solutions manual is available.
Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction, Third Edition is written in a clear, approachable style that enhances the material by integrating its concepts in the context of current applications and areas of promising research.

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Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, Second Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)For the part Ionization potenttial, Electron affinity and electronegativity, there is not a clear precise definition of what those terms means.
Mr and Mrs House, please be more careful!!!
In general is a good book, but lacks depth in the topics covered

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This book covers the synthesis, reactions, and properties of elements and inorganic compoundsfor courses in descriptive inorganic chemistry.It is suitable for the one-semester (ACS-recommended) course or as a supplement in general chemistry courses. Ideal for major and non-majors, the book incorporates rich graphs and diagrams to enhance the content and maximize learning.
Includes expanded coverage of chemical bonding and enhanced treatment of Buckminster Fullerenes
Incorporates new industrial applications matched to key topics in the text

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Planet Home: Conscious Choices for Cleaning and Greening the World You Care About Most Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my new go-to guide for greening my world! Written by the cofounder of Seventh Generation this is a must have for anyone aspiring to live a more environmentally friendly life. Tips range from making your own cleaning products and shampoos, to how to shop for organic mattresses and kids toys. Many websites are listed as references so the consumer can research topics beyond the text. I cannot recommend this book enough!

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FROM THE COFOUNDER OF SEVENTH GENERATION, the most trusted brand in environmentally friendly household products, comes this indispensable guide to maintaining absolutely everything in the home in a natural, nontoxic way. Jeffrey Hollender leads you through each room of the house with straightforward advice, comprehensive checklists, quick tips, and unparalleled resources while revealing the hidden repercussions of daily routines that most of us take for granted. From improving air quality in your bedroom to avoiding mildew in the bathroom, from sourcing local or organic food to safely laundering your clothes, Planet Home offers invaluable information for making conscious decisions for your family, your neighbors, and our shared planet home. With additional information on power, garbage and recycling, air quality, and community activism, this book goes a step further to describe how any household is part of a much larger system. Planet Home offers a unique, comprehensive, educational, and easy approach to helping you and your family lead healthier lives as we collectively protect and maintain our shared resources for many years to come.

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The Fly in the Ointment: 70 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life Review

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(More customer reviews)This is much more than just a standard book of a scientist's essays intended to correct the flood of science misinformation to which we are relentlessly exposed. The essays are quite timely, mostly accurate in my view, and written with flair. If you liked the book "Innumeracy", or enjoy Bill Bryson, you will certainly enjoy this book, and will likely find it to be usefully educational.
An annoying typesetting feature in this book caught my eye, and may irritate you as well. The publisher (or author) seem unable to state the abbreviation "US" (for United States) in genuine capital letters, and the two letters repeatedly appear in a small font. No other country name or abbreviation is printed in this odd manner. The effect is strange, especially when it appears in a name such as "us Pharmacopeia." This is either a Canadian typesetting convention (to which I have not before been exposed), or a not-so-subliminal expression of mild contempt for the neighbor to the south.
I mention this because it did distract from my enjoyment of the book (which I had to put down several times while shaking my head in disbelief at the oddity of this typesetting approach), and forewarned, maybe you'll be able to enjoy the book a bit more.
Overall, this is well worth reading, and I intend to read the author's previous books. I'm sure the science will be very interesting (and who knows what typesetting surprises await).

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This entertaining examination of everyday science from the fanciful to the factual covers topics ranging from pesticides and environmental estrogens to lipsticks and garlic. Readers are alerted to the shenanigans of quacks and are offered glimpses into the fascinating history of science. The science of aphrodisiacs, DDT, bottled waters, vitamins, barbiturates, plastic wraps, and smoked meat is investigated. Worries about acrylamide, preservatives, and waxed fruits are put into perspective, and the mysteries of bulletproof vests, weight loss diets, green-haired Swedes, laughing gas, and "mad honey" are unraveled. Even those with very little knowledge of science will come away informed and delighted at those humorous and accessible explanations.

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Organic Chemistry Demystified Review

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(More customer reviews)I couldn't figure out which organic chem book was best from the Amazon reviews, so I ventured out to my local Borders bookstore and compared about 6 or 8 of them. "Demystified" was the clear winner thanks to clarity and depth of explanation, chapter tests, a brief review of inorganic, and an engaging style of writing. "Organic for Dummies" was my second choice (seemed insightful) but none of the others held up when checked side-by-side. For instance I checked out 'esters' in all books, and got a short paragraph in every one except Demystified, which managed to devote a few pages to an actual explanation. I even paid full retail for it - still a great deal for this book. (sorry Amazon)

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There's no easier, faster, or more practical way to learn the really tough subjects

Organic Chemistry Demystified follows the organization of standard organic chemistry courses and can also be used as a study guide for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and DAT (Dental Admissions Testing) exams. This self-teaching guide comes complete with key points, background information, quizzes at the end of each chapter, and even a final exam. Simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for advanced students, this is a lively and entertaining brush-up, introductory text, or classroom supplement.

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Schaum's Outline of College Chemistry Review

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(More customer reviews)I am the reader from Montezuma, NM, and after taking a few more chemistry courses and re-reading the outline, I feel that I should add a few observations to my enthusiastic review from above, which I wrote over 3 years ago.
I own many, many Schaum's Outlines, and am satisfied with all of them. However, before you buy this outline of college chemistry or any of the other Schaum's Outlines, you need to ask yourself what your needs are. If you are looking for a brief review of a subject, you should look elsewhere. If you are taking a course in general chemistry and need a little help with some areas of it, you should look elsewhere--preferably, ask someone with a thorough grasp of the subject to explain those areas to you.
The Schaum's Outlines are best used as a self-study tool. Let's face it, reviewing an entire subject and solving all the problems to gain a solid grasp on the material is difficult and time-consuming, and I suspect few students already enrolled in a course will have the extra time to rehash what they've already been told by reading through a Schaum's Outline, and even fewer will want to go through so many problems--at least in my courses, the problems we are provided are too much to begin with.
For review purposes, Schaum's may help some students, especially if you are reviewing years of material such as I did for my IB exam. However, since you need to know what your course will test you on specifically, you would need to go through the outline along with your notes. Therefore, spending more time reviewing your course notes might be a better use of your time.
Schaum's Outlines are essentially cheaply made textbooks, and, as with other texts, the writing varies widely from one book in the series to another. If a cheap self-study course is what you seek, or you'd like to preview a course you plan to take, by all means go with Schaum's. If you are a student looking for help with a subject, seek it elsewhere.
For help with grades, I suggest you try the Scham's "How to Study" guide and follow their suggestions.

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The best and most up-to-date study guide of its kind, this book summarizes the chemical principles of a first course in college chemistry through problems with clearly explained solutions. This new edition reflects changes in the major current textbooks, and it contains up-to-date information about newer techniques used in environmental chemistry, biochemistry and medicinal chemistry.

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Schaum's Outline of College Chemistry, Ninth Edition (Schaum's Outlines) Review

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(More customer reviews)Schaum's Outline of College Chemistry is intended to supplement a college-level general chemistry course book. While it is not intended to completely replace a standard textbook, it does cover about 90% of the topics in the more expensive, weighty texts. There are 21 topically arranged chapters in which the authors limit themselves to 4-5 sub topics per chapter. This is especially useful for students who wish to correlate Schaum's chapters with those in their course textbook.
More or less, the progression of topics follows that of most standard, general chemistry textbooks. This book was first published in 1980 and has since been revised about 9 times. Most of the dated language has been brought up to date to match current standards, however, the layout (font and font size) is rather drab and unappealing. Students accustomed to bright, colorful textbooks will probably find this book hard (or perhaps impossible) to adjust to.
For those who can see past the dull surface of this book, you'll find a treasure trove of helpful, succinct explanations and many hundreds of challenging and relevant practice problems. Successful chemistry students know that "studying" means solving problems. If you spend any more than 20% of your study time reading pages and pages of textual explanations, you aren't studying effectively. Schaum's Chemistry contains excellent textual explanations but its true strength lies in the outstanding quality of practice problems (and corresponding worked solutions.) In each chapter, roughly 20-25 problems with detailed solutions are provided. Then, an additional 30-40 practice problems are provided with non-detailed solutions. I would suggest that students work through these practice problems continually throughout their course and in the weeks leading up to major exams. Some problems are extremely basic and others are quite challenging.
In terms of utility, I would say that this book would be especially useful for Chemistry majors and those who plan to continue taking advanced chemistry courses. While highly advanced topics (quantum mechanics with partial differentials, molecular orbital diagrams with symmetry and group theory, etc...) are understandably neglected, the overall "gist" of general chemistry topics with algebraic formulas are covered quite nicely. I would consider this a useful reference for undergraduate quantitative chemistry courses, physical chemistry or analytical courses. It would also be a useful refresher for students preparing for the GRE Chemistry Subject Test.
For students who are in high school level chemistry (and perhaps AP Chemistry) I would suggest the Schaum's Outline of Beginning Chemistry, Third Edition (Schaum's Outline Series) title which contains lengthier explanations and problems geared for more introductory courses.
For students who are looking for a useful reference for the MCAT, I would suggest a different text entirely since the MCAT is a multiple-choice based examination. The practice problems in this book will greatly enhance your understanding of general chemistry topics, but will not make you a better MCAT test-taker. For the MCAT, I suggest Examkrackers MCAT Chemistry which contains multiple choice and passage-based practice problems.
Overall: "A" rating for quality of content at an excellent price.
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