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 | | Chemistry, Seventh Edition by Raymond Chang ISBN-10: 9780073656014 ISBN-10: 0-07-365601-1 ISBN-13: 9780073656014 ISBN-13: 978-0-07-365601-4 Hardcover 2001-02-28 McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Designed for the two-semester general chemistry course, Chang's textbook has often been considered a student favorite. This best-selling textbook takes a traditional approach. It features a straightforward, clear writing style and proven problem-solving strategies. The strength of the seventh edition is the integration of many tools that are designed to inspire both students and instructors. The textbook is the foundation for the technology. The multi-media package for the new edition stretches students beyond the confines of the traditional textbook. | ||
Reviews | ||
Chemical engineering student I used this book for 3 quarters of general chemistry. Its an ok book, as I use it quite alot for my organic chemistry lab work. My school bookstore ordered the paperback "custom" version of this book, which I think is retarded because most chemistry / chemical engineering students are going to want to keep their chemistry books for future class and or job reference. A paper back just isnt going to cut it, and I am going to have to repurchase this book as a hard back. That fact that I plan to repurchase this book as opposed to finding another is proof enough of its value. As a second choice, I think the Brown / Lemay chemistry book is just as good of a choice. | ||
Info's There, But it's Soulless, Rootless & Mathless I took a couple of courses in Chemistry 30 years ago back in high school and then a couple more in college. My son just finished using this book in HIS college Chemistry classes and I thought I'd read through it for grins. I wasn't very impressed. Oh, the information's all there. But, it's presented in the manner of someone having gone through a checklist to see all the Chemistry subjects that should be taught in general Chemistry and then just including them. It's hard to explain, but I think the problem is the lack of historical background in the book. The book has little historical snippets on Chemistry *personages*, but it doesn't follow along the historical *path of discovery* to explain WHY Chemistry is what it is. The end result is that the student is presented with dry, bare facts with no place to hang them in his head. Another problem is the lack of math in the book. I mean, general Chemistry is not exactly a higher math subject (it's an empirical science, instead). But, as an example, on page 277, in the midst of the Quantum Mechanics section, there's a sidebar explaining: "The <= sign means that the product (DELTA)x(DELTA)p can be greater than or equal to h/4(PI), but it can never be smaller than h/4(PI)" (I've substituted the capitalized words for the greek symbols). 277 pages into a Chemistry book and the author is explaining what the "<=" sign is. This assumption of utter mathematical ignorance on the part of the reader continues throughout the book. And yet, a mere 72 pages further on (page 349), the author assumes knowledge of Coulomb's law in an explanation. Coulomb's law implies a class in Physics which means that anyone reading this book should be well versed in basic math. And, finally, the biggest problem is that there's almost no lab material presented or used. I don't mean just a lack of lab experiments (I initially assumed there was some companion lab manual for this book -- but, if so, there's nothing anywhere in the book that references it). I mean that the author uses almost no hypothetical, lab-based scenarios to illustrate his points. Again, Chemistry is an historically empirical, experimental science. To entirely ignore that in a Chemistry book makes no sense at all. Personally, this book feels like a book designed for people who have no interest in Chemistry but are forced to take a Chemistry class because of silly academic requirements. The problem with this is that presenting Chemistry as merely a collection of boring facts makes it even harder for such students to get anything out of the subject. And, for anyone who really is interested in the subject, this book could scare them off. Because of this, the best I can rate Chang's "Chemistry" is a Not Very Good 2 stars out of 5. | ||
Finally, Someone Knows How to Explain Chemistry! I thought my brain was broken because I tried several times to understand Chemistry. The problem was the other textbooks required by my professors. When I came across Chang's book, I thought it would be written like the rest of the boring chemistry texts written for people starting out in chemistry (but seemed like they were for people with a Ph.D. in chemistry). After I started to read Chang's book I was surprised, but I doubted myself. I assumed that I would get concepts mixed up or that I did not understand them at all. I was wrong because I passed every test in my Chemistry class. I am so happy to have found this book. I recommend this book to every college student that is somewhat familar with chemistry. This book helped me pass! Now, it would be great if he wrote organic chemistry and biochemistry books also. | ||
How fast was the service? - very Thanks for the book, It looks great and it got here when I needed it. | ||
Solid and Well Written This one of the nine books listed by the College Board as a high quality chemistry textbook for teaching AP Chemistry so it's a recognized quality text and has been a standard for years. It's not light reading. College level chemistry is a tough course and no book can make it easy without skipping important concepts. If you want an easy chem-lite, get Cliff's notes. It will get you by with a minimally passing grade, but if you want more than that, use a complete book like this one. Following the explanations in this textbook will get you through the toughest sections of chemistry with an clear and correct understanding. Examples of all the types of problems in first year college chemistry are given with step-by-step descriptions. The illustrations, graphs and example problems alone are enough to guide you through the toughest chemistry course. I've taught AP Chemistry and used a number of texts: Ebbing and Gammon, Zumdahl, Brown and LeMay and each one will reward a dedicated student. Chang ranks right up with them. | ||