Chemistry: The Central Science (12th Edition)

Book Preface

Philosophy

The cover of this new edition of Chemistry: The Central Science features a striking illustration of the structure of graphene, a recently discovered form of carbon. As we began preparing the previous edition in 2006, single-layer graphene was virtually unknown. The extraordinary properties of graphene, and its promise for future applications, has already resulted in a Nobel Prize. An understanding of the structure and many of the properties of graphene is well within the reach of an undergraduate student of general chemistry. Through such examples, it is possible to demonstrate in a general chemistry course that chemistry is a dynamic science in continuous development. New research leads to new applications of chemistry in other fields of science and in technology. In addition, environmental and economic concerns bring about changes in the place of chemistry in society. Our textbook reflects this dynamic, changing character. We hope that it also conveys the excitement that scientists experience in making new discoveries that contribute to our understanding of the physical world.

New ideas about how to teach chemistry are constantly being developed, and many of them are reflected in how our textbook is organized and in the ways in which topics are presented. This edition incorporates a number of new methodologies to assist students, including use of the Internet, computer-based classroom tools,Web-based tools, particularly MasteringChemistry®, and more effective means of testing. As authors, we want this text to be a central, indispensable learning tool for students. It can be carried everywhere and used at any time. It is the one place students can go to obtain the information needed for learning, skill development, reference, and test preparation. At the same time, the text provides the background in modern chemistry that students need to serve their professional interests and, as appropriate, to prepare for more advanced chemistry courses.

If the text is to be effective in supporting your role as teacher, it must be addressed to the students.We have done our best to keep our writing clear and interesting and the book attractive and well illustrated. The book has numerous in-text study aids for students, including carefully placed descriptions of problem-solving strategies. Together we have logged many years of teaching experience.We hope this is evident in our pacing, choice of examples, and the kinds of study aids and motivational tools we have employed. Because we believe that students are more enthusiastic about learning chemistry when they see its importance to their own goals and interests,we have highlighted many important applications of chemistry in everyday life.We hope you make use of this material.

A textbook is only as useful to students as the instructor permits it to be. This book is replete with features that can help students learn and that can guide them as they acquire both conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. But the text and all the supplementary materials provided to support its use must work in concert with you, the instructor. There is a great deal for the students to use here, too much for all of it to be absorbed by any one student. You will be the guide to the best use of the book. Only with your active help will the students be able to utilize most effectively all that the text and its supplements offer. Students care about grades, of course, and with encouragement they will also become interested in the subject matter and care about learning. Please consider emphasizing features of the book that can enhance student appreciation of chemistry, such as the Chemistry Put to Work and Chemistry and Life boxes that show how chemistry impacts modern life and its relationship to health and life processes. Learn to use, and urge students to use, the rich Internet resources available. Emphasize conceptual understanding and place less emphasis on simple manipulative, algorithmic problem solving.

What’s New in This Edition?

A great many changes have been made in producing this twelfth edition. The entire art program for the text has been reworked, and new features connected with the art have been introduced.

• Nearly every figure in the book has undergone some modification, and hundreds of/figures have been entirely redone.
• A systematic effort has been made to move information that was contained in figure captions directly into the figures.
• Explanatory labels have been employed extensively in figures to guide the student in understanding the art.
• In several important places, art has been modified to convey the notion of progression in time, as in a reaction. See, for instance, Figures 4.4 and 14.27.
• New designs have been employed to more closely integrate photographic materials into figures that convey chemical principles, as in Figure 2.21.
• A new feature called Go Figure has been added to about 40% of the figures. This feature asks the student a question that can be answered by examining the figure. It tests whether the student has in fact examined the figure and understands its primary message. Answers to the Go Figure questions are provided in the back of the text.
• New end-of-chapter exercises have been added, and many of those carried over from the eleventh edition have been significantly revised. Results from analysis of student responses to MasteringChemistry, the online homework program connected with the text, have been used to eliminate questions that did not appear to be functioning well and to assess the degree to which instructors have used the end-of-chapter materials. On the basis of these analyses, many exercises have been revised or eliminated.
• Chapter introductions have been redesigned to enhance the student’s exposure to the aims of the chapter and its contents.
• The presentation of hybrid orbitals in Chapter 9 and elsewhere has been rewritten to limit the treatment to s and p orbitals, based on theoretical work indicating that d orbital participation in hybridization is not significant.
• The treatment of condensed phases, liquids and solids, has been reorganized into two chapters that contain much new material. Chapter 11 deals with liquids and intermolecular forces, while Chapter 12 deals with solids, starting from the basics of crystal structures and covering a broad range of materials (including metals, semiconductors, polymers, and nanomaterials) in a cohesive manner.
• Chapter 18 on the Chemistry of the Environment has been substantially revised to focus on how human activities affect Earth’s atmosphere and water, and to enlarge the coverage of the green chemistry initiative.
• The treatment of metals, Chapter 23 of the eleventh edition, has been reorganized and augmented. Structure and bonding in metals and alloys are now covered in Chapter 12 (Solids and Modern Materials), and other parts of Chapter 23 have been combined with material from Chapter 24 of the eleventh edition to form a new chapter, Transition Metals and Coordination Chemistry. Material covering occurrences and production of metals that was not widely used by instructors has been eliminated.

Throughout the text, the writing has been improved by enhancing the clarity and flow of ideas while achieving an economy of words. Thus, despite the addition of new features, the length of the text has not changed significantly.