Chemistry: The Molecular Science 5th Edition

Book Preface

Students have many reasons for taking a two-semester general chemistry course for science majors, but the most likely is that the course is a pre- or co-requisite for other science-related courses or careers. There are important reasons for such requirements, but they are not always obvious to students. The authors of this textbook believe very strongly that

• students need to recognize that chemical knowledge is essential for solving important problems and that chemistry makes important contributions to other disciplines; and
• it is essential that students gain a working knowledge of how chemistry principles are applied to solve problems in a broad spectrum of applications. Examples of such applications are creating new and improving existing chemical pathways that lead to the more efficient synthesis of new pharmaceuticals; developing a deeper understanding of alternative energy sources to mitigate global warming; and understanding how new, more efficient catalysts could help to decrease air pollution and to minimize production of chemical waste from industrial processes. Knowledge of chemistry provides a way of interpreting macroscale phenomena at the molecular level that can be applied to many critical 21st-century problems, including those just given. This fifth edition of Chemistry: The Molecular Science continues our tradition of integrating other sciences with chemistry and has been updated to include a broad range of recent chemical innovations that illustrate the importance of multidisciplinary science.

Goals

Our overarching goal is to involve science and engineering students in active study of what modern chemistry is, how it applies to a broad range of disciplines, and what effects it has on their own lives. We maintain a high level of rigor so that students in mainstream general chemistry courses for science majors and engineers will learn the concepts and develop the problem-solving skills essential to their future ability to use chemical ideas effectively. We have selected and carefully refined the book’s many unique features in support of this goal.

More specifically, we intend that this textbook will help students develop
• a broad overview of chemistry and chemical reactions;
• an understanding of the most important concepts and models used by chemists and
scientists in chemistry-related fields;
• the ability to apply the facts, concepts, and models of chemistry appropriately to new situations in chemistry, to other sciences and engineering, and to other disciplines;
• knowledge of the many practical applications of chemistry in other sciences, in engineering, and in other fields;
• an appreciation of the many ways that chemistry affects the daily lives of all people, students included; and
• motivation to study in ways that help all students achieve real learning that results in long-term retention of facts and concepts, and how to apply them.

Because modern chemistry is inextricably entwined with so many other disciplines, we have integrated organic chemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, industrial chemistry, and materials chemistry into the discussions of chemical principles and facts. Applications in these areas are discussed together with the principles on which they are based. This approach serves to motivate students whose interests lie in related disciplines and also gives a more accurate picture of the multidisciplinary collaborations so prevalent in contemporary chemical research and modern industrial chemistry.

Brief Contents
1 The Nature of Chemistry 1
2 Chemical Compounds 42
3 Chemical Reactions 91
4 Energy and Chemical Reactions 149
5 Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table 190
6 Covalent Bonding 241
7 Molecular Structures 284
8 Properties of Gases 326
9 Liquids, Solids, and Materials 371
10 Fuels, Organic Chemicals, and Polymers 422
11 Chemical Kinetics: Rates of Reactions 475
12 Chemical Equilibrium 524
13 The Chemistry of Solutes and Solutions 564
14 Acids and Bases 606
15 Additional Aqueous Equilibria 653
16 Thermodynamics: Directionality of Chemical Reactions 694
17 Electrochemistry and Its Applications 738
18 Nuclear Chemistry 783
19 The Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements 818
20 Chemistry of Selected Transition Elements and Coordination Compounds 857
Appendices A–J A.1
Appendix K: Answers to Problem-Solving Practice Problems A.49
Appendix L: Answers to Exercises A.66
Appendix M: Answers to Selected Questions for Review and Thought A.88
Glossary G.1
Index I.1