Foundations of College Chemistry, 15e

Book Preface

This new Fifteenth Edition of Foundations of College Chemistry presents chemistry as a modern, vital subject and is designed to make introductory chemistry accessible to all beginning students. The central focus is the same as it has been from the first edition: to make chemistry interesting and understandable to students and teach them the problemsolving skills they will need. In preparing this new edition, we considered the comments and suggestions of students and instructors to design a revision that builds on the strengths of previous editions including clear explanations and step-by-step problem solving. We have especially tried to relate chemistry to the real lives of our students as we develop the principles that form the foundation for the further study of chemistry, and to provide them with problem-solving skills and practice needed in their future studies. We have focused on using electronic materials to enhance the student experience. To that end we have authored and added new interactive features ourselves and enhanced our existing electronic materials to draw the students into direct involvement in an active learning experience.

Foundations of College Chemistry, 15th Edition, is intended for students who have never taken a chemistry course or those who have had a significant interruption in their studies but plan to continue with the general chemistry sequence. Since its inception, this book has helped define the preparatory chemistry course and has developed a much wider audience. In addition to preparatory chemistry, our text is used extensively in one-semester general-purpose courses (such as those for applied health fields) and in courses for nonscience majors.

Development of Problem-Solving Skills

We all want our students to develop real skills in solving problems. We believe that a key to the success of this text is the fact that our problem-solving approach works for students. It is a step-by-step process that teaches the use of units and shows the change from one unit to the next. We have used this problem-solving approach in our examples throughout the text to encourage students to think their way through each problem. In this edition we continue to use examples to incorporate fundamental mathematical skills, scientific notation, and significant figures. We have added Problem-Solving Strategy boxes in the text to highlight the steps needed to solve chemistry problems. Painstaking care has been taken to show each step in the problem-solving process and to use these steps in solving example problems. We continue to use four significant figures for atomic and molar masses for consistency and for rounding off answers appropriately. We have been meticulous in providing answers, correctly rounded, for students who have difficulty with mathematics.

FOSTERING STUDENT SKILLS

Attitude plays a critical role in problem solving. We encourage students to Jearn that a systematic approach to solving problems is better than simple memorization. Throughout the book we emphasize the use of our approach to problem solving to encourage students to think through each problem. Once we have laid the foundations of concepts, we highlight the steps so students can locate them easily. Important rules and equations are highlighted for emphasis and ready reference.

STUDENT PRACTICE

Practice problems follow the examples in the text, with answers provided at the end of the chapter. The end of each chapter begins with a Chapter Review and Review Questions section, which help students review key terms and concepts, as well as material presented in tables and figures. This is followed by Paired Exercises, covering concepts and numerical exercises, where two similar exercises are presented side by side. The section titled Additional Exercises includes further practice problems presented in a more random order. The final section of exercises is titled Challenge Exercises and contains problems designed to stretch the student’s understanding of concepts and to integrate concepts from other chapters. In our new edition we have changed a number of exercises per chapter, In addition we have expanded the electronic Enhanced Examples to a total of 178 throughout the chapters and developed two new electronic practice methods

Organization

We continue to emphasize the Jess theoretical aspects of chemistry early in the book, leaving the more abstract theory for later. This sequence seems especially appropriate in a course where students are encountering chemistry for the very first time. Atoms, molecules, and reactions are all an integral part of the chemical nature of matter. A sound understanding of these topics allows the student to develop a basic understanding of chemical properties and vocabulary. Chapters 1 through 3 present the basic mathematics and the language of chemistry, including an explanation of the metric system and significant figures. We added a new section in Chapter 2 (2. 7) on Percents to assist students in understanding how the concept is applied in chemistry. In Chapter 4 we present chemical properties- the ability of a substance to form new substances. Then, in Chapter 5, students encounter the history and language of basic atomic theory. In Chapter 8 we added a new section 8.3 “Why Reactions Occur” and revised the section discussing types of reactions extensively to better reflect the level and needs of our students. We continue to present new material at a level appropriate for the beginning student by emphasizing nomenclature, composition of compounds, and reactions in Chapters 6 through 9 before moving into the details of modern atomic theory. Some applications of the Periodic Table are shown in early chapters and discussed in detail in Chapters 10 and 11. Students gain confidence in their own ability to identify and work with chemicals in the laboratory before tackling the molecular models of matter. As practicing chemists we have little difficulty connecting molecular models and chemical properties. Students, especially those with no prior chemistry background, may not share this ability to connect the molecular models and the macroscopic properties of matter. Those instructors who feel it is essential to teach atomic theory and bonding early in the course can cover Chapters 10 and 11 immediately following Chapter 5.

New to This Edition

In the Fifteenth Edition we have tried to build on the strengths of the previous editions. We have added a new author, Cary Willard, from Grossmont College in California. Cary revised the end-of-chapter materials and added exercises, including many applications in fields of interest for our students. She has focused on expanding and developing important and meaningful media assets for the Wiley PLUS course. Her focus has created deeper synergies between the content in print format and the electronic resources in our Wiley PLUS course. We continually strive to keep the material at the same level so that students can easily read and use the text and supplemental material to learn chemistry. With a focus on problem solving, student engagement, and clarity, some of the specific changes are highlighted below:
• Chemistry In Action boxes have been updated, and new boxes have been added to include different applications of the concepts in the text. • Some of the older industrial chemistry applications have been removed and newer applications added as appropriate throughout the text. • 229 Check Your Understanding Questions appear throughout the text to provide an opportunity for the students to determine their level of understanding of concepts. These are highlighted in the margins and refer the student to Wiley Plus for completion.

~BRIEF CONTENTS
1 An Introduction to Chemistry 1
2 Standards for Measurement 14
3 Elements and Compounds 48 4 Properties of Matter 68
5 Early Atomic Theory and Structure 86 6 Nomenclature of Inorganic Compounds 102
7 Quantitative Composition of Compounds 123
8 Chemical Equations 147
9 Calculations from Chemical Equations 175 10 Modern Atomic Theory and the Periodic Table 196
11 Chemical Bonds: The Formation of Compounds from Atoms 218
12 The Gaseous State of Matter 253
13 Liquids 288
14 Solutions 312
15 Acids, Bases, and Salts 343
16 Chemical Equilibrium 368
17 Oxidation- Reduction 397
18 Nuclear Chemistry 423
19 Introduction to Organic Chemistry (online only) 447
20 Introduction to Biochemistry (online only) 491
Appendices A1
Glossary G1
Index 11