Chemical principles. Third edition.

Abstract

PREFACE: This edition of Chemical Principles, like its predecessors, is designed to be used in a general university chemistry course which must provide both an overview of chemistry for nonspecialists and a sound foundation for later study for science or chemistry majors. Hence there are several survey chapters introducing different areas of chemistry, including inorganic, nuclear, organic, and biochemistry, and an attempt is made throughout the book to place chemistry in its historical and cultural setting. At the same time, the quantitative aspects of chemistry are presented in a manner consistent with their importance, in a way that will make it easy to build upon them in later courses. This is the first complete revision of Chemical Principles since the first edition was published in 1969. The authors have rethought and replanned the entire book, especially the first thirteen chapters, trying to make it a better pedagogical tool without losing the special viewpoints and flavor that made the earlier editions so successful. The history and the anecdotal asides that help to make the subject palatable have been retained, but they have been better segregated from the factual material for which a student will be held responsible.