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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #644153 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1088 pages

About the Author
Raymond Chang received his B.Sc. degree in chemistry from London University, England and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale University. After doing postdoctoral research at Washington University and teaching for a year at Hunter College, he joined the chemistry at Williams College, where he has taught since 1968. Professor Chang has written books on spectroscopy, physical chemistry, and industrial chemistry.

Customer Reviews

Good Textbook for Learning Chemistry
Chang's Seventh edition of Chemistry includes the core material of most chemistry texts. The material that is usually covered in high school or in a first year college course is presented in the first five chapters: Basic concepts; Atoms, molecules, and ions; Chemical Reacions; Aqueous Solutions; and Gas Laws. Further chapters include topics appearing in a comprehensive first year or second year course: Thermochemistry; Atomic Orbitals; Periodic Properties; Bonding; Intermolecular Forces; and Physical Properites of Solutions. Finally, the conclusion of general chemistry includes Kinetics; Acid/Base Properties and Equilibria and Solubility; Electrochemistry; and Nuclear Chemistry; among possible other topics. The book also includes several other topics that may not be covered in a class, such as Chemistry in the Atmosphere; Metallurgy; Nonmetals; Entropy and Free Energy; Transition Metals; Organic Chemistry; and Polymers. You might want to look into these chapters if you are planning on taking more advanced courses in chemistry(Organic, for example).

I used this book for three courses in college. I did not consider myself a big fan of chemistry original, but found the subject much more interesting after opening Chang's text. I found the book rather easy to read and study. The material is presented in as much of a straightforward manner as is possible for chemistry. The numerous colorful pictures in the text made studying somewhat more enjoyable and definately made chemistry more interesting. The book also includes a handy keycard folder that features the periodic table and many other useful value tables. This book provides several useful examples and problems. It was very intrumental in forming my knowledge of basic chemistry. It is a useful tool for self-instruction. Truthfully, I think that I learned a lot more from the book alone than from any of my actual chemistry professors (no offense, but chemistry professors are some of the worst teachers in the world). I really did find the book quite interesting though (more so than my professors' lectures).

There are several optional materials that are available with this book. The first is a web service that may be included as a feature of your university's internet course programs. It is quite helpful, providing study questions and practice tests. The second is the Student Solutions Manuel. You will probably want to pick this up if you want to know how to solve homework problems. There is also a Student Study Guide. This is somewhat optional. It is helpful, but I have found several errors in it. Finally, there is a "Ready Notes" book. I wouldn't really suggest to buy this. It just has text pictures with spaces to write information next to them.

I'm not a conosur of chemistry books, but I can say that Chang has all the neccesicities for your general chemistry needs.

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.

General look on chemistry.
The most significant thing about this text book is it's great generality, as a result of wich it can prove to be unsuficient for a deep study but a great help as a first reference. Also it would be interesting to say that Raymond Chang makes a very complete sinthesis throw out the book making it readible by almost anybody. As a result this text book can be most usefull to those beginning any studys on chemistry.