If the descriptive text youre using for teaching general chemistry seems to lack sufficient mathematics and physics to make the results of its presentation of classical mechanics, molecular structure, and statisticsunderstandable, youre not alone. Written to provide supplemental and mathematically challenging topics for the advanced lower-division undergraduate chemistry course, or the non-major, junior-level physical chemistry course, The Physical Basis of Chemistry will offer your students an opportunity to explore quantum mechanics, the Boltzmann distribution, and spectroscopy in a refreshingly compelling way.Posed and answered are questions concerning everyday phenomena: How can two discharging shotguns and two stereo speakers be used to contrast particles and waves? Why does a collision between one atom of gas and the wall of its container transfer momentum but not much energy? How does a microwave oven work? Why does carbon dioxide production heat the earth? Why are leaves green, water blue, and how do the eyes detect the difference? Unlike other texts on this subject, however, The Physical Basis of Chemistry deals directly with the substance of these questions, avoiding the use of predigested material more appropriate for memorization exercises than for actual concrete learning. The only prerequisite is first-semester calculus, or familiarity withderivatives of one variable.Provides a concise, logical introduction to physical chemistryFeatures carefully worked-out sample problems at the end of each chapterIncludes more detailed and clearly explained coverage of quantum mechanics and statistics than found in other textsAvailable in an affordable paperback editionDesigned specifically as a supplementary text for advanced/honors chemistry coursesUses SI units throughout

This rigorous, but not overly mathematical, account of the physical principles of modern organic chemistry provides an in-depth treatment of the subject not found in general physical or organic chemistry texts. The author integrates worked numerical examples throughout as well as including them at the end of each chapter. It is appropriate for courses in physical organic chemistry and physical biochemistry at the upper-division and graduate level.

This elegant book provides a student-friendly introduction to the subject of physical chemistry. It is by the author of the very successful Basic Chemical Thermodynamics and is written in the same well-received popular style. It is concise and more compact than standard textbooks on the subject and emphasises the two important topics underpinning the subject: quantum mechanics and the second law of thermodynamics. Both topics are challenging to students because they focus on uncertainty and probability. The book explains these fundamental concepts clearly and shows how they offer the key to understanding a wide range of chemical phenomena including atomic and molecular spectra, the structure and properties of solids, liquids and gases, chemical equilibrium and the rates of chemical reactions.This revised edition has enabled improvements and corrections to be made.

Given that thermodynamics books are not a rarity on the market, why would an additional one be useful? The answer is simple: at any level, thermodynamics is usually taught as a somewhat abstruse discipline where many students get lost in a maze of difficult concepts. However, thermodynamics is not as intricate a subject as most people feel. This book fills a niche between elementary textbooks and mathematically oriented treatises, and provides readers with a distinct approach to the subject. As indicated by the title, this book explains thermodynamic phenomena and concepts in physical terms before proceeding to focus on the requisite mathematical aspects. It focuses on the effects of pressure, temperature and chemical composition on thermodynamic properties and places emphasis on rapidly evolving fields such as amorphous materials, metastable phases, numerical simulations of microsystems and high-pressure thermodynamics. Topics like redox reactions are dealt with in less depth, due to the fact that there is already much literature available. Without requiring a background in quantum mechanics, this book also illustrates the main practical applications of statistical thermodynamics and gives a microscopic interpretation of temperature, pressure and entropy. This book is perfect for undergraduate and graduate students who already have a basic knowledge of thermodynamics and who wish to truly understand the subject and put it in a broader physical perspective. The book is aimed not at theoretical physicists, but rather at practitioners with a variety of backgrounds from physics to biochemistry for whom thermodynamics is a tool which would be better used if better understood.

The objective of this book is to provide a unifying approach to the study of biophysical chemistry for the advanced undergraduate who has had a year of physics, organic chem istry, calculus, and biology. This book began as a revised edition of Biophysical Chemistry: Molecules to Membranes, which Elizabeth Simons and I coauthored. That short volume was written in an attempt to provide a concise text for a one-semester course in biophysical chemistry at the graduate level. The experience of teaching biophysical chemistry to bi ologically oriented students over the last decade has made it clear that the subject requires a more fundamental text that unifies the many threads of modem science: physics, chem istry, biology, mathematics, and statistics. This book represents that effort. This volume is not a treatment of modem biophysical chemistry with its rich history and many contro versies, although a book on that topic is also needed. The Physical Basis of Biochemistry is an introduction to the philosophy and practice of an interdisciplinary field in which biological systems are explored using the quantitative perspective of the physical scientist. I have three primary objectives in this volume: one, to provide a unifying picture of the interdisciplinary threads from which the tapestry of biophysical studies is woven; two, to provide an insight into the power of the modeling approach to scientific investigation; and three, to communicate a sense of excitement for the activity and wholesome argument that characterize this field of study.

FOUNDATIONS OF CHEMISTRY A foundation-level guide to chemistry for physical, life sciences and engineering students Foundations of Chemistry: An Introductory Course for Science Students fills a gap in the literature to provide a basic chemistry text aimed at physical sciences, life sciences and engineering students. The authors, noted experts on the topic, offer concise explanations of chemistry theory and the principles that are typically reviewed in most one year foundation chemistry courses and first year degree-level chemistry courses for non-chemists. The authors also include illustrative examples and information on the most recent applications in the field. Foundations of Chemistry is an important text that outlines the basic principles in each area of chemistry - physical, inorganic and organic - building on prior knowledge to quickly expand and develop a student's knowledge and understanding. Key features include: Worked examples showcase core concepts and practice questions. Margin comments signpost students to knowledge covered elsewhere and are used to highlight key learning objectives. Chapter summaries list the main concepts and learning points.

Revised and updated in 2000, Basic Physical Chemistry for the Atmospheric Sciences provides a clear, concise grounding in the basic chemical principles required for studies of atmospheres, oceans, and earth and planetary systems. Undergraduate and graduate students with little formal training in chemistry can work through the chapters and the numerous exercises within this book before accessing the standard texts in the atmospheric chemistry, geochemistry, and the environmental sciences. The book covers the fundamental concepts of chemical equilibria, chemical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, solution chemistry, acid and base chemistry, oxidation-reduction reactions, and photochemistry. In a companion volume entitled Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry (2000, Cambridge University Press) Peter Hobbs provides an introduction to atmospheric chemistry itself, including its applications to air pollution, acid rain, the ozone hole, and climate change. Together these two books provide an ideal introduction to atmospheric chemistry for a variety of disciplines.

"This admirable text provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of physical chemistry including quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics/thermodynamics. The presentation assists the students in developing an intuitive understanding of the subjects as well as skill in quantitative manipulations. Particularly exciting is the treatment of larger molecular systems. With a firm but gentle hand, the student is led to several organized molecular assemblies including supramolecular systems and models of the origin of life. By learning of some of the most productive areas of current chemical research, the student may see the discipline as an active, young science in addition to its many accomplishments of earlier years. This text makes physical chemistry fun and demonstrates why so many find it a stimulating and rewarding profession." Professor Edel Wasserman, President (1999) of the American Chemical Society

It is highly probable that the ability to distinguish between living and nonliving objects was already well developed in early prehuman animals. Cognizance of the difference between these two classes of objects, long a part of human knowledge, led naturally to the division of science into two categories: physics and chemistry on the one hand and biology on the other. So deep was this belief in the separateness of physics and biology that, as late as the early nineteenth century, many biologists still believed in vitalism, according to which living phenomena fall outside the confines of the laws of physics. It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that Carl Ludwig, Hermann von Helmholz, Emil DuBois-Reymond, and Ernst von Briicke inaugurated a physicochem ical approach to physiology in which it was recognized clearly that one set of laws must govern the properties and behavior of all matter, living and nonliving . . The task of a biologist is like trying to solve a gigantic multidimensional crossword fill in the right physical concepts at the right places. The biologist depends on puzzle: to the maturation of the science of physics much as the crossword solver depends on a large and correct vocabulary. The solver of crossword puzzles needs not just a good vocabulary but a special vocabulary. Words like inee and oke are vitally useful to him but are not part of the vocabulary of an English professor.