Customer Reviews

Atkins' Physical Chemistry

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

As with other editions of Atkins' P-Chem (I own 4th, 5th, & 7th), the topics are covered rigorously and at a level that I think is appropriate for a solid junior undergrad course in P-chem.

For a text that keeps up quite admirably with advancements in science, the diagrams and ancillaries (e.g., living graphs) continue to be weak and well behind the pedagogical innovations that make p-chem more accessible to students.

The quality of the binding is unacceptably poor. Like others on this page, I too have a copy of the text with the cover that has come apart. Freeman ought to republish the text with improved binding. This text should serve as a reference for students to use for many years to come. It absolutely cannot serve that function with the quality of the binding in this version.

For all the money you're paying for this book, you'd think that de Paula and Atkins could hire someone to actually READ the thing before it was published. There's at least one typo on nearly every page (and more on others). Some of these errors are innocuous, but others completely obfuscate what the authors are trying to say. To make things more of a mess, the examples and mathematical derivations often gloss over several key points that make it difficult for students to follow. And don't even get me started on the problems, which make use of magical values that are nowhere to be found in the book. The solutions are even worse - it's as if the authors mixed up the numbers of the problems in the 7th edition without bothering to update the corresponding solutions.

The representation of units is questionable at best. Who uses dm^3 instead of L as their de facto unit of volume? The authors take their cockamamie unit scheme one step further by representing all numerical values as unitless entities. For example, instead of R = 8.31 (J / mol * K), they'll divide both sides by the units and depict it as R / (J / mol * K) = 298. This baffling treatment of units is unnecessary, inconsistent, and, worst of all, distracting from the material at hand.

In a word, terrible. Since this is my first physical chemistry course I have no frame of reference for judging the content (which is decent, as far as I can tell), but the presentation is awful. If you MUST get this book for a class, look for the International edition - the only difference is that the images in the International edition aren't in color. Take the money you save and purchase a separate book that actually presents the material clearly.

I can understand the frustration over buying a book and having the binding/printing not very good. Even more frustrating, however, is buying a book to learn something from only to find that you've been hoodwinked in this department as well.

I used this textbook when I first took physical chemistry as an undergraduate. Physical chemistry is a subject that most students struggle with enough, without having to add on top of it explanations that make no sense and nonsensical 'justifications' which are very lousy hand-waving 'proofs' done in an attempt to 'show' the student where certain quantities/formulas are derived from. Even in it's eighth edition the authors have not taken the time to clean up the myriad mistakes that riddle this textbook and pepper the minds of students with an indelible hatred of what they think is physical chemistry.

This textbook does not teach nor even present physical chemistry, rather it presents a wonderfully displayed modern version of the emperor's new clothes. Going in the student thinks they are going to be taught physical chemistry, and trustingly they use this textbook as their fabric, the weaver being their teacher. When they emerge they are stark naked to the physical chemistry community having learned no actual physical chemistry, other than possibly the names of a few functions.

I have taught several physical chemistry courses and we have used the textbooks by Simons and McQuarrie (my favorite) and another by Engel and Reed which does only slightly better than this one.

The only reason I can find that people still use this textbook, other than they know or met Atkins, is that it provides a complete solutions manual-albeit with MANY glaring mistakes-and there are not always enough physical chemists to teach physical chemistry. But then again, Simons and McQuarrie also has a complete solutions manual-it has a few minor mistakes. The mystery remains...

Where do I begin? First of all, nobody buys a textbook unless they're enrolled in a class that requires it, and my class does. Unfortunately, my instructor is also a former colleague of Atkins, who, by his admission was a madman. Atkins uses notation that no one else uses, words questions in a way that is nearly unintelligible and generally does a poor job of explaining what should be at most difficult - and I get A's in physics, math and chemistry. If you are a professor contemplating using this book for your class - I beg of you, on behalf of your students, please, don't torture them like that.

This will be a short review, since the underlying message is: no matter who you are, buy something else.
Besides the build quality many have complained about, what annoys me the most is how topics are covered. My issue is not with how the book is written, but with what is written in it, which isn't much at all. From a book so thick and costing so much money, I'd have expected so much more in terms of content. I first used it as an undergraduate and at the time it forced me to try to use a more advanced textbook (which varied depending on the subject), until eventually relying on my lecture notes exclusively. Coming back to it as a Phd student, I again realized how useless it is.
It merely offers an eagle eye view of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics which, in my humble opinion, isn't enough even for an undergraduate.
Should you be an organic chemist at heart, with an adversion to everything mathematical/physical, there are much less expensive books that will help you get through your mandatory physical chemistry courses.
If, on the other hand, you are even remotely interested in the field, invest some money in books that will last you longer than a semester: with just a bit more than 130$ you can afford three separate books on thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and kinetics. They might be harder to read at the beginning, but they will leave less questions unanswered, and you will find them useful even when you come back to them as a graduate or PhD, which will make you spend less money in the long run.

This book covers basic physical chemistry well as far as I can tell. I am a college junior taking 1st semester p. chem. The problem with this book is the complete lack of any example problems in the text. Doing any but the most basic of the questions in the problems section at the back is a horrendous expierience. Now, I know that there should be difficulty but this is ridiculous. A few well placed sample problems worked out in the text would provide the student with an opportunity to learn the process of approaching these problems. Instead we just get a bunch of text, pictures and formulas and are told to solve problems. Solving is a process and this book does not provide it.

I'll reserve my comments on the book content for another time, but I feel compelled to write about the quality of the hardbound book construction. In my class of a dozen students, at least half have bindings that have come off and some have lost pages. In my dozen years as an instructor, I've never seen such shoddy binding. Search out the paperback version (it does exist) and save yourself some money. There are also supposed to be two individual volumes for this book but they have proved impossible to find.

Of the 18 students in my physical chemistry course, at least 6 have lost their covers entirely. This is less than 3 months after the publication of the text. In addition the quality of the derivations, while somewhat better than the 7th edition, are oftentimes difficult to follow, Steps are skipped and it is often assumed that students are not only familiar with mathematical concepts beyond the scope of the course, but that they have the ability to apply these same advanced mathematical abilities to new concepts. In addition many of the problems require you to look up values from non related sources such as the CRC. The solutions manuals have numerous faults and oftentimes use entirely different methods of solving problems than are presented in the chapters. Yes physical chemistry is a very difficult subject, that is expected, however we can at least ask that the covers remain on our texts.

If you are a normal human being like me, then you will hate this book. This textbook was written for either genius's or robots. It took me almost 3 hours to read the first 10 pages. This is like reading VCR instructions. Its incredibly dense, dry and indecipherable. I feel no motivation or enthusiasm to sit down with this book, just outright misery.

So if you actually have a soul and some emotions, stay away from this book.

Physical chemistry is not the easiest or most accessible branch of chemistry. Much of it is based on mathematical derivations to get from one place to another, so if you're not a "math person", it's going to be heavy going for you, no matter what textbook you buy.
So if you're not a math person, here's my advice: Buy Atkins' Physical Chemistry anyway. Before you start reading through it, flip to the back and explore the "further information" section on mathematical techniques (it starts on page 1049 in my 7th edition), especially the calculus, especially partial derivatives. Learn it. Learn to love it. Live and breathe it. Only then are you ready for physical chemistry.
Once you're ready for it, you'll discover how clearly and elegantly written Atkins' actually is. Initially it may seem cold and distant, but you'll see that the authors are actually caring and helpful. They're just also really concise about it.
If you still feel like you're banging your head against a wall, that's normal for physical chemistry. Go bother your professor or TA. Read around topics. Do practice problems. Dig up your calculus textbook and do some problems from that. Because physical chemistry is not the kind of subject you dip your toes into, say "ooh that's cool," and just move on from. It's the kind of subject you have to go really deep into, banging the full weight of your brain against a wall a lot in the process, in order to get anything out of it. Once you do though, it's worth it. For one thing, Atkins' becomes readable and friendly.