Customer Reviews

Chemistry

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Now, this is what I call a chemistry book. If you are required to buy it, then you will find out. But if you are wanting to buy a Chemistry book, just to know about Chemistry, then this is an awesome book.

You have to have some basic knowledge of Chemistry for this book to be useful, and if you have a teacher who is a good one, then you are going down the right track.

What is really great about this book, is the end of each chapter. It provides you with a clear and accurate summary, and then there are many questions that cover everything you have learned thus far. What is also good, is that main points and themes are highlighted, so that one may know what are key and relevent points.

I would recommend this book or one like it, even if you are just refreshing. A textbook is a million times better than the "series books", like "For Dummies" or "Made Simple" and so on and so forth. If you think they are to expensive, I am sure you can buy these books from the amazon marketplace sellers for less.

All in all, this is a great buy.

The author of this text must believe that by tediously repeating the same unclear statements ad nauseum, they miraculously become clear and insightful. Material is not clearly presented. By drilling certain pinacle points without establishing a sufficienlty wide base for those points, students often wind up stuck with misconceptions. They think they get it, but what they get is wrong. This can be a nightmare for many instructors (those paying attention to their students anyway). I am not impressed just because the same problems are worked out over and over and over again. There is more to understanding chemistry than memorizing how to work out a redox problem.

In my teaching experience, I've found that only the top students are able to really glean anything from this text. A good general chemistry text should contain some advanced material for those students. More importantly, however, it should present the bulk of the material in a sufficiently clear manner to reach the middle of the pack. I'm not suggesting that it only contain material my grandmother could understand, but it should at least be within reach of the average student who makes an honest effort. As for Nick's comments, an A student who got a 5 on an AP exam might not be the most useful reviewer for such a text. I suspect he wrote his review more to exercise his ego and boast to us about his grades than to really help anyone with text book selection. Also inspired by Nick's review is the following caveat. Many of my less imaginative colleagues throw together courses with no effort. All a student needs to do to get an A is regurgitate things they've already seen on the board or in bold face type in their text books. No REAL understanding is required. Sometimes students who pass these courses with stellar grades leave thinking they are God's gift to chemistry. These same students are horrified when they get to the next level and realise they have no true grasp of the deep concepts. Maybe Nick can get back to us after he's taken a course in P-chem. I've found that few of the A students from Gen. Chem. are as confident when they get to P-chem. In fact, the best P-chem students here are those who took Gen. Chem. with the Zumdahl book, but found it difficult and sought supplementary instruction from tutors. The tutors most often refered them to Brown Lemay and Bursten (my preference is for Atkins/Jones).

I used the first edition in 1989 as a general chemistry student. The book was easy to follow and well written. Later as a school teacher, I used the book teaching my ap students. The problems are challenging, incorporating many techniques and problem solving skills. Now, as a chemical engineer, I still use it as a reference guide.

I took an AP Chemistry class online, which meant a lot of self-studying. This was the second textbook I purchased for the class, after being unsatisfied by my first textbook. I did not have to buy another book after this one! The writing and explainations in the book are very clear, and I can think of very little that was left desired.

It is true that a few things could have been explained more thoroughly, but as an introductory text it is understandable that some topics were just lightly covered.

I have seen lots of Gen Chem books out there, and while Zumdahl's books is decent it is certaintly not the best one out there. The strengths this books has are the pictures and the questions at the back of the book. However, the textbook Chemistry and Practice by Reeger, Goode and Mercer is much better at explaining the concepts. Another better Gen Chem textbook is Chemistry: Principles and Practice.

I was first introduced to Steven S. Zumdahl's various chemistry books in HS as a Jr. At the time I had no frame of reference to make a comparison. Later as I went to college, actually had Dr. Zumdahl as a professor and was introduced to physics and biology text books, the brilliance of Zumdahl's book became evident. After undergrad and through four years of Pharmacy school I still find myself looking back and referencing this text. The book is invaluable in its fundamental explanations of acid base, solvents/solutions, gas exchange, and molecular chemistry. These concepts are critical in the life-science and medical fields and tend to be glossed over in upper level biology and pharmacotherapy courses.

This is probably the best chemistry book out there. If this book is taught by a good teacher, it can't be beat. If you have the sort of instructer that assigns a reading followed by 50 problems, you probably won't like this book, but if you have a teacher who actually TEACHES the material, this is the best book out there. This book covers a wide range of topics, and teaches them for different levels. NOT ALL OF THIS BOOK IS FOR BEGINNERS. This is why I have seen this book not only in high school, but in college as well. It may seem hard to understand at times, but it is just because you are reading the more advanced material, MENT FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS. All in all, this is the best book out there.

I recommended this book for students who are studying general chem. Concepts are explained very well with a lot of relevant pictures and useful examples. In addition to that, the section "chemical impact" are well written and proves students that chemistry is a study of living.

Sections about thermodynamics, kinetics and electrochemistry are very relevant and it is a very good basic for students who will study Physical Chemistry.

(note: This is a review of the book. NOT about how the author dresses to lecture. Only an idiot will rate a book based on how the lecturer dresses.)

This text stands far apart from other general chemistry texts, in that it covers every aspect of the fundamental concepts needed to move onto upper division chemistry courses. I used this text in my junior year of high school, and I'm currently following in my senior year of high school with Alberty and Silbey's "Physical Chemistry," which is the popular (but difficult) p-chem text. Zumdahl's text is great for chemistry majors or students who wish to have a strong general chemistry background. The text offers easy, moderate, and challenging problems so that students can learn effectively and efficiently. The student solutions manual only contains the odd problems, which is good because it forces students to work the even problems without having the answers to peek at. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on kinetics, equilibrium, thermodynamics, gases, and electrochemistry.

Students who have negative biases about chemistry usually don't like this book. AP students who are serious about chemistry will enjoy this text for it contains everything you need to know for the AP exam.

Students who plan on taking chemistry at college will find that this text will allow the transition into advanced inorganic and physical chemistry to be smooth, yet challenging.

I just finished an A.P. chemsitry class with this book, and now I am ordering it for myself. As a sophomore in the class, I sometimes had trouble keeping up with everyone else, but this book made learning chemistry easy. I learned almost everything I know now just from reading the book, though I will say a teacher is necessary to pull everything together. The problems were challenging, but incredibly helpful in the learning process. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn chemistry.