Customer Reviews

Exploring Creation With Chemistry Full Set with Solutions and Tests

5 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The other reviewer is very misinformed. This site is for the second edition, which explains and practices sig figs, the factor-label method, and basically everything else very clearly. I feel like everything I'm learning in this book is a piece of cake, and have thus wondered whether this book is rigorous enough for homeschoolers, but looking around more, I find that this book does teach hard chemical concepts, but somehow makes them feel like second grade math.

(...)

We have a son who is a rising senior in an engineering program at a well regarded "secular" state school. He sailed through his freshman chemistry there, since he had seen it all before in this book at home. His math wasn't so good, so he traded chemistry help for math help.

For the past 4 years, I have taught homeschool chemistry classes in my home using this text, as well as Biology and Physics with Wile's curriculum. Wile's texts are so truly readable, making the concepts very understandable. In reading his texts, even I as a teacher have had some "aha" moments, as he has connected some things for me that had not been clear before. If you want your student to truly understand the concepts in addition to being able to work problems, get this text. I do enjoy adding extras to my class, including more high-powered labs, to make an honors class, but this course (as is) is certainly sufficient for a college-bound student. I have taught out of several different texts over the years, and this one is by far my favorite. Most texts are so unreadable that I never assigned reading, using the text only as a source of problems, but with Wile's texts, my students read from cover to cover.

Please keep in mind that this review refers to the FIRST EDITION of the book. I hear that more recent editions are quite a bit better, but have not yet explored them for myself. <<Amazon has permanently attached this first edition review to a newer edition, which is much more like a regular textbook than the first. I recommend all customers avoid the first edition in favor of the second.>>

If I were to give the *first edition* of this Jay Wile text a grade, it would receive a "D." I was hired as a tutor for a homeschooler using this text while I was finishing an undergraduate degree in Biology. My pupil had been having a great deal of difficulty using the text for a self-directed study, and her parents felt ill-equipped to fill in the blanks.

A few "gaps" that needed filling in, after using the text for a month or two on her own, were:
-unit conversions using the "factor-label" method,
-significant figures / digits
-organizing scratchwork while solving problems,
-and some measuring techniques (graduated cylinder, balance, electronic balance, etc.)

These are difficult points for almost *all* secondary students when approaching Chemistry for the first time, but it seemed to me that these topics were very insufficiently addressed by the text. I saw no progression from familiarity through the levels of learning up to mastery, and had to start over again with my student before we could continue with the course material.

Some faults we found with the text are:
-a condescending tone (not quite age-appropriate for a junior or senior; maybe not sophomore)
-too chatty about stretching labs to connect them to Biblical culture
-much too concerned with topics of evolution/chemical evolution (has very little to do with Chemistry at a secondary level, and Jay Wile's editorial contributed nothing to students' understanding of Chemistry). We felt it did not belong.
-Examples not narrated, therefore difficult to use without prior experience or a knowledgeable parent
-multiple typos, misleading questions, "stretched" questions/problems, and a few incorrect answers
-labs do not supply students with skills needed for starting College Chemistry
-text does not delve deeply enough into the material - Massachusetts Frameworks standards not met on numerous counts
-text needs to address multiple intelligences more aptly, and supply many types of problems and assignments geared towards more than just the verbal and mathematical skills. problems come in similar format each unit, and writing assignments are rarely beneficial to a deeper understanding of the material
-I felt the curriculum had not addressed recent developments in Chemistry. Perhaps the second edition is more up to date?

I felt it was a moderate attempt by a team that was inequipped to write a solid Chemistry curriculum for secondary students. It is too basic to be sufficient college-prep, yet too hands-off to help the struggling student. Perhaps with some editors and planners more experienced with Chemistry Curricula, this project could be improved.

I feel bad writing such a poor review, but I would not recommend this text to anybody.