Customer Reviews

Foundations of College Chemistry

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I took chemistry in high school and barely passed. Same for gen chem in college. After that, I swore I'd never take chemistry again. Ten years later, I decided to pursue medicine, so I'd have to master chemistry once and for all.

I don't know how I'd have made it into med school without this book. So many of the concepts that stymied me in undergrad--molar mass, acid-base reactions, orbitals--all are made crystal clear. This book is one of the very few undergrad books that I didn't sell back to the bookstore, as I'm sure that I will continue to refer back to it to review the basics.

This book is well written and very easy to understand. The authors did a good job in relaying the basic concepts in chemistry. If you would like to have a career in Chemistry and did not like chemistry in high school, use this book. Reading and working through the problems of this book will improve your understanding of the subject and prepare you for future chemistry classes.

This is a great book. As the title entails, FOUNDATIONS of college chem. and the contents of the book is exactly just that. I would have given the book five stars , but I think they should have done a better job of the solutions manual , explaining some of the answers more thoroughly when it comes to the practice questions, some of the answers you just , well , GET answers with no through explanation to why that is the answer, for SOME, not all. And when it comes to the "Putting it all together" test at the end of every couple of chapters when you solidify what you learned, they only give the ANSWER ONLY in the BACK of the textbook , and not the solutions manual where they should SHOW how all the problems are solved. The "Putting it together" portion of the book has the hardest questions and seriously NEEDS worked through answers to be put on the solutions manual( this is a very critical mistake, in part of the author, especially for someone priming for general chemistry without taking a chem class in his life. ) .

Other than that , the book is a fantastic read. I bought this book a month and a half ago and im on my final 3 chapters. I never took a chem class in my LIFE, and as I am preparing to go into my first class in General chemistry this January, I feel confident that I will have the foundation to get that a in class. One thing about this book , is that it doesnt cover thermo dynamics among other things, which may be just an advanced topic for gen chem and not that of this book, and a couple other topics, which regrettably I am going to purchase a real general chemistry book after this book before I hit my first gen chem class. But other than that GOOD BOOK. definitely need to buy the solutions manual with this book though.

Reasons to Buy this book :

- Easy reading compared to the more cryptic competitors
- Explains concepts in the simplest of terms so anyone can understand
- Gets straight to the point
- Explains ALL the fundamentals to get you ready for 1st year general chemistry. Depending on what university you go to, you actually learn most of the first semester of chemistry in this book also.
- The determined student with no prior chemistry like me can finish this book , casually within a 2 month or less period.


issues that author should fix :

- Better and more thorough explanation of problems in solutions manual for a serious amount of problems.( a lot of problems are explained thoroughly but just as many are not)

- Putting it together test at the end of every couple chapters need to have worked out problems in the solutions manual.

- should have a test at the end of the book to cover every single topic to solidify learning.

What should the student buy to accompany this book?

- Real first year general chemistry book to cover parts missed from this book if your a student majoring in chemistry.

- Flash cards

- Video tutorials
-

I am amazed at just how good a book this is. I did not do well in chemistry in high school and always wanted to go back and try again. I bought a "Chemistry for Dummies book" which was junk. It was hard to understand. This book though is exceptionally easy and I finally am understanding things about the physical world that I wish I had known earlier in life. Anyone who is interested in chemistry should definitely own this book.

I used this book as a student in my 10th grade chemistry course, and I enjoyed it immensely. This book develops concepts in a manner that makes them easy to understand and the chapter progression builds well on pervious lessons. The example problems provide clear and thorough steps to follow. My only complaint is that the homework questions sometimes have very little to do with the actual chapter, sometimes being about things that are not covered anywhere in the book. I highly recommend that you also purchase the student study guide, which gives many invaluable practice problems. It saved my life on many tests! All in all, this is one of the best science texts I have used.

It is a great book, easy to understand, and is perfect for a self study.

The book was a great deal, but was not in new condition like the seller stated. It was in good condition with some wear, but overall still a good deal.

This was a lab book, so I expected some of the pages to be written on. Other than that, I received a great book. The shipping was so fast too; the book came after 2 days of placing my order. I would definitely buy from this seller again!