Customer Reviews

Homework Helpers: Chemistry

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a truly remarkable book. It is as if the author is sitting right next to you and listening to your mind as you read page after page and as questions arise in your mind, the answers begin to unfold. The author anticipates them and answers them.

This is a must book if you wish for a painless refresher on the very basic fundamentals of chemistry explained and taught in a very friendly and understanding style.

Chapter 3 on atomic structure is a masterpiece. You just cannot afford to miss this chapter ! It is the centerpiece of this book as far as I am concerned. The author does not rush. The entire chapter is one that the reader should not miss. It is this chapter that will make readers truly enjoy chemistry.

The chapters that follow cement the concepts so vital to enjoying chmistry.

This book is a must in anyone's collection of useful and helpful books. It is truly a very economic investment and I recommend this book very highly to anyone wishing to get a refresher on basic concepts.

I'm in a Registered Nurse program and was struggling to understand chemistry and the textbook that the school had supplied. I had failed one exam and several dry lab assignments so I bought this book, referred to it often, did the exercises and exam questions in it and I ended up passing with an A, but also with the top score in the class! The practice exercises are great because they explain why an answer is correct-that way if you didn't get the right answer the first time you can see what you did wrong. I would recommend this book to any beginning chemistry student

i'm taking an honors course for Chemistry and i'm only a freshman so that was extremely hard but with this book it really helped explain things and i loved his examples cuz even if you didn't get the scientific reasoning at first, you'll get it by his real-life examples. Also, i love his little tests after every mini-chapter and then a unit test. that was extremely helpful. all in all, the book was worth it and its probably a better book than Idiot's cuz it's actually in a format of how a teacher would teach you it so it's easy to understand and its more reliable cuz u know your teacher is going to teach it just like that since he's a teacher himself. get this book! you won't be disappointed! picture models are included to help understand topics as well as answers and explanations to answers for the tests!

Let me start by saying anyone who lands on this page, and who has either only a little or NO chemistry experience should BUY THIS BOOK. I am NOT exaggerating! The 11 dollars that you spend on this book could make all the difference between achieving your schooling goals or not. It did for me. THIS author is AMAZING. I found his book while already registered in an Intro the Chemistry course. The class required text book had me running around in circles. I almost quit. Then I found this book. This book made a huge contribution not only to passing the course but to getting an A. Know this: I failed every science course I ever tried to take when I was younger. I am trying to get back into school and have to take Chemistry, Microbiology, and Anatomy and Physiology. I could not take any of the other courses without first passing chemistry. Chemistry is a pre-req to many other courses so that is what I mean when I say this book can mean the difference in your achieving your schooling goals or not. Still if your teenager has to take chemistry and NOTHING else, then this is still the book for you. Without this book I would not be moving on to my next science. Listen I could go on and on about this book but ask yourself this: for 11 dollars is it worth not at least trying out this book? This Author in my opinion has given many of us a gift: an affordable book that is completely understandable! NOW there are some typos in important areas but guess what: this guy's teaching style is SO amazing that you will know enough to see the typos when they come. MY only suggestion is READ IT FROM COVER TO COVER. Make that commitment. DO not try to skip around if you are new to chemistry or even know a little chemistry. Now admittedly this book covers what some call the "basics" of chemistry. I would like to re-phrase that and say what this book does is cover all the FOUNDATIONAL stuff one needs to be able to understand chemistry. Let's be clear without a good foundation NOTHING is easy. TRY this book. Think of all the ways we daily waste 11 dollars. This11 dollars could give you a 500% return on your investment. This guys writing is amazing! He makes important chemistry knowledge not only accessible but affordable! This 11 dollars is giving me a chance to achieve goals that I never could before.

I had a chemistry course back in college (some 28 years ago) and have long since forgotten most of what I learned. None of that applies to what I do today, but as a fancier of fine wines and cheeses, I recently took interest in a book on the chemistry of cheese-making. I expected to do nothing more than browse it a bit, at first, but the more I got into it, the more fascinated I became. The book, however, is not intended for the casual reader as myself. In fact, it even lists as prerequisites: "Knowledge of chemistry, physics, and microbiology."

Undaunted, I've decided to "self-learn" some of the basics, starting with chemistry.

And "Homework Helpers: Chemistry" is a great book for my purpose. Material is thorough, but to the point. The author wastes neither my time or space in the book with sidebars and other forms of digression, as found in almost any college textbook. Instead, he sticks to the main topic and moves forward, which, if you're eager to learn, is the best way to go. He provides a great tool for learning, assuming the reader is not a "Dummy" or an "Idiot" (knowing some basic math and general science would be helpful, though not necessary).

I really enjoy his style of teaching. He gives you enough basic information before moving on to the more complex. Many authors just throw the more complicated stuff right in your face up front, promising to cover it in detail in later chapters. Granted, the "unknowns" do eventually get filled in, but during that state-of-confusion phase, you're not learning as much as you would if everything were laid out clear in the first place. One example from the past is the Periodic Table, which I recall is usually tossed into the confusion early on. Mr. Curran (though he makes mention of it early) does not bother you with it until AFTER he teaches you about quantum numbers and electron configuration (and by that time, you can REALLY appreciate it for what it's worth).

Another thing I enjoy is, as I'm learning new things, I find myself asking "But what if..." and it's usually covered in the very next section (as if he could read my mind). There is a lot more to chemistry than any author can cover in one book, but when he introduces these other areas (or when the exceptions to the things he does cover get too complex), he points that out to you so as to not leave you lost (or anticipating that it will be covered in the next section). I've Googled a few of the more complex aspects that were of interest to me afterwords, and was amazed how much I can now understand the material (thanks to Mr. Curran's excellent foundation).

The only thing more I would have liked to see added to this book was a "Recommended Reading" section.

Overall, however, I am very pleased. Amazon screwed up my shipping (ordered Thursday, paid for next day delivery, did not get until Monday). For some reason they did not use UPS (went with a carrier called A1, who used Chicago Messenger). Their "computers were down" that entire weekend and even a promise to deliver it on Saturday "for sure" was broken. On Monday, the inept Chicago Messenger driver even called me for directions (I never received such a call from UPS). Amazon took care of everything quickly and professionally, and promised not to send me anything via A1 ever again.

If I were to deduct for bad delivery service (as some people erroneously do, and I was angry enough to consider it at the time), this book would still deserve 5 stars. I recommend it highly to anyone wanting to get started in understanding basic chemistry.

I can't say enough how good this book is! This has been a real life saver!!! I am using this for a College Chemistry class and it really is helping. Unfortunately, college professors don't "teach" and just give you the info to study on your own. That's where this book comes in and fills in all the gaps.

It's like having a private tutor right there with you, each step of the way. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed!

The reviewer who gave this book 3 stars was correct -- this is a book for those of us who have no chemistry background or who are "chemically challenged." I just spent about 6 hours on Friday night working problems from this book. Each time I got the answer correct, I was ASTOUNDED and compelled to work "just one more problem" to make sure that I really was getting the answers correct, and that it wasn't just a fluke or easy problem. This book has actually allowed me to entertain the idea that I might be able to do chemistry. After a life of avoiding math and science, I can't wait to take Chem 1 in the summer!! BUY THE BOOK

Buying this book was probably the best $10.00 I have ever spent! I'm a non-traditional student, going back to college after an eight year break. This book helps to fill in some of the gaps in my College Chemistry I class. I only gave it four stars, as it doesn't fill in all the gaps. With the help of this book, I was able to make an "A" on my last chemistry test. I was only one of three that made an "A" on the test out of a class of fifty. The professor even asked me to bring the book in so he could use some of the teaching methods to help get the theories across more effectively.

Amazeed by this chemistrt review book. It's like a large textbook, condensed in a smaller version but you have everything you need at your finger tips. I need to refresh my my mind on some basic chem for a next year, pre entrance exam for nursing and I have to say is "I don't need to take a class." The author explains everything in lay terms and you understand, quickly. Even if you have to read certain things over again, you pretty much get it after looking the material over for the third time. I read the first two chapters and mostly everything is still in my mind. The author makes chemistry interesting by using real life examples to reinforce the material. He has the gift of gab and ANYONE who is struggling with chemistry whether it's high school and college chem, this book with HELP you get an A. I'm very impressed and happy that I bought. But I also want to thank the folks before me that reviewed this book. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have bought it. THANKS GUYS!!!!!

I took Chem101 last term in college. My previous experience with chemistry was a high school course back in the mid-80s, taught by a perfectly dreadful teacher, so I was coming into this class very much "cold."

Unfortunately my required textbook was too enamored with the concept of "real-world" examples and a need to hammer home global warming, as opposed to spending a decent amount of time on chemistry basics, so out of desperation, I ordered this book a few weeks before my mid-term. Wow! I wish I'd had Mr. Curran as my high school chemistry teacher! I went from completely confused to confident in my understanding within only a few days of studying from this book. I got a 98 on my mid-term and finished the class with an A, something I'm positive I would *not* have done had I not had Mr. Curran's book to learn from. My textbook itself was next to useless.

Apparently a new edition of this book is coming out in about a month, so if you can afford to wait, probably you would want to, but in any case, I highly recommend it for anyone struggling with basic chemistry concepts.