Inorganic Chemistry (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Catherine Housecroft (Author), Alan G. Sharpe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130399132 | ISBN-13: 978-0130399137 | Publication Date: December 12, 2004 | Edition: 2

A leading textbook which offers a fresh and engaging approach to the teaching of modern inorganic chemistry and gives a clear, well-balanced introduction to the key principles of the subject. The brand new full-colour text design with three-dimensional illustrations brings the subject to life. Students are able to relate the chemistry they learn to everyday life through numerous applications and topic boxes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"To put it short, this is THE BOOK, that I would like to use in Inorganic Chemistry. The book contains all the information needed. Furthermore, it is well and logically presented. The problems related with each chapter are good; and the suggestions for further reading are highly relevant." Markku Sundberg, Helsinki University, Finland "I've had one of my students take a look at the book and I virtually had to tear it from his hands in order to get it back!" Professor Nikolaus Korber, University of Regensburg, Germany "Housecroft--Sharpe has been the far most superior contemporary inorganic chemistry textbook there is. It was the case of the 1st edition and it remains so for the 2nd edition. The book is also a very good comprehensive text for chemists in general, PhD students and researchers. Clearly, students may prefer the more colorful 2nd edition, and so will their teachers for pedagogical reasons." Pavel Karen, Oslo University, Norway "My tutorial group students... thought that the addition of colour was a major improvement relative to the 1st edition. I thought that the section on Group Theory and symmetry is much better handled in the 2nd edition." Mary Mahon, Bath University, UK "Undoubtedly, the new colour format makes the book seem more attractive to the reader; I noted that the descriptive chemistry has been updated also. It is pleasing that the authors continue to provide a broad coverage of chemistry throughout the Periodic Table while maintaining a reasonable size of book. One of the most important features (and one that recommended the book to us as a text) is that topics are presented in a straightforward manner, making them accessible to the less able students." Professor John Winfield, Glasgow University, UK

From the Back Cover

Inorganic Chemistry

Catherine E. Housecroft and Alan G. Sharpe

 

This book has established itself as a leading textbook in the subject by offering a fresh and exciting approach to the teaching of modern inorganic chemistry. It gives a clear introduction to key principles with strong coverage of descriptive chemistry of the elements. Special selected topics chapters are included, covering inorganic kinetics and mechanism, catalysis, solid state chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry.

 

A new full-colour text design and three-dimensional illustrations bring inorganic chemistry to life. Topic boxes have been used extensively throughout the book to relate the chemistry described in the text to everyday life, the chemical industry, environmental issues and legislation, and natural resources.

 

Teaching aids throughout the text have been carefully designed to help students learn effectively. The many worked examples take students through each calculation or exercise step by step, and are followed by related self-study exercises tackling similar problems with answers to help develop their confidence. In addition, end-of-chapter problems reinforce learning and develop subject knowledge and skills. Definitions boxes and end-of-chapter checklists provide excellent revision aids, while further reading suggestions, from topical articles to recent literature papers, will encourage students to explore topics in more depth.

 

New to this edition

 

• Many more self-study exercises have been introduced throughout the book with the aim of making stronger connections between descriptive chemistry and underlying principles.
• Additional 'overview problems' have been added to the end-of-chapter problem sets.
• The descriptive chemistry has been updated, with many new results from the literature being included.
• Chapter 4 ¿ Bonding in polyatomic molecules, has been rewritten with greater emphasis on the use of group theory for the derivation of ligand group orbitals and orbital symmetry labels.
• There is more coverage of supercritical fluids and 'green' chemistry.
• The new full-colour text design enhances the presentation of the many molecular structures and 3-D images.

 

Supporting this edition

 

• Companion website featuring multiple-choice questions and rotatable 3-D molecular structures, available at www.rearsoned.co.uk/housecroft. For full information, including details of lecturer material, see the Contents list inside the book.
• ASolutions Manual, written by Catherine E. Housecroft, with detailed solutions to all end-of-chapter problems within the text is available for purchase separately ISBN 0131 39926 8.

 

Catherine E. Housecroft is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Basel, Switzerland. She is the author of a number of textbooks and has extensive teaching experience in the UK, Switzerland, South Africa and the USA. Alan G. Sharpe is a Fellow of Jesus College, University of Cambridge, UK and has had many years of experience teaching inorganic chemistry to undergraduates

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 992 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (December 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130399132
• ISBN-13: 978-0130399137
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Detailed Enough, November 7, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Inorganic Chemistry (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I realize that this is supposed to be an introductory book, however it does not provide enough detail to be very useful in my 2nd year inorganic chem class. I am extremely disappointed by this since the book costs so much money. I wonder how much more it would cost if it was hardcover.

It does have a good layout and bright pictures and colors though. I guess this is supposed to stimulate the brain or something.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Who is this book for?, February 12, 2010

By 

Billy Wayne Mccann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inorganic Chemistry (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I find this book frustrating.

The presentation is very poor. Topics are broached willy-nilly with paltry discussion. Sometimes it's just plain laughable. For example, Box 1.3, discussing the particle in the box: "There is one further restriction that we shall simply state: the boundary condition for the particle in the box is that [the wavefunction] must be zero when x=0 and x=a." Instead of a simple statement of this and expecting the student to take it on authority, why not give the *reason* for these boundary conditions, which can be summarized in a single sentence, i.e. 'the wavefunction must be continuous with the region outside the box, which is also zero'? Another example from the first chapter: the section "Ground state electronic configurations: experimental data". After I read this section I couldn't help but think to myself "where's the experimental data? what was the point of this section?"

Which leads to my second criticism: who is this book for? It's too advanced for undergraduates and not advanced enough for graduates. This book attempts to be all-things-to-all-people, in my opinion, which makes it good for no one. It's as though the authors took an undergraduate text and added a few more bits here and there, sporadically, without rhyme or reason. This may or may not be the reason that this book weighs SIX pounds. The authors tried to shoe-horn too much into this book.

Finally, the aesthetics of the book are atrocious. The color scheme used is distracting and hard on the eyes. Dark primary colors and light pastels on the same page?!? On some pages you can count up to six different colors used for separate things. I feel like my eyes are being pulled every direction and find it difficult to concentrate on the text.

However, I do feel like this book may be a good review book. Do you need to freshen up on a wide variety of inorganic chemistry topics without going too much into detail on every topic? This text may indeed suite that purpose very well.

But, being a grad student and having been assigned this book, I have found that in reading it I'm viewing material that is either far too basic and general and therefore a waste of my time or I'm given insufficient details for true understanding when it comes to advanced material. This is why I find this text frustrating and have given it two stars. If it weren't for the encyclopedic nature of the text, it would have received only one star.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Have Mine, August 21, 2009

By 

LordStryker (JAX, FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inorganic Chemistry (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

Housecroft and Sharpe do an excellent job writing this Inorganic Chemistry book. Its tough writing one of these that will please everyone. I used this book for both Inorganic and Advanced Inorganic chemistry classes. Simplified approach, bright/easily organized layout, plenty of diagrams, pictures, and tables. The LGO approach (as mentioned earlier) was a bit murky. Also, its written by British people so you'll see minor spelling inconsistencies with that of English (people actually had a pet peeve about this but whatever, I found it to be amusing). This book makes such a good source for reference material as well. I never sold this one back and its sitting right above my desk here ready and waiting.

Side Note: I'm using Miessler's Inorganic Chemistry text this semester (for Graduate level Inorganic Chemistry) and looking through it I cringe at all the convoluted ways he presents even some of the most simple concepts. Thank goodness I kept my Housecraft and Sharpe version.