Modern Chemistry [Hardcover]

Raymond E. Davis (Author), H. Clark Metcalfe (Author), John E. Williams (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 978 pages
• Publisher: Holt McDougal; 1ST edition (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030565375
• ISBN-13: 978-0030565373
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Science & Technology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN Excellent Chem Book, May 10, 2008

By 

M. Orme (Orange County California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Chemistry (Hardcover)

This is my sixth year teaching using this book. I love it.
I have been teaching High School Chemistry for 11 years and have used 8 different books (including teaching AP Chem and teaching at the Community College.)
The good things about the book:
1. For High School Chemistry it is one of the most commonly used.
2. All the topics that need to be covered are covered well.
3. I like the sequencing.
o Some texts try to sequence from a historical perspective (gas laws very early) - which is very confusing for students.
o Other texts may have nuclear chemistry early - which leaves a small percent of the students always thinking that the nucleus changes in chemical reactions.
4. There are many problems for student practice.
5. The website has excellent resources for both students and teachers.
o For students there are work sheets, on-line quizzes and solved problems.
o For the teacher:
' I have my student print out the worksheets and do them at home - saves me copying.
' They can do the same for some pdf files - there is at least one for every new type of calculation (mole conversions, yield problems, limiting reagent problems ...)
' The worksheets have a "teacher edition" -solved for your assistance.
6. The test making software is easy to use, easy to edit and easy to make multiple tests.

Things that could be improved upon:
1. It's big. My students must read through over 900 pages in one academic year. We don't cover it all.
2. I get quite a few "What does that mean?" questions. The text could be written clearer.
3. Most of the questions are math problems. The few conceptual problems are really not deep enough.
4. It is a good middle ground between college chemistry and lower level chemistry.
5. It could use a well integrated lab manual - designed for a 50 minute class.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good book for school, December 23, 2006

By 

Alexander Robinson (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Chemistry (Hardcover)

I have this book for my Honors Chemistry class since the other college book was too complicated for what we were trying to accomplish. Whenever I opened it up, I found it IMMENSELY more helpful than most books that I have had about chemistry before. Most of the concepts are very easy to understand and are presented in a comprehensible manner. It starts off with a brief intro about the period table, elements, neutrons, protons, ect. and it ends up talking about each family (group number) on the periodic table.

Overall, I think that this is a good book to learn from. I give it 5 out of 5 stars because I believe it is a very nice book that one would be able to learn much from. As being a student, I found this book easy to understand and most of the concepts well presented. Overall: nice book!

-Alex Robinson

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Detailed, Great Examples, Ideal for Honors Chem I, August 23, 2010

By 

Scott Baret (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Chemistry (Hardcover)

Like Modern Biology, also a Holt book, this is a heavy-hitting textbook and is often used in the honors level high school courses, where a larger amount of material is covered in a standard school year. However, this book can be used by anyone looking for a solid introduction to chemistry and is highly recommended as a supplemental resource for anyone taking Chem I (regular or honors), Chem II, or even an introductory chemistry class at the college level. (It may not cover the scope of information at the college level, but is good for reviewing basic concepts and explaining the nooks and crannies of chemistry that may have been forgotten since high school).

The first thing anyone notices about this book is the detail the authors use. This accounts for the book's large size and length of sections, but the explanations are worth it. The book is written in clear language without the verbose writing many textbook authors feel necessary to include. The examples included are relevant to the lives of most students (such as automobile emissions) and the sidebars from those in the field are both interesting and relevant to the discussions in the text.

Beyond the words are the problems, which are explained in great detail. A knowledge of mathematical concepts is required (Algebra I is a minimum for most chemistry courses), but even those who hate or struggle with math should be able to figure the problems out from the examples in the book. There are practice problems included as well.

The book is well-organized and progresses in a logical manner. It definitely covers all the bases--additional materials won't be needed to cover a complete Chemistry I course.

If you're looking for a book to tutor middle school students in chemistry basics, this book is clear enough so long as only developmentally-appropriate concepts are used. I have used the first chapters of this book with sixth graders (before heavy calculation becomes a requirement) and feel this would be a good resource to use with gifted middle schoolers who want to explore the great science that is chemistry. Of course, as mentioned earlier, this book can be used by post-high school students as well provided the course doesn't go beyond what is covered in this text.

This book is highly recommended and truly stands out among high school chemistry texts.