Physical Chemistry [Hardcover]

Peter Atkins (Author), Julio de Paula (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0716735393 | ISBN-13: 978-0716735397 | Publication Date: December 7, 2001 | Edition: 7th

New edition of the overwhelmingly favorite text for the physical chemistry course.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

M. P. Cady, Associate Professor of Chemistry. C. A. Trapp, Professor of Chemistry. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1072 pages
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman; 7th edition (December 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716735393
• ISBN-13: 978-0716735397
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Opinion..., March 15, 2004

By 

"just2063" (Georgia,...United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Physical Chemistry (Hardcover)

After reading all the other reviews on this book, one might notice the large gap in opinion on this text. And I think that is justified...For those who really enjoy P-Chem and pour alot of energy and time into the course, this book should be fine; but for those of us who are not particularly fascinated with the inner thermodynamic or kinetic workings of the molecules we've come to love, this book isn't necessarily as explanatory as it could be. Also, the professor one has makes a BIG difference in this course. If one has a professor who uses this book as simply a reference to his/her teaching/lecturing then the book makes a great reference material. But for those professors who are new (like mine) and expect undergraduate CHEM majors to leave their course understanding every single facet of the P-Chem cosmos, using this book as their Bible and lecturing straight from it, then this book is not so great (pretty bad, in fact). However, I must say, the text varies in readability and depth of explanation. Some parts give sufficient explanation and other portions leave students feeling confused at least. That's why I give this book a 3 star rating. I think other books may be more beneficial.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a very good book, March 31, 2004

By 

UncleNutCracker (University Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Physical Chemistry (Hardcover)

Mathematicians would favor this book. The text is dense and dry. The material is presented in the most boring manner possible. Atkins prefers to explain himself with equations rather than words. The subject matter is not thoroughly explored. No concepts are placed into the "big picture." At best, this book could serve as a decent reference for a chemist or physicist already familiar with the topics and therefore only in need of review. Learning physical chemistry for the first time using this book is a serious chore. I honestly believe that physical chemistry can be a fun, exciting, and challenging subject that is worth learning. This book fails to deliver the material in a manner that does anything but annoy and frustrate. This problem is only compounded by the fact that there are numerous mathematical errors present both in the text and in the solutions of selected problems. If you are stuck using this book because it was required for a class, I suggest you find supplementary material that elaborates better on the many areas in which this book is lacking.

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and efficient textbook, December 30, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Physical Chemistry: Science of Biology (Hardcover)

I have read the other reviews and I believe that the students who rate this book poorly are mistaking their inability to grasp physical chemistry with a poor textbook. The textbook is excellent and any good professor can teach physical chemistry from it. It is well organized, starting with some basic thermodynamics background and moving to more complicated thermo. The next section is kinetics, which is also presented not nearly as well as the thermo, but Atkins does a good job nonetheless. Spectroscopy and statistical mechanics come next and although they are not simple to understand, Atkins is concise in his presentation. The remainder of the book is additional material which may or may not be covered in a physical chemistry course. What should also be noted are the appendices at the end. Atkins includes very helpful supplemental material in mathematics which is needed for the thermodynamics discussion. The tables are somewhat lacking, but any good reference book can supplement this information. Overall, I would say the book is well worth the money and I have yet to see another physical chemistry text which contains as much information as well presented as it is.