The Physical Basis of Chemistry, Second Edition (Complementary Science) [Paperback]

Warren S. Warren (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0127358552 | ISBN-13: 978-0127358550 | Publication Date: February 4, 2000 | Edition: 2

If the text you're using for general chemistry seems to lack sufficient mathematics and physics in its presentation of classical mechanics, molecular structure, and statistics, this complementary science series title may be just what you're looking for. Written for the advanced lower-division undergraduate chemistry course, The Physical Basis of Chemistry, Second Edition, offers students an opportunity to understand and enrich the understanding of physical chemistry with some quantum mechanics, the Boltzmann distribution, and spectroscopy. Posed and answered are questions concerning everyday phenomena. Unlike other texts on this subject, however, Dr. Warren deals directly with the substance of the questions, avoiding the use of predigested material more appropriate for memorization exercises than for actual concrete learning. The only prerequisite is first-semester calculus or familiarity with one-variable derivatives. In this new edition, the entire text has been rewritten and keyed with an accompanying website, which contains instructive QuickTime movies on topics presented in the text to enhance student learning and participation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the First Edition:
"Both [Warren's] choice of material and his style and flair of presentation are exceptionally good."
--Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University

"Professor Warren writes clearly and forcefully. His expression is at a high level but it is presented in an inviting manner for students-not condescending and not too cute."
--Richard N. Zare, Stanford University

"This is a great book to supplement either an advanced general chemistry course or a junior-level physical chemistry course... As a supplement to an introductory chemistry textbook, it would provide mathematically advanced students with additional challenge and rigor. As a supplement to a physical chemistry textbook, it would provide a bridge between the standard introductory material and the mathematically more sophisticated physical chemistry texts."
--Deborah Huntley, Saginaw State University

From the Back Cover

Lord Ernest Rutherford, 1908 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, put it bluntly:
Science is divided into two categories: physics and stamp collecting.
But he would have been astonished to see the transformation of biology from "stamp collecting" into molecular biology, genomics, biochemistry, and biophysics in this century. This transformation occurred only because, time and time again, fundamental advances in theoretical physics drove the development of useful new tools for chemistry. Chemists in turn learned how to synthesize and characterize ever more complex molecules, and eventually created a quantitative framework for understanding biology and medicine.
This book presents the physical, mathematical, and statistical concepts necessary for understanding the structure and function of molecules. The emphasis is placed on understanding the critical core material in quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and spectroscopy that should be understood by any scientist or student of science. It is designed to enhance any general chemistry text by reintroducing concepts that require a little mathematical sophistication. It is also useful as a stand-alone background text for introductions to materials science, biophysics, and clinical imaging.

Praise for the First Edition:
"Both [Warren's] choice of material and his style and flair of presentation are exceptionally good."
--Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University

"Professor Warren writes clearly and forcefully. His expression is at a high level but it is presented in an inviting manner for students-not condescending and not too cute."
--Richard N. Zare, Stanford University

"This is a great book to supplement either an advanced general chemistry course or a junior-level physical chemistry course. It would serve opposite functions in those two settings, but would work well in either. As a supplement to an introductory chemistry textbook, it would provide mathematically advanced students with additional challenge and rigor. As a supplement to a physical chemistry textbook, it would provide a bridge between the standard introductory material and the mathematically more sophisticated physical chemistry texts."
--Deborah Huntley, Saginaw State University

Warren S. Warren, Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from U.C. Berkley in 1980. His publications range from Physical Review Letters and invited papers in Science on his research in nuclear magnetic resonance and ultrafast laser spectroscopy to the Journal of Chemical Education. He received the 1982 Nobel Laureate Signature Award of the American Chemical Society and has held numerous fellowships.

Product Details

• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 2 edition (February 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0127358552
• ISBN-13: 978-0127358550
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,542,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to understand, November 4, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Physical Basis of Chemistry, Second Edition (Complementary Science) (Paperback)

I took Warren S. Warren's freshman chemistry course at Duke with this evil book. It is basically a list of equations. You will not be able to figure out the problems, and since there is no solutions manual or anything comparable, you will not find out how to do them, either, unless you are a brilliant, brilliant person, in which case you should definitely buy this book. Otherwise, stay away.

This book is a summary of his lectures, and let me tell you, he is a terrible lecturer, so if you need this book for class, look forward to not knowing WTF is going on.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unless you are a genius...., November 1, 2002

By 

J. Gittins "chemistry student" (Pinconning ,MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Physical Basis of Chemistry, Second Edition (Complementary Science) (Paperback)

Oh dear.... "The Physical Basis of Chemistry" is a good book for a VERY select few, those of you who are geniuses or have already taken physical chemistry. I am in an Honors FRESHMAN Chemistry class right now, and our professor required this book.

Let's just say, even after 3 years of chemistry, I understood five things in the whole book. It is written somewhat poorly. For example, he keeps on introducing more and more equations without telling what the variables mean. I had to look back three chapters to figure out what "R" represented in a certain equation. It was not fun!

This book also requires advanced levels of calculus, which many (including me) in my class have not even taken yet. He discusses taking the double integral and vector multiplication (or something like that). It is not practical unless you have taken differential equations. Also, the practice problems are as difficult as heck! So unless you are a genius looking for a challenge, I would not recommend this book.

If you are a professor/teacher, make sure that your students have the level of knowledge necessary to understand this text. Otherwise, they will be completely lost.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow Delivery& Pretty Banged Up, October 29, 2009

By 

Julian A. Banks "jdog" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Physical Basis of Chemistry, Second Edition (Complementary Science) (Paperback)

Took a long time to get to me at school, but that seemed to be a general amazon trend. I saw the book and it was in pretty bad shape, although to be honest, I cannot remember if it sad good or like new. However, I still think good was a stretch...