Chemistry basics pdf

List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Helmenstine holds a Ph.

She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Learn about our Editorial Process. Chemistry concepts should be studied in a logical order because concepts build upon each other. Jumping into the middle of the science can lead to confusion. While it's fine to learn chemistry principles online, be aware that the lab component is an important part of the science.

It's a good idea to supplement textbook learning with experiments using a chemistry kit. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. In general, I found the textbook to be an enjoyable read and I feel that it is written at a very appropriate level for GOB students.

I liked that the learning objectives are boldly presented at the beginning of each section. Each section is well written and interesting due to the inclusion of health and consumer information. My suggestions for improvement are: to use more diagrams and figures; to include photos to make the text more visually appealing; and to use more bold subheadings to highlight and draw attention to concepts. With the growing popularity of a one-semester GOB courses in a lot of academic institutions, this introductory book meets all the necessary requirements intended for that course.

The information is presented and organized very well. However, this However, this book has some room for improved navigation within the text. The chapters and the way it was organized and presented should be very accessible to future updates if necessary.

The book is written with significant consideration for its potential readers. As an introductory book the topics are clearly presented at a level that is easy to follow throughout the chapter. The learning outcomes are presented early on with a good end of chapter follow-ups. The text and terminologies are consistent throughout the book. Each chapter follows the same format that should help the reader learn the content as the authors intended.

This book has 20 chapters designed as a one-semester GOB; that is a lot of topics to discuss with good depth. However, this book has a very good flow chapters that you can easily select and tailor topics you wish to highlight or skip. The well-organized sub-chapters with their specific learning outcomes make reorganization even easier.

The topics are presented well and the content is comparable to most GOB books currently available. They are logical and continuously build from the previous chapter. However, the readability can be improved by fixing the spacing of figures and tables e. I would be helpful for most readers if some links were included to a referred text, figure, appendix, or even a table of contents, which this book lacks. A table of contents with active links and link-back would also improve navigation in general.

I did not find anything in the book the might be considered culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. This book warrants consideration if you are looking for a free textbook for a one semester GOB course.

GOB General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry is traditionally taught as either a one-semester or a two-semester format. Based on the preface, this particular book was specifically written for a one-semester course. This book does a good job This book does a good job covering the subject of GOB; however, the subjects presented are covered at a sufficient depth for either a one-semester or two-semester course.

There was no table of contents, index, or glossary clickable or otherwise in the PDF that I downloaded from the Open Textbook Library and reviewed. This created a lot of work when navigating within the textbook. There is a section at the end of each chapter devoted to summarizing the chapter including the keywords. Overall, the content is fairly accurate.

There are a few errors in figure designations in the text. For example, there is a reference to Figure 1. In addition, in the PDF that I downloaded and reviewed, there is a reference in section 1. In addition to section 1. Finally, in Figure 8. This may be confusing for students especially since the figure is used to describe polar covalent bonds rather than geometry. The wedges are used in the subsequent figure 8.

The core chemistry content in GOB at this particular level should be relevant for a substantial period of time. There are a few instances where there is some obsolescence. For example, in section 4. This was replaced by MyPlate in , so this content is about 6 years old at the time of this review.

The text was accessible and provided adequate context to help with understanding the chemical terminology. This textbook had a consistent set of terminology and framework with just a few exceptions that I could find. In chapter 12, there is a reference preceding Figure Section 4. If the reference were changed from methane to carbon tetrachloride or if methane were added into section 4. The naming of chapter 14 organic compounds of oxygen and chapter 15 organic acids and bases and derivatives is somewhat problematic in attempting to group related compounds.

Carboxylic acids would seem to fit into either chapter, but are contained in the organics acids and bases categories for obvious reasons i. Esters would seem to fit best in the title for chapter 14, but are traditionally placed in the chapter that contains carboxylic acids since they are related by chemical reactivity i.

It would seem that there could be a more consistent division of content either by using different chapter names for thee existing chapters or by adding an additional organic chemistry chapter. The text is very modular which is a huge benefit of this text. There is ample division of chapters into sections that can be individually used, abbreviated, or discarded based on the course. While this text is meant for a one-semester course, it would be difficult to cover all of the included content in weeks and achieve student proficiency in each of the sections.

Of course, care must be taken not to remove keywords and topics that are referenced in a future chapter if sections are discarded. The topics are ordered in nearly the same way as printed GOB textbooks. Some instructors prefer the introduction to organic chemistry found at the end of chapter 4 section 4. The authors did address this placement in their preface and it does show some integration of organic into general chemistry even though that was not their focus.

It would seem that this section would need to be reviewed when the students reach chapter 12 which is not a bad thing, but there is a lot of content in the book to cover in the traditional week semester. If section 4. In either case, sections 4. One additional note, the use of wedges is first used within a figure in section 4. The vast majority of the figures and tables were free of distortion and were high quality.

I only noticed a few instances where the layout of figures or tables spans two pages. The most notable and perhaps distracting instance occurs when a table is not only split between two pages, but one of the rows of content within the table is split between two pages.

In all of the instances that I noticed, the table headings are present on both pages of a split table, which certainly helps mitigate some of the distraction. The lack of other ebook formats is perhaps one of the biggest problems with this particular text. This type of splitting of content within a row across pages in the PDF is seen in Tables 3.

In Table In addition, the condensed structural formulas are also wrapped within their respective rows potentially causing confusion for students. This same type of wrapping of text of single word can be seen in Table This particular table would definitely benefit from an update.

Many of the metabolism specific flow charts Figure There were a few typos found in the text and figures. For example, pyruvate is spelled incorrectly in Figure The text lives up to its stated purpose. It covers basic parts of general, organic, and biological chemistry but without much depth.

It avoids frilly language and is written in a style with its audience in mind. The authors' choice of health The authors' choice of health applications were well thought out and appropriate. Other than a few minor typos, I couldn't find any glaring errors. Many scanned figures are blurry but still readable and correct. The authors will likely need to update a few of the very rapidly developing "health applications" to keep it relevant.

Overall, however, much of the fundamental theory is well developed and should stand the test of time. The text's prose is very accessible to the beginning chemistry student. All terms are well-defined and are easily searchable with the control-F function.

I'm primarily using this text in the third term of a three term intro to chemistry sequence. Our third term concentrates on organic and biochemical applications. It is very easy to assign readings that skip around the text. The mode of presenting material makes this quite easy. The only really disappointing part of the text is its interface. The lack of a "clickable" table of contents or any table of contents as in my pdf version made it laborious to skip from section to section and seems like it would be a pretty simple fix.

It would be nice to add more outside hyperlinks, especially for links to better figures than those included. This, like many texts, could benefit from highlighting the contributions of the scientists themselves. I've found that including the humanity of the researchers often makes complex material more approachable to students. As opposed to being distracting and a "diversion", it often helps the students engage better with the material. Overall, I'm thrilled to have found this OER.

It's relatively difficult to find a text this basic and to the point with respect to organic and biochemistry. I'll definitely be adopting this text. Thank you, authors. Assuming this book is for an entry level class of students preparing to take a human anatomy and physiology course, it is very thorough in the area of chemistry and acceptably thorough in cell biology.

There is a complete glossary at the end of There is a complete glossary at the end of each relevant chapter and a complete index at the end of the book. This book would be very useful for an instructor who wishes to introduce students to the basics of chemistry and cell biology in preparation for enrolling in a more advanced human physiology course.

The topics are general enough that they are not likely to become out of date. The inclusion of historical information and descriptions of professional fields related to the topics adds to the relevance. The logical sequence of information in this book keeps it clear for the reader. The availability of the glossary at the end of each chapter also keeps the terminology accessible and understandable. The consistency for the most part is very good. There is a break in how chapter questions are organized between the sections on chemistry in contrast to those about biology.

Two large chapters with many subheadings are chapter 3 general and organic chemistry combined and chapter 7 combining nutrition, digestion, energy, reaction rates, photosynthesis and enzymes. Within the subtopics some instructors will probably want to eliminate some details i. This book is free of any poorly constructed images.

The color and detail is excellent. The copy I examined did have a structural problem at the end of chapter 7 where the summary and review questions were repeated. It is always tempting to want to add more to texts we use in our classes. As the title suggests this book covers the basics of GOB chemistry. It includes all the appropriate material for a one semester GOB course. The book brings in organic chemistry topics earlier than many books allowing students to see the links The book brings in organic chemistry topics earlier than many books allowing students to see the links between the various branches of chemistry.

Roughly half the book is devoted to general chemistry and there is a large focus on metabolism at the end. A table of contents and easy method to move around in the PDF would be preferable. In general the information in the book is accurate. There are a few typos and minor font issues as with any text. The scientific information in the book is not dramatically changing.

The contents should hold up for many years. The book does a good job of helping students understand the relevance of chemistry in their lives. Each chapter has sections that tell students about various careers in science and how the information relates to human health. The book is well written and gets right to the important information without being wordy.

It is written with beginning students in mind. It could benefit from more particle level diagrams in the general chemistry chapters to help students with the visualization of various concepts. However, I wish some of the diagrams and flow charts made for this text were in more texts. The book is very consistent in its presentation of topics. It uses the same language throughout to help students link various topics in chemistry.

Each chapter points out important terminology with bolded words. Learning objectives, examples, skill-building exercises, concept review exercises, key takeaways and exercises are all clearly labeled and presented in the same order in each chapter. Each chapter is broken down into small bite-sized chunks of material with many practice exercises. I think students would benefit from this approach. The lack of an easy way to navigate to each of the chapter sections makes it difficult to move around in the book.

The book is organized in a typical fashion for GOB chemistry books. General chemistry topics are first followed by organic chemistry topics and finally biochemistry topics. The topics in each section are covered in a logical progression. The lack of a table of contents and an easy way to navigate to each of the chapter sections makes it difficult to move around in the book. Some sections are divided by page breaks. All chapters and sections within them are clearly labeled and color coded.

Currently our college has a year long course for our GOB series 3 quarters. If we had a two quarter GOB I would very seriously consider adopting this book. This open course textbook introduces the fundamental of general chemistry measurements, atomic structure, compounds, energy, reactions, etc , introduces structure and reactions of organic chemistry, and ends with rather substantial chapters on This open course textbook introduces the fundamental of general chemistry measurements, atomic structure, compounds, energy, reactions, etc , introduces structure and reactions of organic chemistry, and ends with rather substantial chapters on biochemistry.

My interest is with the general chemistry for a prep class. This book contains all the necessary pieces, good figures, and exercises for the purpose of a fundamental chemistry class. I wish the book had a table of contents with pages to navigate the pdf more effectively. Introductory chemistry has been fundamentally unchanged. This book present conventional material in a way that can ensure it application.

The types of problems are expected for the level of the writing for this book. The figures in the early chapters make the material more straight forward for understanding.

The book had bolded words for clarity, and use adequate tone and description for this level. The text uses the appropriate terms and tone to describe fundamental structure, bonding, and steps for quantitative relationships. I also found the step description easy to follow. Again the use of a table of contents with page numbers would be helpful here.

It is difficult to know how far to "scroll" while working blind on chapter lengths and pages. However, the authors break up the existing text well with figures, captions, and problems to solve.

There are heading fr sections, color coding for problems, and obvious organization to the reader. The flow and organization of the book is logical. The authors begin with basic general chemistry, increasing complexity through compounds, reactions, energy, and acid base solutions, before reaching organic, and biochemistry. I found a few images to be blurry, but well used. The colored boxes for problems were helpful, but often much larger than the text of the questions.

I found this to be somewhat distracting. I appreciate the fundamental and straight-to-the-point angle of this book for any GOB class. I would greatly prefer a table of contents for easier navigation. Overall, this textbook covers all the appropriate topics to the depth necessary for a one semester course on general, organic and biological chemistry.

This textbook includes units of measurement, calculations and the mathematics background This textbook includes units of measurement, calculations and the mathematics background necessary top promote quantitative thinking without burying the student in problem sets. The only omission is Gibbs free energy. No index, bookmarks or glossary are provided. No factual or conceptual errors in this test were noted and the topics and concepts were all presented in an unbiased manner.

There are a few spaces missing between some the words. Basic general, organic and biological chemistry are not topics that are rapidly being modified or updates with new findings each year so this textbook will remain relevant for many years. Each chapter and section begins with learning objectives and ends with example problems and exercises and the key takeaway point.

Each chapter begins with descriptions of how the chapter topic relates to health and societal issues, most of which are not likely to become irrelevant in the future.

The topics are well subdivided so updating any revised sections should be easily done. The text descriptions of chemical concepts clearly written and set at the appropriate level for the intended audience. All key scientific terms are defined in place and all the writing is direct and clear with a minimum of extraneous verbiage. As mentioned previously, the textbook topics are divided between the chapters and subdivided with each chapter. It will quite easy for instructors to pick an choose topics and subtopics the wish to assign for their course.

Changing the order of topic assignment should present no problems. The textbook topics and chapters begin with a definition of science, chemistry in the context of all scientific disciplines and core chemical concepts and skills. The text then progresses through the essential general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemical topics with a logical distribution between chapters and in an order that build progressively on previous topics. The textbook provides no other means than scrolling through the pdf to navigate through the chapters.

Clear, consistent color coding and heading are provided throughout. The text is free of grammatical error. There are a few spaces that are missing, perhaps being lost in the generation of the pdf. No culturally insensitive content was included.

However, the textbook could be improved through more inclusive examples, applications and cultural relevance. For example, health disparities between U. This textbook is intended for a one semester survey course, perhaps for pre-nursing students, etc. In addition, I believe portions of this textbook could be assigned for background and review of core general and organic chemistry topics for students in more advanced biochemistry courses.

This text is intended for a one semester general, organic, biochemistry course and as such would not be appropriate for a standalone general chemistry course, organic chemistry course or biochemistry course. The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections, however, having an interactive table of contents would be helpful. The material flows in a logical sequence. However, it is difficult to jump directly to a specific chapter or figure. The biological examples are useful.

Figures should be numbered so they can be referenced in class. Ball, John W. Hill, and Rhonda J. Scott is for the one-semester General, Organic and Biological Chemistry course. The authors designed this textbook from the ground up to meet the needs of a one-semester course. It is 20 chapters in length and approximately pages; just the right breadth and depth for instructors to teach and students to grasp. David W. Ball's specialty is physical chemistry, John W.

Hill's is organic chemistry, and finally, Rhonda J. Scott's background is in enzyme and peptide chemistry. These three authors have the expertise to identify and present only the most important material for students to learn in the GOB Chemistry course.

The end-of-chapter exercises will be paired, with one answered in the back of the text so homework can easily be assigned and self-checked. Scott is the right text for you and your students if you are looking for a GOB textbook with just the right amount of coverage without overdoing the concepts and overwhelming your students. Ball is a professor of chemistry at Cleveland State University in Ohio.

His specialty is physical chemistry, which he teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to this text, he is the author of a math review book for general chemistry students, a physical chemistry textbook with accompanying student and instructor solutions manuals, and two books on spectroscopy published by SPIE Press.

He is coauthor of a general chemistry textbook with Dan Reger and Scott Goode , whose third edition was published in January His publication list has over items, roughly evenly distributed between research papers and articles of educational interest. John W. Hill is professor emeritus from the University of Wisconsin—River Falls. He earned his PhD from the University of Arkansas.

As an organic chemist, he has more than 50 publications in refereed journals, most of which have an educational bent. He has authored or coauthored several introductory level chemistry textbooks, all of which have gone into multiple editions. He has also presented over 60 papers at national conferences, many relating to science education. He has received several awards for outstanding teaching and has long been active in the American Chemical Society—both locally and nationally.

Rhonda J. She earned her PhD from the University of California at Riverside and has a background in enzyme and peptide chemistry. In the past 10 years, she has made several presentations at national American Chemical Society meetings and other workshops and conferences. She has also been very active in the development of teaching materials, having reviewed or contributed to other textbooks and test banks. Content Accuracy rating: 5 Seems accurate, but could use more examples especially of more difficult concepts.

Clarity rating: 3 The writing is clear, but a lack of formatting and pictures makes the textbook feel like a huge wall of text which will be difficult for students. Consistency rating: 4 Very consistent with itself.

Modularity rating: 2 Unfortunately, this portion hurts the textbook the most. Interface rating: 3 Very small images especially in the biochem section detract from the experience and make it difficult to comprehend the material. Comments I hope this book will be developed more.

Content Accuracy rating: 5 I found no glaring errors. Clarity rating: 5 The text is written in simple language appropriate for beginning college students including English language learners. Consistency rating: 5 I found no problems with consistency. Modularity rating: 4 I did not like that the intro to organic compounds, including describing functional groups, occurs in chapter 4: covalent bonding.

Interface rating: 4 Some figures were missing in the online version. Grammatical Errors rating: 5 I found no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5 The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive, but there is little cultural diversity in the examples. Content Accuracy rating: 5 The book was accurate. Clarity rating: 3 This book reads like a dense workbook. Consistency rating: 5 Book was very consistent and easy to locate content. Modularity rating: 5 The text was very easy to read. Interface rating: 5 The text had no interface issues I noticed. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 The text was not culturally insensitive in any way.

Comments In summary, this is a standard text for a course intended as an introduction to chemistry, organic, and biochemistry for non-majors. Content Accuracy rating: 5 The informations are accurate and concise for the course the book is intended for. Clarity rating: 4 The language is simple and lucid. Interface rating: 2 The formatting requires a lot of work. Grammatical Errors rating: 4 - Cultural Relevance rating: 4 -.

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Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Helmenstine holds a Ph. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.