Chemistry for Dummies

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 362 pages
• Published by: For Dummies
• Edition: 1st Edition November 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764554301
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764554308
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Description
We’re all natural born chemists. Every time we cook, clean, take a shower, drive a car, use a solvent, such as fingernail polish remover, or perform any of the countless everyday activities that involve complex chemical reactions we’re doing chemistry. You might even say that we’re all participating in a grand chemistry experiment that started with the first human who mixed pigments to do a cave painting. Why do so many of us desperately resist learning chemistry when we’re young? Maybe it has something to do with the way it’s taught in school.

Now there’s a fun, easy way to learn basic chemistry. Whether you’re studying chemistry in school and you’re looking for a little help making sense of what’s being taught in class, or you’re just into learning new things for their own sake, Chemistry For Dummies gets you rolling with all the basics of matter and energy, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, and much more. In no time you’ll:

• Understand atomic structure and function
• Use the Periodic Table of elements
• Know what happens when matter changes from one state to another
• Explore ionic and covalent bonding
• Get a handle on chemical reactions
• Perform simple chemistry calculations
• Understand acids, bases, pHs, antacids, and gases
• Make sense Boyle’s Law, Avrogadro’s Law and other key laws in chemistry

Packed with examples of chemistry in action in everyday life, Chemistry For Dummies is a fascinating exploration of broad range of topics in chemistry, including:

• States of matter, from the macroscopic to the microscopic
• Understanding how the elements are arranged in the Periodic Table
• Nuclear chemistry, radioactivity and radioactive decay
• Positive and negative ions and ionic compounds
• Covalent bonding in covalent compounds
• Chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, and electrochemistry
• The mole and how it’s used to calculate chemical reactions
• Great serendipitous discoveries in chemistry
• Environmental chemistry

Written in plain English and requiring only basic math, Chemistry For Dummies puts you on the fast track to mastering the basics of chemistry.

Book Info
See how chemistry works in everything from soaps to medicines to petroleum. Includes examples of chemistry in action in everyday life. Softcover.

Reader Reviews
I've tried to read various "beginner" books on chemistry since coming back from a twenty-one year science sabbatical. This one is by far the best. The author takes you from the very basic "what is an atom" and "how to read the periodic table" to more advanced concepts such as Nuclear Chemistry, with consumate ease. The book throughout is structured for the (nearly) absolute beginner, with few assumptions being made about your beginning level of knowledge. My only gripe is that he doesn't quite explain chemistry symbology in as clear a manner as he does most topics - hopefully this can be rectified for the reprint. In short: an excellent book for the beginner. The only "pre" knowledge you'll need is the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. If you can't do that what are you doing trying to learn chemistry? I've yet to take General Chemistry I at college but this will probably act as a good primer. I'd expect you'll need to do some more work and look at a textbook before going onto studying at college. This book will, however, give you the basic information you need to get going.