Chemistry Workbook For Dummies

by Peter J. Mikulecky, Michelle Rose Gilman, Brian Peterson

From liquids and solids to acids and bases - work chemistry equations and use formulas with ease Got a grasp on the chemistry terms and concepts you need to know, but get lost halfway through a problem or, worse yet, not know where to begin? Have no fear - this hands-on guide helps you solve many types of chemistry problems in a focused, step-by-step manner. With problem-solving shortcuts and lots of practice exercises, you'll build your chemistry skills and improve your performance both in and out of the science lab. You'll see how to work with numbers, atoms, and elements; make and remake compounds; understand changes in terms of energy; make sense of organic chemistry; and more! 100s of Problems!

Genres: Chemistry, Science

344 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doing some much-needed review as I haven't taken a chemistry class in almost two years and will be taking Gen Chem 2 next semester. It is RIFE with errors. How can the publishers not catch all of these errors before throwing it on shelves for students who are in need of EDUCATIONAL REFERENCES!?

I mean honestly, a question asked, "If the element cesium (Cs) is a solid at temperatures below 575 C, a liquid between 575 C and 1,217 C, and a gas above 1,217 C, at what temperature in Kelvin does each phase change occur?" I should not be told it would be a number below the number given to me in Celsius! Kelvin is higher -- always!

Their answer? "302K, 944K" with the reasoning of "...to convert these temperatures to Kelvin, simply subtract 273 from each." Excuse me? An abhorrent reference book and I'm beyond fed up with the errors in this book - look elsewhere if you're actually trying to learn.

The real answer is 848K, 1490K but go off Peter.

[Valerie Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm only on Chapter 3 and I've found quite a few errors already. I'm useless at math, so at first I thought it was me, but then I found some glaringly obvious ones, such as giving a certain data set in the question to use for finding the solution, and giving a solution that uses slightly a slightly different data set than given in the question.

It made me re-think my earlier 'struggles' with some questions, which I sent off to a proper mathematician/chemist whom I know and trust. Turns out, I was right and the book is wrong.

Since I clearly can't trust any of these solutions, and I don't want to constantly send off problems to review to my friends and family for their review to figure out if it's me or the book, I am throwing this book into the recycling bin. Look elsewhere, waste of time and money.

[Jane Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible! Too many mistakes. Unfortunately, you have to already know chemistry to know that the numerous mistakes are them not you! The publisher needs to revise this and make a new edition.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chemistry reference book.