Survival Guide to General Chemistry

Dr Patrick E. McMahon has for the past twenty three years been teaching both general chemistry and organic chemistry at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Prior to that, he was a research scientist for Amoco Chemical Company at the Naperville, Illinois campus. McMahon has also taught at several institutions in the Chicago area, including Elmhurst College, Dominican University and Triton Community College. He is a member of the American Legion and served in the United States Army from 1970-1972. His main area of research interest is organic reaction catalysis. Awards that can be accredited to his name include the B.J. Babler award for outstanding contribution to under-graduate instruction at the University of Illinois, the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Benedictine University and first recipient of the Shining Star award given by the student senate for outstanding contribution to students at Benedictine University.Rosemary F. McMahon earned her B. S. with highest distinction in chemistry, M. S., and Ph. D. in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois. Her industrial career at Amoco Chemical and British Petroleum spanned chemicals process research and development, chemicals manufacturing, technical service, and customer support. She worked in oxidation chemistry, environmental catalyst chemistry, catalyst recovery processes, and manufacturing for product lines which included purified terephthalic acid, dimethyl 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, and acrylonitrile. Her career later branched out to information technology as a patent and technical literature specialist supporting all technologies at BP worldwide. She is the co-author of four United States patents. Bohdan B. Khomtchouk, Ph.D. is an American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biology at Stanford University. Previously, he was an NIH/NIA Postdoctoral Research Scholar, National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (Stanford Training Program in Aging Research) at Stanford University and a National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

This "survival guide" is a detailed and clear exposition of how to approach and solve the great variety of problems students may encounter during a university general chemistry course. Each chapter or section begins with a very condensed explanation of the topics to be covered; the text then describes the process for analyzing problems, presents typical problems with step-by-step solutions, then poses a group of practice problems for which solutions are given. There are few conceptual problems posed. One of the authors has extensive experience in teaching general chemistry; another is an industrial chemist; and the third is a post-doctoral fellow with biomedical experience. While the book is not intended to replace the textbook, it serves as a companion offering step-by-step guidance through a general chemistry course.-H. Goldwhite, emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles

• Chapter 1 Unit Conversions And Density: An Introduction To Problem Solving MethodsChapter 2 Atomic Particles, Isotopes, And Ions: An Initial Look At Atomic StructureChapter 3 Working With Atomic Mass And Nuclear MassChapter 4 Procedures For Writing Formulas And Naming CompoundsChapter 5 An Introduction To Moles And Molar MassChapter 6 Procedures For Calculating Empirical And Moleculer FormulasChapter 7 Writing Chemical EquationsChapter 8 Techniques For Performing Stoichiometric CalculationsChapter 9 Precipitation And Acid/Base Aqueous Reactions: Concepts And Methods To Design Complete Balanced EquationsChapter 10 Oxidation Numbers: A First Look At Redox ReactionsChapter 11 Solution Concentration, Molarity, And Solution StoichiometryChapter 12 Light, Matter, And SpectroscopyChapter 13 Atomic Orbitals And The Electronic Structure of the AtomChapter 14 Alternate Methods For Visualization And Constructing Lewis Structures Of Covalent MoleculesChapter 15 Additional Techniques For Designing And Representing Structures Of Large MoleculesChapter 16 Determining And Drawing Molecular Geometry And PolarityChapter 17 Summary Analysis Of Central Atom Bonding, Hybridization And GeometryChapter 18 Concepts Of Potential Energy, Enthalpy, And Bond Energy CalculationsChapter 19 Thermochemistry Calculations: Heat Capacity And EnthalpyChapter 20 Working With Gas LawsChapter 21 Guideline For Analyzing Intermolecular Forces And Calculating EnthalpiesChapter 22 Kinetics Part 1: Rate Laws, Rate Equations And An Introduction To Reaction MechanismsChapter 23 General Techniques For Solving Equilibrium ProblemsChapter 24 Kinetics Part 2: Application Of Rate Laws And Rate Variables To Reaction MechanismsChapter 25 Thermodynamics: Entropy And Free EnergyChapter 26 Acid/Base Equilibrium, pH, And Buffers