Chemistry unfamiliar ideas

The paradoxical situation just described means that it is entirely possible for a science or an engineering student to have completed a course in physical chemistry and still not have any clear idea of what colloid and surface science are about. A book like this one is therefore in the curious position of being simultaneously advanced and introductory. Our discussions are often advanced in the sense of building on topics from physical chemistry. At the same time, we have to describe the phenomena under consideration pretty much from scratch since they are largely unfamiliar. In keeping with this, this chapter is concerned primarily with a broad description of the scope of colloid and surface science and the kinds of variables with which they deal. In subsequent chapters different specific phenomena are developed in detail. 

In this chapter, we consolidate the nomenclature of a number of classes of compounds —an undertaking that may not seem very logical to someone who will soon be troubled enough with the chemistry of these compounds let alone their names. We recommend, however, a thorough study now of alkane and haloalkane nomenclature (Section 3-1) followed by a more cursory examination of the rest of the chapter. Then, as unfamiliar names arise, you can quickly review the basic rules for alkanes and proceed to the new class you have encountered. The idea is to have many of the important rules in one place. Nomenclature rules for other types of compounds are given in Chapter 7. 

I assume that you are conversant with basic principles of XH or proton NMR spectroscopy as applied to small molecules. In particular, I assume that you understand the concepts of chemical shift (8) and spin-spin coupling, classical continuous-wave methods of obtaining NMR spectra, and decoupling experiments to determine pairs of coupled nuclei. If these ideas are unfamiliar to you, you may wish to review NMR spectroscopy in an introductory organic chemistry textbook before reading further. 

Mathematical methods of defining and calculating integrals are beyond the scope of this book, but Appendix C gives some supplementary information about several integrals that are important in chemistry, and it should be read by students unfamiliar with calculus. The main idea is the relation between a thermodynamic quantity (in this case, the work) and the area under a curve. 

We wanted to write a book whose structure grows from the development of ideas rather than being dictated by the sequential presentation of facts. We believe that students benefit most of all from a book which leads from familiar concepts to unfamiliar ones, not just encouraging them to know but to understand and to understand why. We were spurred on by the nature of the best modern university chemistry courses, which themselves follow this pattern this is after all how science itself develops. We also knew that if we did this we could, from the start, relate the chemistry we were talking about to the two most important sorts of chemistry that exist—the chemistry that is known as life, and the chemistry as practised by chemists solving real problems in laboratories. 

Before traveling to an unfamiliar dty, you might look at a map to get some sense of where you are heading. Because chemistry may be unfamiliar to you, it s useful to get a general idea of vdiat lies ahead before you embark on your journey. In fact, you might even ask why you are taking the trip. 

This chapter will present key ideas that will be taught and developed through a spiral curriculum. Increasingly advanced treatments will be revisited throughout the secondary years in different contexts. This is important because many of the ideas met in chemistry are abstract, unfamiliar and even cotmter-intuitive. Learners therefore need time to come to terms with these ideas to... 

Both fields are treated in this handbook. This first chapter gives a brief sttrvey of the scope and contents of the handbook. Some elementary ideas about these topics, which are often unfamiliar to those entering this field, are introduced, but only briefly. In general, textbooks and general chemical education give only minor attention to elementary issues such as defect chemistry and kinetics of electrode reactions. Ionics in solid state electrochemistry is inherently connected with the chemistry of defects in solids, and some elementary considerations about this are given in Section III. Electrodics is inherently concerned witli the kinetics of electrode reactions, and therefore some elementary considerations about this subject are presented in Section IV In an attempt to lead into more professiorral discussions as provided in subsequent chapters, some of these considerations are presented in this first chapter. 

The reader unfamiliar with basic chemistry and the way that chemists draw molecules should not be waylaid by all of the chemical drawings that are given in early chapters. Certainly, the ideas and principles may be understood without appreciation for the three-dimensional structures. The reader is especially encouraged to continue forward to Chapters 6-8, where photographs and diagrams of familiar objects are used to illustrate how chirality is present in the macroscopic world. Many readers who are far removed from their chemistry studies may benefit from the quick review of chemical structural drawings given in the short appendix at the end of the book. 

The second important difference between K and a chemical rate constant is that the former varies with physics and the latter with chemistry. Thus Ais a function of stirring but changes little with temperature. A chemical rate constant is independent of stirring and a strong function of temperature. If these ideas are unfamiliar, you may wish to review Section 8.1. 

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