book reviews the first ten or so chapters of textbooks used by chemistry majors) there is no use- ful foundation in this book that would help the average non-science college stu- dent to understand the subjects presented.

Derry L. Fishel Kent State University

Kent. Ohio

Environmental Chemistry: An Introduction Experiments in Environmental Chemistry (Laboratory Manual)

Lucy T. Pryde, San Diego Mesa College. Cummings Publishing Company, Menlo Park, California, 1973. 316 pp. Figs and tables. 22 x 24 cm. $9.95.

This teat is a good starting point for use in an introductory course in environmental chemistry, providing students have either had some prior background in chemistry, or have access to other teats more oriented toward the fundamentals of chemistry

Traditional chemical principles are pri- marily located in two of the book's nine chapters, and are for the most part dis- cussed very superficially. The first part of Chap. 2 introduces, in seven pages, the concepts of elements and atoms, the elec- tron cloud, atomic weight, gram atomic weight, and the periodic table. Chapter

four returns to these concepts, develops them a hit further, then goes on to consid- er ionic and covalent bonding, bond an- g le , polarity, and organic chemistry. This chapter also deals briefly with chemical reactions, balancing equations, kinetics, and equilibrium. Other than a short (and confusing) description of redox in Chap. 5, and a bit about the chemistry of water in Chap. 6, the remainder of the book con- cerns itself with descriptive environmental chemistrv. which is doneauite well. . .

The ropics considered arc nuclear power. air, water, pesriridrs, lwds and drugs, and plasrira. R,r each of thew topicl, the ap- propriate chemistry is discussed, sources of pollution are listed, environmental ef- fects including health effects are consid- ered, standards and criteria are given, and courses of action are proposed. While the author tries to avoid value judgements and to remain as objective as possible, now and again one finds debatable state- ments such as

The first director (of the EPA), William Ruekelshaus, has provided strong lead- e r s h i ~ for the new aeenev. " . . . . the AEC insists upon superior quali-

ty in design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants

The book has several features which are unique. A "Flowchart of the Nuclear In- dustry" provides a clear picture of how uranium is processed and used in nuclear power plants. Other flowcharts included are the nitrogen cycle, the sulfur cycle, the

photochemistry of smog, water treatment and sewage treatment plants, and others. Insets of various kinds of information, ap- pmpriate to the subject matter being dis- cussed, are distributed throughout the book. Diagrams and illustrations are ex- tensively used throughout the text.

At the end of each chapter, two types of study questions and a short bibliography are presented. The first group of questions deal with the chemical aspect of the ehap- ter; the second group tends to be thought- pmvoking questions which could be used as topics for class discussions or essays. Both sets of questions have been well thought out.

A more extensive bibliography, grouped by chapters, appears a t the end of the book. In general the bibliographies are reasonably representative of various view- points, if not complete. One notable ex- ception: The "Report on 2,4,5-T by the President's Science Advisory Committee'' is listed as being a valuable history of a case study which reflects the scientific considerations that lead to public policy decisions. But nowhere is the critique to this controversial report by the Committee for Environmental Information, or the AAAS Assessment Commission Report, re- ferenced. Another important omission: in s list of "National Organizations with Strong Interests in Environmental Protee- tion," many groups are given; but the foremast group which deals with the scien- tific considerations of environmental prob- lems, the Scientists Institute for Public In-

(Continued onpageA188)

A1 86 / Journal of Chemical Education

book reviews formation, which publishes "Environ- ment" magazine, is not listed.

The author has also written a laboratory manual containing twenty-three envimn- mentally oriented chemistry experiments. Most of these experiments have been greatly simplified, and only qualitative or semiqualitative results can he expected from the analytical experiments. For ex. ample, in testing for phosphate, ammo- nium phmphomolyhdate is precipitated. The amount of precipitate is compared vi- sually to estimate the phosphate content of various detergents. For the nitrate test, Bray's nitrate test powder containing zinc, naphthylamine, and sulfanilic acid is to be used. The author suggests purchasing the prepared powder from a commercial lab, a very expensive procedure for a large class.

Bray's powder was initially prepared for testing moist soil for nitrate, and so in- soluble magnesium sulfate is used as a filler in the powder to form a consistent "white" blank when sprinkled an the soil. In water, the precipitate interferes with color comparison. Furthermore, the use of any reagent containing either n- or 8-naph- thylamine should not be allowed in a basic chemistry course, since 8-naphthylamine is a potent carcinogen. (This hazard is not labeled on the vial of Bray's powder ob- tained from the commercial laboratory.) The lab manual, like the hook, is unsuitable if basic concepts of general chemistry are to be taught. The manual is acceptable if only crudest techniques of environmental testing are to he demonstrated.

David L. Frank California State University

Fresno, Calilornia

Used Math for the First Two Years 01 College Science

Clifford E. Swortz, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Prentice- Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jer- sey, 1973. xii + 270 pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 1s em. $8.95. "Used math," in the author's view, is

somewhat the apposite of "new math." The hook is by design a how-to-do-it book for the freshman and sophomore science student. That it is not a math textbook is clearly stated in the author's preface and is apparent throughout the hook in the nonsequential manner in which material is often presented. Thus "unit vectors" are mentioned in chap. 9, while the subject of vectors is not studied until the next chap- ter. Similarlv. s derivative amears on P. . . 32 although the chapter on d&rentiation begins on p. 171. Situations such as these do not cause serious difficulty if the book is employed as intended-as a reference baok used after topics have been studied formally in appropriate math courses.

The book is very definitely written with .he beginning science student in mind and ioes not aim over his head. Thus the au- .hor discusses the "peculiar growing power 11 the exponential" (function). This repre- ients an honesty of language for the hegin- ling student. More sophisticated mathe- naticians would properly maintain that .here is nothing really "peculiar" about my function-hut they probably were a t me time impressed with the rate of growth ,f the exponential function. The author nlso tells the young student how to pro- nounce "sinh."

The book is one with many applications and many "sample" problems for the stu- dent (with answer or hints given). The ap- plications are chosen well to produce read- ing that is interesting even for more ad- vanced students. For example, several "Fermi questions" are analyzed in the ini- tial chapter on notation and orders of magnitude. Such questions, named after Enrico Fermi, are ones for which the stu- dent can estimate an approximate answer on the basis of very little information in- deed. Then in a later chapter a Fermi question appears in the problems following the discussion of the exponential function. (Haw much rice has been grown during all of the earth's history?)

The subject of the logarithm function is made interesting by consideration of the response of human senses to stimuli. This leads to a discussion of the decibel a i a unit of sound intensity, and to the history of the scale of stellar magnitudes. The def- inition and meaning of p H occurs nearby.

The statistics chapter is particularly well done for an elementary level, and in keeping with the philosophy of the entire book clearly instructs the reader in what to actually do as opposed to confusing him with many side issues.

It would clearly he a mistake to attempt to use the hook as a textbook. The empha- sis of the examples is directed more toward physics than chemistry, but if used as a supplement to early chemistry courses i t could he of considerable value.

L. K. Runnels -

Louisiana State Unrverslty Baton Rouge. La. 70803

(Continued anpage A190)

A188 / Journal of Chemical Education