Chemistry A Molecular Approach

For two-semester or three-quarter courses in General Chemistry. The author's goal in writing this book is to deliver the depth of coverage faculty want with the accessibility and clarity that students need for success. Nivaldo J. Tro's Chemistry: A Molecular Approach explains difficult chemical concepts in a concise and clear student-centered manner while also providing faculty with the flexibility to go more deeply into many key, often neglected topics, such as electron diffraction, molecular orbital theory, and free-energy changes under non-standard conditions. Chemistry is presented visually throughmulti-level images (macroscopic, molecular and symbolic representations), which helps students see the connections among the formulas (symbolic), the world around them (macroscopic), and the atoms and molecules that make up the world (molecular). Every aspect of this book focuses students on recognizing that the behavior of matter is based on the behavior of atoms and molecules.Do you wish your current text was better at helping you motivate your students? Tro's Student -Oriented text encourages readers to see the relevance of chemistry as it applies to their everyday lives. Tro shows students why chemistry is important to them, to their future careers, and to their world. When discussing the composition of compounds (p. 103) Tro references chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and their impact on the earth's ozone layer. The deterioration of the ozone layer is put into a relevant context for students, explaining why CFCs are dangerous to our environment while applying this example to the explanation of mass percent composition. Tro's relevant examples and applications help students connect chemistry with their lives. Various chemical topics are discussed throughout the text such as Chemistry in the Environment (p. 100) which emphasize the chemical impact of acid rain on the environment or the legislation requiring the gasoline additive MTBE (p. 143). Other interest topics include Chemistry in Medicine, Chemistry in Your Day, and the Nature of Chemistry, all of which highlight current issues facing chemists and citizens. Tro applies these issues to chemical concepts and puts into context the chemistry students study and how chemistry impacts the world. How do you approach developing problem solving skills? Tro's goal in writing a Pedagogically Driven text is to provide a consistent framework for problem solving that encourages students to think logically through the problem- solving process rather than memorizing formulas. Tro provides a structured, consistent, and visual problem - solving methodology because he understands that a main goal of general chemistry is to teach students how to solve problems. Tro's four -step Sort, Strategize, Solve, and Check approach helps students relate the concept of the problem to the solution through an explicit conceptual plan for each problem. This method helps students understand where to start when given a problem and to think through solving the problem rather than simply formula hunting based on the given information (pp. 102-103, 104-105, 106, 108, 111, 141, 142, 145). Two- and three -column example formats help students to understand the logic and purpose of each step in the problem-solving process as well as the details of its implementation. Tro's procedure maps not only work out a problem for students, but also apply the same methodology to another problem side by side (pp. 93, 110, 113, 115-116, 158-159). How adept are your students at connecting the macro world to the molecular world to the symbolic representation? Multipart images include the Symbolic, Macroscopic, and Molecular perspectives that are fundamental to visualizing and understanding chemistry. Tro's multipart images help students to see the relationship between the formulas they write down on paper (symbolic), the world they see around them (macroscopic), and the atoms and molecules that compose that world (molecular). The image of The Formation of an Ionic Compound (p. 85) displays the molecular interaction between sodium and chlorine on the molecular, symbolic and macro levels. The explanation of molecular models better describes the different ways chemistry is communicated (p. 87). Tro's abundant molecular-level views show students the connection between everyday processes visible to the eye and what atoms and molecules are doing. Tro's illustrations include extensive labels and annotations to guide students' attention to key elements in the art and help them to understand the processes depicted. (Common Hydrocarbons Table 3.7 page 119)Do your students perceive chemistry as a quantitative, rather than a conceptual, science? Understanding chemistry as it applies in theBig Picture enables students to see the relevance of chemistry concepts in the world around them. Tro realizes students need to understand the material conceptually along with being able to solve problems symbolically/mathematically.The opening section of each chapter introduces many of its main themes through a compelling situation or example of real-world importance.Each chapter includes several Conceptual Connections, in which students are asked to think about concepts and solve problems without doing any math. Do you find yourself compromising between the chemistry you would like to teach and the chemistry your students could understand? Tro emphasizes the Rigorous treatment of numerous topics in appropriate depth while ensuring that students are able to understand these challenging topics. Presents topics in such a way that is both chemically thorough and understandable for students.Derivation of ideal gas law from kinetic molecular theoryElectron diffraction and the photoelectric effectMolecular orbital theoryNon-Ideal SolutionsCollision theory and reactions ratesSimplifying assumptions in equilibrium calculations Free energy changes for non-standard statesStoichiometry is a challenging first- semester topic. In chapter 4 (p. 133 and p. 137) Tro likens reaction stoichiometry to a cooking recipe. He explains how making pizza with various ingredients is analogous to the concept of stoichiometry. This example is used to further discuss the limiting reactant, theoretical yield, and percent yield. Clear and understandable, this and other fundamental topics are put into the context of life and relevantly applied through example problems and conceptual connections.When you aren't with your students, what tools do they use to study? MasteringChemistry steps students through problem solving while promoting understanding of chemical concepts outside of the classroom. Backed by NSF funding, this online homework, assessment, and tutorial system helps students figure out where they are going wrong when problem solving by providing answer specific feedback. The program enables professors to compare their class performance against the national average on specific questions or topics. At a glance, professors can see class distribution of grades, time spent, most difficult problems, most difficult steps and even the most common answer.