This series of short texts provides accessible accounts of a range of essential topics in chemistry. Written with the needs of the student in mind, the Oxford Chemistry Primers offer just the right level of detail for undergraduate study, and will be invaluable as a source of material commonly presented in lecture courses yet not adequately covered in existing texts. All the basic principles and facts in a particular area are presented in a clear and straightforward style, to produce concise yet comprehensive accounts of topics covered in both core and specialist courses.
Increasingly, there is a gap between the fundamentals taught at school and at university. This Primer, written jointly by a school teacher and university lecturers is ideally suited to the needs of students at the school/university interface by taking material familiar from school and linking it with a selection of ideas that will be encountered in the freshman year. As well as stimulating pre-university students it will provide a sound basis for university courses in chemistry and allied subjects.
The early chapters cover the structure of atoms, ions, and molecules, reactivity, kinetics, and equilibria. The final chapter gives an insight into more advanced areas, drawing on examples from the outside world. Mathematical aspects of these subjects have been minimized as far as possible.
Aiming to offer an accessible introduction to one of the most difficult for beginners areas of chemistry, this primer covers a wide range of material in a succinct, easy-to-understand format. The first two chapters cover the structure of atoms, ions, and molecules. The next few chapters discuss such important issues as chemical reactivity, kinetics, and equilibria, while the final chapter deals with more advanced subject matter, drawing on imaginative examples from the outside world. Aware of the fact that beginners are easily intimidated by complex mathematical formulas, the authors have striven to keep quantitative aspects to a mininmum throughout.
