21st Century Chemistry

by Waldron, Kimberley

• ISBN13: 9781936221394
• ISBN10: 193622139X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-08-01
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman

Summary

Designed for chemistry and society classes, author Kimberley Waldron blends the central ideas of chemistry into stories that are relevant and familiar to non-science majors—from evaluating nutrition labels to understanding global warming and climate change. Award-winning journalist Michelle Nijhuis argues that the best science writers “put new results in context, synthesizing and analyzing what came before, what might come next, and why you should care.” Waldron does just this—by weaving the chemistry in the context of riveting stories, she masterfully captures the attention of her readers to help them gain a deep and lasting scientific literacy.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Story of Chemistry: The Scientific Method:  Think, Measure, Rethink

Chapter 2: Atoms: All About atoms and What’s Inside Them

Chapter 3: Everything: The Ways We Organize and Classify Matter

Chapter 4: Bonds: An Introduction to the Forces within Substances

Chapter 5: Carbon: Elemental Carbon, Organic Molecules, and Carbon Footprints

Chapter 6: Air: A Study of the Gases in Our Atmosphere

Chapter 7: Chemical Reactions: How We Keep Track of Chemical Changes

Chapter 8: Water: Why Water Is Critical for Human Beings and for the Planet 

Chapter 9: Salts and Aqueous Solutions: The Nature of Salts and How They Interact with Water

Chapter 10: pH and Acid Rain: Acid Rain and Our Environment

Chapter 11: Nukes: The Fundamentals of Nuclear Chemistry

Chapter 12: Energy, Power, and Climate Change: New Ways to Generate Power and Store Energy

Chapter 13: Sustainability and Recycling: Finding Better Ways to Use (and Reuse) Our Resources

Chapter 14: Food: The Biochemistry of the Foods We Eat

Appendix A: Working with Measured Numbers: Significant Figures

Appendix B: Answers to Odd-Numbered End-of-Chapter Questions