Author Description

Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity is organised in two ways. First, there are chapters on the Principles of Reactivity, and others on Bonding and Molecular Structure that are especially important in carrying the themes of the book. The chapters on Principles of Reactivity introduce you to the factors involved in chemical reactions that lead to the successful production of products. Thus, under this topic you will study common types of reactions, the energy involved in reactions, and the factors that affect the speed of a reaction. The principles of Bonding and Molecular Structure are particularly important. If you page through the book, you will notice the abundance of molecular models, some drawn by George Kelvin, our principal artist for this edition, and others drawn with a computer. As described in several places in the book (An Introduction - The Nature of Chapter 3: Buckyballs, AIDS, and Chemistry, and Chapter 9: Computer Molecular Modelling) an understanding of molecular structures is one cornerstone of modern chemistry. Using the latest laboratory techniques for uncovering molecular structures and computer programs that generate revealing portraits of structures, chemists have enormous insight into the ways molecules react. Second, the book is also divided roughly into five sections, each with a grouping of chapters with a common Part 1: The Basic Tools of Chemistry, Part 2: The Structure of Atoms and Molecules, Part 3: States of Matter, Part 4: The Principles of Reactivity and Part 5: The Chemistry of the Elements and Their Compounds.