About the Book

Key Benefit: General Chemistry: Atoms First with MasteringChemistry^(R) starts from the building blocks of chemistry, the atom, allowing the authors to tell a cohesive story that progresses logically through molecules and compounds to help students intuitively follow complex concepts more logically. This unified thread of ideas helps students build a better foundation and ultimately gain a deeper understanding of chemical concepts. Students can more easily understand the microscopic-to-macroscopic connections between unobservable atoms and the observable behavior of matter in daily life, and are brought immediately into real chemistry--instead of being forced to memorize facts.

Reflecting a true atoms first perspective, the Second Edition features experienced atoms-first authors, incorporates recommendations from a panel of atoms-first experts, and follows historical beliefs in teaching chemistry concepts based and real experimental data first. This approach distinguishes this text in the market based whereby other authors teach theory first, followed by experimental data. The text's robust technology program includes new Pause/Predict videos, new simulations and animations, and tutorials written specifically to teach with an atoms-first approach in MasteringChemistry^(R).

Key Topics: Chemical Tools: Experimentation and Measurement, The Structure and Stability of Atoms, Periodicity and the Electronic Structure Atomic Structure, Atoms and Ionic Bonds, Atoms and Covalent Bonds, Covalent Bonds and Molecular Structure, Chemical Arithmetic: Stoichiometry, Reactions in Aqueous Solution, Thermochemistry: Chemical Energy, Gases: Their Properties and Behavior, Liquids, Solids, and Phase Changes, Solutions and Their Properties, The Rates and Mechanisms of Chemical Reactions, Chemical Equilibrium: The Extent of Chemical Reactions, Aqueous Equilibria: Acids and Bases, Applications of Aqueous Equilibria, Thermodynamics: Entropy, Free Energy, and Equilibrium, Electrochemistry, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Water, The Main-Group Elements, Transition Elements and Coordination Chemistry, Metals and Solid-State Materials, Nuclear Chemistry, Organic and Biological Chemistry Market Intended for those who would like to gain a basic knowledge of chemistry, using an atoms first approach.
About the Author: Educated at Harvard and Columbia, John McMurry has taught approximately 17,000 students in general and organic chemistry over a 30-year period. A Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University since 1980, Dr. McMurry previously spent 13 years on the faculty at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has received numerous awards, including the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1969-71), the National Institute of Health Career Development Award (1975-80), the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award (1986-87), and the Max Planck Research Award (1991).

Professor of Chemistry Robert C. Fay has been teaching general and inorganic chemistry at Cornell University since 1962. Known for his clear, well-organized lectures, Dr. Fay was the 1980 recipient of the Clark Distinguished Teaching Award. He has also taught as a visiting professor at Harvard University and the University of Bologna, Italy. He has been an NSF Science Faculty Fellow at the University of East Anglia and the University of Sussex, England, and a NATO/Heineman Senior Fellow at Oxford University.