This note explains the following topics:
Atoms, Nuclear reactions and radiation, Nuclear stability, Kinetics of
radioactive decay, Light, Quantum mechanics and spectroscopy, Hydrogenic
orbitals, Multielectron atoms, Periodic trends, Metals and crystal structures,
Chemistry of the alkali metals, Ionic compounds, The alkaline earth metals, The
group metals, Covalent bonding and Lewis structures, Molecular shape,
Intermolecular forces, Kinetic molecular theory of gases, Hydrogen, Lewis acids
and bases, The halogens, The chalcogens, Crystal field theory .
This note is
just right for one beginning to embark on his journey in chemistry. The coverage
includes such wide-ranging topics as structure of matter, chemical elements, and
chemical compounds. Major areas include introduction to chemical reactions,
acids and bases, oxidation-reduction reactions, and energy changes in the
reactions. Further explained, the note is to define unit conversions, chemical
calculations, and modern atomic theory through molecular structure and solution
dynamics, besides introducing organic chemistry, biochemistry, and nuclear
chemistry for a broad basis. The note is helpful because it provides a
foundational outline for students taking up the general chemistry courses.
Dmitri Mendeleev's The
Principles of Chemistry is a classic that laid the foundation for the periodic
table. The book is a detailed discussion of water and its compounds, hydrogen
and oxygen, and their saline combinations. It includes Dalton's law, properties
of gases, and atomic theory in the discussion of the chemistry of elements and
their compounds. It is also interesting for its discussion of atomic weights of
elements and how to arrange the periodic table-the work of Mendeleev. The book
would serve well for the reader trying to understand the very earliest stages of
modern chemistry with contributions that have shaped this particular field of
science today.