The Handy Chemistry Answer Book

Ian C. Stewart, Justin P. Lomont

Description

Don't be mixed up about chemistry! Simplify the complex chemical reactions that take place everywhere in our lives with this engaging, easy-to-follow, question-and-answer guide!

Where would we be without atoms and compounds? Gas, liquids, solids, and plasma? Acids and bases? Bonds and reactions? Matter and energy? The Handy Chemistry Answer Book covers the building blocks of life and the universe. The secret life of atoms, how polar bears aren’t actually white, why oil and water don't mix, and much, much more are revealed and explained. This informative guide covers the basics of chemistry (history, atomic structures, chemical bonds and reactions, organic and inorganic chemistry) to more advanced material (nuclear chemistry, biochemistry, physical and theoretical chemistry) by answering nearly 1,000 common chemistry questions, including …

What causes lightning?

How does photosynthesis work?

What are hard and soft Lewis acids and bases?

What makes a fabric “waterproof”?

What are the twelve principles of green chemistry?

When did alchemists finally abandon trying to make gold?

What is Le Chatelier’s principle?

What do the different octane ratings mean at the gas pump?

What is genetic engineering?

Why is calcium important for strong bones?

What is the 18-electron rule?

Why does chocolate turn white as it ages?

Chemical reactions that rule the world; their properties, structure, composition, behavior, and history are tackled and explained in plain English in The Handy Chemistry Answer Book. With many photos, illustrations, a few formulas, molecular diagrams, and other graphics, this fun, fact-filled tome is richly illustrated. A history of chemistry timeline, appendices on Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners, a bibliography, further reading section, glossary of terms, a table of physical constants, a table of conversion factors, and extensive index add to its usefulness.

Sujets

• Sciences appliquées
• Ingénierie
• Sciences appliquées
• Sciences appliquées
• Ingénierie
• EDUCATION
• Sciences et techniques
• Questions and answers
• General officer
• Chemistry
• General
• Science
• Chimie

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578594573
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

About the Authors
Ian C. Stewart is a chemist at a petrochemical company. He formerly worked with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Robert H. Grubbs and is the recipient of several fellowships. He lives in Houston, Texas.
Justin P. Lomont is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow whose doctoral research at the University of California Berkeley focuses on organometallic reaction mechanisms using ultra-fast infrared spectroscopy. He lives in Berkeley, California.
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THE HANDY CHEMISTRY ANSWER BOOK
Copyright © 2014 by Visible Ink Press®
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or Website.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Visible Ink Press®
43311 Joy Rd., #414
Canton, MI 48187-2075
Visible Ink Press is a registered trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC.
Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, www.visibleink.com , or 734-667-3211.
Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile
Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski
Typesetting: Marco Di Vita
Proofreaders: Shoshana Hurwitz and Crystal Rosza
Indexer: Larry Baker
ISBN 978-1-57859-374-3
Cover images: Background image: Shutterstock. All other images: iStock.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stewart, Ian (Ian Christopher), 1980–
The handy chemistry answer book / by Ian Stewart and Justin Lomont.
pages cm – (The handy answer book series)
ISBN 978-1-57859-374-3 (paperback)
1. Chemistry–Miscellanea. 2. Chemistry–Examinations, questions, etc. I. Lomont, Justin. II. Title.
QD39.2.S75 2014
540–dc23
201302016
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I NTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY
ATOMS AND MOLECULES
Structure of the Atom
Trends in Reactivity and the Periodic Table
Properties of Atoms and Electrons in Atoms
Molecules and Chemical Bonds
MACROSCOPIC PROPERTIES: THE WORLD WE SEE
Phases of Matter and Intensive Properties
Food and Senses
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
Kinetics and Thermodynamics
Acids and Bases
Catalysis and Industrial Chemistry
Other Kinds of Chemical Reactions
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Structures and Nomenclature
Reactions of Organic Compounds
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Structure and Bonding
Electricity and Magnetism
Organometallic Chemistry
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
A Little Math
Measure Twice
Electrochemistry
Analytical Chemistry in Our Lives
BIOCHEMISTRY
Molecules of Life
Genetics
Metabolism and Other Biochemical Reactions
Brains!
PHYSICAL AND THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY
Energy Is Everything
Kinetics
Faster Than a Speeding Wave
Big Freaking Lasers
Other Spectroscopy
If You Can Imagine It
NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
Chemistry Inside the Atom
Nuclear Chemistry at Work
POLYMER CHEMISTRY
Polymers Are Chemicals Too!
Polymers in and around You
ENERGY
Energy Sources
Pollution
Emerging Sources of Energy
Quantifying Power
THE MODERN CHEMISTRY LAB
Purification Is Essential
Spectroscopy and Spectronomy
Other Measurements
Safety First!
THE WORLD AROUND US
Medicine and Drugs
Chemicals in Food
Chemicals in the Natural World
Chemicals in Our World
SUSTAINABLE "GREEN" CHEMISTRY
MATERIALS SCIENCE
ASTROCHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY IN THE KITCHEN
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS YOU CAN DO AT HOME
P HYSICAL C ONSTANTS
C ONVERSION F ACTORS
G LOSSARY
H ISTORY OF C HEMISTRY T IMELINE
N OBEL P RIZE IN C HEMISTRY W INNERS
B IBLIOGRAPHY
F URTHER R EADING
I NDEX
Acknowledgements
We would first like to thank Roger Jänecke and Kevin Hile at Visible Ink Press for their assistance, patience, and for taking a chance on two young science writers.
College students at the University of Michigan and Brandeis University submitted many of the questions in the chapter titled "The World around Us." Our thanks go out to these people for their creative and inspiring questions: Jon Ahearn, Krishna Bathina, Alex Belkin, Matt Benoit, Emma Betzig, Jeetayu Biswas, Ariana Boltax, Nick Carducci, Gina DiCiuccio, Alice Doong, Christina Lee, Shelby Lee, Greg Lorrain, Jake Lurie, Sotirios Malamis, Aysha Malik, Yawar Malik, Katie Marchetti, Nicholas Medina, Leah Naghi, Humaira Nawer, Logan Powell, Nilesh Raval, Alexandra Rzepecki, Minna Schmidt, Leah Simke, Sindhura Sonnathi, Eva Tulchinsky, Afzal Ullah, Anna Yatskar.
Finally, we would like to dedicate this book to the person who initially brought us together, inspired and challenged us with this project and many others, taught us what it really means to learn and to teach, and so much more. This is for you, Brian.
Photo Credits
All line art illustrations by Kevin S. Hile. Photographs in the "Chemistry Experiments You Can Do at Home" chapter by James Fordyce.
All other images courtesy of Shutterstock, with the following exceptions: page 18 : Armtuk; page 62 : BrokenSphere; pages 67 , 79 , 129 , 156 , 186 , 193 , 222 : public domain; pages 106 , 141 : Wikicommons; page 136 : Patrick Edwin Moran; page 163 : page 252 : AlexanderAlUS; page 271 : Miia Ranta from Finland.
Introduction
What’s inside of a zit? Why does eating turkey make you sleepy? How do glow sticks work? What causes a hangover? Chemistry (and this book!) holds answers to all of these questions. There are many wonderful stories about chemistry and the people behind these discoveries. Whether you have studied chemistry in high school or college, or even do chemistry for a living, we think you will enjoy this book. We certainly enjoyed writing it.
As you will see right away, our approach is quite different from a textbook. If you’re curious about the answers to hundreds of interesting questions about all the things in the world that you touch, feel, and taste every day, then you’ve come to the right place. The Handy Chemistry Answer Book uses a simple question-and-answer format to explain the chemistry in our daily lives. There are entire chapters on sustainable chemistry, the chemistry of cooking, and the chemistry of space. Some of these are questions we got from people like you! The questions in the chapter called "The World around Us" were all submitted from college students at the University of Michigan (our alma mater Go Blue!) and Brandeis University.
We think that you’ve probably wondered, for just one more example, what sodium laureth sulfate is doing in your shampoo, but maybe never had a chance to ask. We are interested in explaining these things in plain language, and we’ve kept a conversational tone throughout the entire book, even with some very challenging subject matter. We hope that reading this book feels like you’re talking to someone about chemistry, even if you wouldn’t be caught dead doing that. There are chemical structures throughout this book, and we’ve used a simplified drawing system. Take what you can from these abstract drawings, but don’t dwell on them. Focus on the stories we’re trying to tell about molecules. And if you have a chemistry question you’d like to ask, or a chemistry story you’d like to share with us, please drop us a