The Handy Chemistry Answer Book

Justin P. Lomont, Ian C. Stewart

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

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

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578594566
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

Handy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page i
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.Handy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page ii
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Please visit the “Handy” series website at www.handyanswers.com.Handy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page iii
THE
HANDY
CHEMISTRY
ANSWER
BOOK
Ian C. Stewart and Justin P. Lomont
DetroitHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page iv
®Copyright © 2014 by Visible Ink PressTHE
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.HANDY
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 briefCHEMISTRY passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine,
newspaper, or Website.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.ANSWER
®Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Rd., #414BOOK 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
2013020166
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Handy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page v
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii
INTRODUCTION xi
HISTORY OF INORGANIC
CHEMISTRY … 1 CHEMISTRY … 79
Structure and Bonding … Electricity and
ATOMS AND Magnetism … Organometallic Chemistry
MOLECULES … 13
Structure of the Atom … Trends in Reactivity ANALYTICAL
and the Periodic Table … Properties of Atoms CHEMISTRY … 95
and Electrons in Atoms … Molecules and A Little Math … Measure Twice …
Chemical Bonds Electrochemistry … Analytical Chemistry in
Our Lives
MACROSCOPIC
PROPERTIES: THE WORLD BIOCHEMISTRY … 113
WE SEE … 33
Molecules of Life … Genetics … Metabolism
Phases of Matter and Intensive Properties … and Other Biochemical Reactions … Brains!
Food and Senses
PHYSICAL AND
CHEMICAL THEORETICAL
REACTIONS … 49 CHEMISTRY … 135
Kinetics and Thermodynamics … Acids and Energy Is Everything … Kinetics … Faster
Bases … Catalysis and Industrial Chemistry Than a Speeding Wave … Big Freaking Lasers
… Other Kinds of Chemical Reactions … Other Spectroscopy … If You Can Imagine It
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY … 63 NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY … 151
Chemistry Inside the Atom … NuclearStructures and Nomenclature … Reactions of
Organic Compounds Chemistry at Work vHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page vi
POLYMER SUSTAINABLE “GREEN”
CHEMISTRY … 163 CHEMISTRY … 233
Polymers Are Chemicals Too! … Polymers in
and around You MATERIALS SCIENCE … 247
ASTROCHEMISTRY … 259ENERGY … 177
Energy Sources … Pollution … Emerging
CHEMISTRY IN THESources of Energy … Quantifying Power
KITCHEN … 271
THE MODERN
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTSCHEMISTRY LAB … 191
YOU CAN DO AT
Purification Is Essential … Spectroscopy and
HOME … 283
Spectronomy … Other Measurements …
Safety First!
THE WORLD AROUND
US … 203
Medicine and Drugs … Chemicals in Food …
Chemicals in the Natural World … Chemicals
in Our World
PHYSICAL CONSTANTS 313
CONVERSION FACTORS 315
GLOSSARY 319
HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY TIMELINE 333
NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY WINNERS 337
BIBLIOGRAPHY 361
FURTHER READING 365
INDEX 369
viHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page vii
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.
viiHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page viiiHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page ix
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.
ix

Handy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page xHandy Chemistry 7/8/13 2:44 PM Page xi
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 talk