Physical Chemistry, Third Edition

I ordered this book for my son. He said it was in perfect condition and arrived very quickly. Thank you!!

The textbook can be very complicated at times and the problems will be even harder without the solutions. There is a bunch of complicated equations with many variables. This solution manual helps greatly with understanding the problems.

Don't let some of the previous reviews dissuade you from this book. It's excellent. Laidler et al. cover all the major areas of undergraduate p-chem: gas laws, KMT, thermodynamics, chemical equilibria, solutions, phase diagrams, electrochemistry, transport processes, chemical kinetics, surface chem. The topic order follows macroscopic physical chemisty. i.e. gas laws come first, then thermo, followed by equilibria, solutions etc. They also provide chapters on quantum chem, molecular spectroscopy, chemical bonding, statistical mechanics. They include all this and yet still manage to walk the fine line between too much and not enough theory. Their explanations and diagrams are always clear & direct. I disagree with reviewer (below) who says there's not enough detail for chem majors. The level of detail is just right. As another reviewer mentioned, the chemical kinetics chapters are very good - something most p-chem books mess up. This is because K.J. Laidler has written the standard book in the field for upper level and grad. students: Chemical Kinetics (3rd Edition), ISBN 0060438622. They summarize equations for each chapter and provide RELEVANT (i.e. for undergrads) references to other books. The problems in the book tend to be easy. The quantum chem/mol. spec./stat. mech. chapters are not deep enough for full semester courses in these areas. But, then, that's not their intent. They're introductions. Well written, too. I read these chapters to get a general understanding of these 'microscopic' areas for my upper year courses. Immediate competitors to this book: Barrow (ISBN 0070051119), Levine (ISBN 0072534958), Alberty (ISBN 047121504X), Atkins (ISBN 0716735393), Noggle (ISBN 0673523411) Barrow & Levine & Alberty are all about the same - nothing special. Not as clear as Laidler IMO. Avoid Atkins. He's abstruse. Same goes for his Molecular Quantum Mechanics book. His dictionary, "Quanta: A Handbook of Concepts", is much better. Get it for your Quantum chem course. Noggle is an odd book. Some parts are superficial and not detailed enough. Other parts provide very nice alternative explanations (e.g. entropy) if you're having trouble. Works best as a supplement. Other books that I've no experience with: Principles of Physical Chemistry by Lionel M. Raff and Physical Chemistry by David W. Ball ---------------------- some other books must be mentioned: 1. "Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach" by Donald A. McQuarrie & John D. Simon (ISBN: 0935702997). This book is unlike any of the others. It covers p-chem from a microscopic viewpoint - quantum mechanics first (extensively), followed by bonding, symmetry, molecular spec., stat thermo, gases, thermodynamics, equilibria, kinetics. He derives all of p-chem from first principles. For traditionalists note the authors de-emphasize phase diagrams (no big loss - few people will ever see it again) and drop electrochemistry (a real shame). Be sure to check out McQuarrie's oth

This book contains some of the most enlightening expositions of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics at the elementary (college) level that would help many layman science buffs understand some of the basic math; moreso than any other book I have seen! This book was designed to educate and not obfuscate or pontificate. All in all an outstanding effort! How about writing a quantum mechanics book at the same level and clarity?[The reviewer who complains that it's to light provides a good warning to majors but all books are either too light or too heavy depending on the reader's expectations.]

From my personal use of this text, it covers most topics adaquately, and unlike some texts, there are many equations available throughout the book, as well as how how the equations were derived. The most notable point, is the summary of equations at the end of each chapter, for ease of use. This is the only text I have used that summarizes the equations, in any portion of the book. This is a helpful book, for Freshman Chemsitry through Graduate school, both as a classroom text, and as a reference.