Chemistry for Dummies

Now there’s a fun, easy way to learn basic chemistry. Whether you’re studying chemistry in school and you’re looking for a little help making sense of what’s being taught in class, or you’re just into learning new things for their own sake, Chemistry For Dummies gets you rolling with all the basics of matter and energy, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, and much more. In no time you’ll:

• Understand atomic structure and function
• Use the Periodic Table of elements
• Know what happens when matter changes from one state to another
• Explore ionic and covalent bonding
• Get a handle on chemical reactions
• Perform simple chemistry calculations
• Understand acids, bases, pHs, antacids, and gases
• Make sense Boyle’s Law, Avrogadro’s Law and other key laws in chemistry

Packed with examples of chemistry in action in everyday life, Chemistry For Dummies is a fascinating exploration of broad range of topics in chemistry, including:

• States of matter, from the macroscopic to the microscopic
• Understanding how the elements are arranged in the Periodic Table
• Nuclear chemistry, radioactivity and radioactive decay
• Positive and negative ions and ionic compounds
• Covalent bonding in covalent compounds
• Chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, and electrochemistry
• The mole and how it’s used to calculate chemical reactions
• Great serendipitous discoveries in chemistry
• Environmental chemistry

Written in plain English and requiring only basic math, Chemistry For Dummies puts you on the fast track to mastering the basics of chemistry.

The author takes you from the very basic "what is an atom" and "how to read the periodic table" to more advanced concepts such as Nuclear Chemistry, with consumate ease. The book throughout is structured for the (nearly) absolute beginner, with few assumptions being made about your beginning level of knowledge.

My only gripe is that he doesn't quite explain chemistry symbology in as clear a manner as he does most topics - hopefully this can be rectified for the reprint.

In short: an excellent book for the beginner. The only "pre" knowledge you'll need is the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. If you can't do that what are you doing trying to learn chemistry?

I've yet to take General Chemistry I at college but this will probably act as a good primer. I'd expect you'll need to do some more work and look at a textbook before going onto studying at college. This book will, however, give you the basic information you need to get going.


Excellent introduction to chemistry!   March 8, 2006
O. Karlsrud (Skedsmokorset Norway)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book is an excellent introduction to chemistry. If all 'for dummies' books are as good as this one, I will certainly buy more of them. I have a background in natural sciences myself (master's degree in mathematics), but I never studied chemistry at the university (or in high school for that matter). Given this background, I was afraid that a 'for dummies' book would be too dumbed down. I was happy to learn that this is not the case. I was surprised at the degree of understanding I got from this book. You actually learn how electrons take part in reactions (valence numbers and all that), and how to do simple calculations. This means that you learn enough theory to predict to a certain extent what will happen in a reaction. In addition there are lots of real life examples, with chapters on organic chemistry, pollution, chemistry in the home, and so on. This book is not meant to replace a university text book of course, but I doubt if you learn more theory than this in a high school course in chemistry. Actually I would think you learn less in a high school course, since I think some of the topics would be difficult for high school students. But of course you learn to do a few experiments in high school, which this book could never teach you (it would probably be irresponsible to try this in self-study book).


Even I learned Something   October 6, 2003
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have a B.S. in chemistry and am currently working on a M.S. in chemistry. I also help high school and college students in chemistry. I bought this book because I am always looking for more ways to explain the same topic so as to get my point across. I felt this does just that. Plus, I was very pleased because I learned some information that I did not previously know and this is an entry level book!

I am not going to say this book is perfect; its not. But I find the only flaws are the typos and the content is great. This is the type of book I read for enjoyment (I admit others will not) and I got something out of it. It assumes you know very little about chemistry and it teaches you how to apply chemistry in the real world. It is a fun read, and very very informative. I would not recommend this for taking an AP course in high school as your only source of information -- this is a supplemental information, not a text book. But it will teach you a lot the sometimes text books do not.
This is a great book to help you expand on your everyday knowledge to learn more about chemistry and how it effects your life. If you are looking for chemistry content and clarity, this book may be just for you.


Chemistry for Dummies   October 8, 2003
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

Chemistry for Dummies, by John T. Moore, is a book that I highly recommend to everyone! It explains everything about the fundamentals of chemistry in an easy and understandable way. The book utilizes a variety of techniques that enable the reader to make sense out of the complexities of chemistry. For example, the pages of the book are loaded with helpful diagrmas, illustrations, examples, and tables that correspond with the text and make the information meaningful. Additionally, the book is organized in an easy-to-follow format. This book can simply serve as a guide to understanding the basics of chemistry or it can be used as a supplement to school textbooks that are typically confusing. This book is extremely interesting and has helped me out so much!!


Turns Intolerable Torture Into Fascinating Frustration   October 3, 2005
Ellie---Penny Dreadful---Reasoner (Galway & Home Again!)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I think schools everywhere should quit being snobs, get out of the expensive textbook racket, wise up and start using "for Dummies" as material for classroom instruction. I'm being 100% serious. I think there is a lot more to be learned from a good "just the basics" series like these than in so many badly-written, boring instructional books published for in-class use.

Someone can read this book in a few nights and come away knowing more for her twenty bucks than another person who spent a grand on a 100-level Chem class. All the good stuff is here and it's really all 99.9% of the American public ever needs (or wants) to know.

I recommend this book. It's good. Read it and give your ignorance a wedgie.