Thermodynamics and Chemistry - Second Edition

Reviewed by Joseph DiVerdi, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Colorado State University on 4/13/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book represents a very complete look at thermodynamics from a chemistry perspective and as designed is suitable for a (busy) one-semester course for graduate students or advanced undergraduates. It covers, very thoroughly, the Three Laws, phase transitions and equilibria of pure substances and multi-component systems, mixtures, reactions and equilibrium conditions plus chapters on electrolytes and galvanic cells.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have identified no inaccuracies or errors in the PDF version of the book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is definitely up-to-date. It is highly fundamental in nature and as such is relatively free from obsolescence yet the presentation remains lively and living. The chapters are well organized and very modular. The treatment of SI units is especially timely as adoption of these units is very active.

Clarity rating: 5

Clear, crisp and straightforward is how I characterize the text and prose. As an advanced text of physical chemistry it resounds with technical terminology yet the "best practice" of defining terms upon their first mention is adhered to with great effort and to great effect.

Consistency rating: 5

The topics are introduced from chapter to chapter in the same voice and temperament providing a consistent tack for the reader.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter can be used individually as part of smaller or larger attacks on thermodynamics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

As mentioned above the chapters are quite modular yet, when taken together they flow logically and smoothly from one topic to the next.

Interface rating: 4

Overall, the text is free of interface issues. The author has, however, adopted a style of axis units that while popular in some circles leaves me flat. Rather than the style "Incubation Time (s)" the author uses "Incubation Time/s" which is certainly not wrong yet in my experience is less clear to new students. Small problem.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have found no grammatical errors in my reading so far. My compliments.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I find the presentation to be quite free of cultural insensitivity. The multiple, short, biographical vignettes can be criticized for focusing exclusively on white, male investigators yet there is no easy way around the past 400 years of reported science.

Comments

I really like this book. I have taught courses on advanced physical chemistry and plan to adopt it in the near future. I expect that it will be very well received by the serious students. If one is looking for flashy graphics and dancing molecules in sidebars then this book will not satisfy at all as it is a serious work on a non-trivial subject that has taken on the hard work of helping readers to learn a rich set of topics.

Reviewed by Betul Bilgin, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago on 1/8/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book is intended to serve for one semester graduate or undergraduate students who have background in physical chemistry. There are 14 chapters in the book which I believe would be very hard to cover in one semester. First five chapters seem like review of physical chemistry. However, covering the rest nine chapters in one semester sounds not realistic to me. Book covers all the areas in thermodynamics. The concepts are clearly explained. However, there are not many examples in the text. Almost all the text is theory. It would be better to have some examples, practice problems for students. Otherwise, it is not clear how to apply which theory to what problem. There are biographies of significant people of thermodynamics. This is really good idea, because students can relate to those people and learn more.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Based on my review, I could not find any typos or errors. It appears to be unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The material in this book is essential to any thermodynamics course. Thus, content is not expected to become obsolete anytime soon. The book was edited in 2019, most of the materials was updated. Quick examples is; SI units changed in May 2019 was covered in the book. However, book does not include any up-to-date examples and real world applications. Without those examples, students will have difficulty to understand the materials deeply. The content can be enhanced by adding more examples and exercises.

Clarity rating: 3

The text flows well and most of the technical terms are explained clearly in the first three chapters. Thus, students can understand the terms easily. The content is missing colored graphics. Many concepts are explained only in the text but not enhanced by graphics. There are many symbols and mathematics used in the context. However, they are explained well and review sections are included in the appendix. There are short intro paragraphs for each chapter. They can be improved by including learning objectives of the chapters.

Consistency rating: 5

The text in the book is pretty consistent.

Modularity rating: 4

The book is organized to the clear sections and subsections that are typical for a textbook of this type. Most of the sections are related to previous sections. Thus, it would be hard to divide some sections and reorganize without confusion. There are not case studies or examples in the book which would be easily realigned.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The content is well organized and flows well. Many technical terms and symbols are explained at the beginning of the chapters. Review of Calculus is included in the Appendix. More examples needs to be included to help students understand the material better.

Interface rating: 5

I did not recognize any interface issues. All the figures and tables are very clear and consistent. Images are high quality. Equations are in consistent format and very easy to read. Font size of tables/figures/equations is perfect for the reader. Figures can be enhanced by adding colors. Almost all the figures are black/white.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The content is very technical and I did not find any material that is culturally insensitive.

Comments

This books is a great addition to the open textbook library. Content is presented clearly, covers many topics in thermodynamics and has chapters that can be adopted to thermodynamics courses. However, the main issue is the lack of exercises, everyday related problems in each chapter. I teach in engineering and, practice problems, real case scenarios are essential to engineering students. Thus, I see myself using some content from the book but not adopt it as primary textbook for my course. That being said, this book is not written for engineering fields. So, it might be great resource for chemistry professors.