Thermodynamics and Chemistry - Second Edition

Opinión de Dhabih Chulhai, Assistant Professor, University of Indianapolis on 6/21/22

Exhaustividad clasificación: 4 ver menos

This book is quite comprehensive in both breadth and depth. It covers all of the necessary areas of thermodynamics. In fact, there may be more material than could be covered in one semester. Where this book falls short on comprehensiveness is its inclusion of worked example problems and perhaps more images of thermodynamic processes. There are some end-of-chapter problems, but not enough.

Precisión de contenido clasificación: 5

I have not found any inaccuracies in this book.

Relevancia / Longevidad clasificación: 5

The contents of this textbook, like the laws of thermodynamics, will be relevant for a long time.

Claridad clasificación: 3

This book very clearly explains its contents through words, equations, and a few images. However, I think that its clarity could be improved by showing more images of thermodynamic processes and include worked examples to show how the theories and equations may be applied. Without the aforementioned, this would be a very inaccessible book for many (even advanced) undergraduates.

Consistencia clasificación: 5

Tone and style is consistent throughout the book.

Modularidad clasificación: 4

To be fair to the book, the concepts in thermodynamics are built on each other; but that also makes dividing or reordering chapters or sections impossible.

Organización / Estructura / Flujo clasificación: 4

Well-organized, but could be improved by stating the learning objectives for each chapter or section.

Interfaz clasificación: 5

The book is presented in a PDF format (with hyperlinks). Chapters, sections, references, tables, and figures are all clearly and consistently labeled.

Errores gramaticales clasificación: 5

I have found no grammatical errors.

Relevancia cultural clasificación: 5

There is nothing culturally insensitive in this book.

This is a very thorough look at thermodynamics for a graduate level course. I would not recommend the use of this as the sole textbook for an undergraduate course in thermodynamics without a lot of supplemental resources that include applications and worked examples. However, this open book on thermodynamics is a rare find and I plan to use it as one of the required textbooks in my undergraduate physical chemistry course.

Opinión de Joseph DiVerdi, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Colorado State University on 4/13/21

Exhaustividad clasificación: 5 ver menos

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.

Precisión de contenido clasificación: 5

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

Relevancia / Longevidad clasificación: 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.

Claridad clasificación: 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.

Consistencia clasificación: 5

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

Modularidad clasificación: 5

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

Organización / Estructura / Flujo clasificación: 5

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

Interfaz clasificación: 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.

Errores gramaticales clasificación: 5

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

Relevancia cultural clasificación: 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.

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.

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

Exhaustividad clasificación: 3 ver menos

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.

Precisión de contenido clasificación: 5

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

Relevancia / Longevidad clasificación: 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.

Claridad clasificación: 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.

Consistencia clasificación: 5

The text in the book is pretty consistent.

Modularidad clasificación: 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.

Organización / Estructura / Flujo clasificación: 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.

Interfaz clasificación: 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.

Errores gramaticales clasificación: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Relevancia cultural clasificación: 5

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

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.