TOW # 9 CHEMISTRY (Brown, LeMay, Bursten, Murphy, and Woodward)

CHEMISTRY tackles such topics as electrochemistry.

CHEMISTRY, was written by Theodore Brown, Eugene Lemay, Bruce Bersten, Catherine Murphy, and Patrick Woodward, all of whom have received a PhD in Chemistry. All are practicing researchers and professors at Universities like the University of Illinois, Ohio State University, University of Nevada, etc. All actively pursue chemistry-related research and have one distinguished teaching awards for secondary science education. Chapter 20, concerning Electrochemistry, is part of the whole textbook, which is geared towards the AP Chemistry curriculum established by the College Board. Students across the nation use this text as a supplement to their education in chemistry, to better understand concepts and utilize the thousands of practice problems. Electrochemistry is difficult to visualize, as it concerns the movement of minuscule electrons and substances. In order to understand, students need points of reference to make sense of the notation and concepts. The authors make several analogies to relate, such as "In a simple sense, we can compare the electron flow to the flow of water in a waterfall" (838). The use of the first-person plural also creates a sense of unity, as if the authors are walking through the material with their audience, wanting them to succeed and understand. Strong diction like this is also enhanced via bolding key words and definitions, such as "electromotive force", "cell potential", and "standard reduction potentials". These help the reader find the most important ideas amidst all the information presented. Additionally, the textbook is written in plain English, only using chemistry jargon that has been learned beforehand. Reader find this easier to understand, and the jargon that is used establishes the credibility of the chemists writing. The position of the words on the page is also effective, as some equations and phrases are placed in their own paragraphs for emphasis and to make them stand out if a student is simply skimming. Having to read this text before a test, I found it to be very effective. It clearly emphasized the most important aspects of the text and methodically presented concepts that had been confusing me in class.