Our world has been transformed by science and technology. The impact of science on the quality of human life is profound. To beginning students, the scientific disciplines that daily influence their lives often seem mysterious and incomprehensible. Those of us who enjoy the study of science, however, find it a fascinating and rewarding experience precisely because it can provide reasonable explanations for seemingly mysterious phenomena.
Chemistry and Life has been written in that spirit. We help explain apparently obscure phenomena in an informal, readable style. We assume that the student has little or no chemistry background, so we clearly explain each new concept as it is introduced. Chemical principles and biological applications are carefully integrated throughout the text, with liberal use of drawings, diagrams, and photographs.
For this new edition, the entire text has been updated to reflect the latest scientific knowledge. In addition, we have responded to suggestions of users and reviewers of the fifth edition and used our own writing and teaching experience to make some important improvements.
Our selection of topics and choice of examples make the text especially appropriate for students in health and life sciences, but it is also suitable for anyone seeking to become a better-informed citizen of our technological society. The text provides ample material for a full-year course. We consciously increase the sophistication of chemical understanding as the student progresses through the chapters.
Selected Topics Offer Flexibility to the Instructor
We have included in this edition, as in past editions, a number of Selected Topics that cover key optional material in additional detail. These are introduced at the appropriate times (for example, the Selected Topic on Vitamins, which discusses key coenzymes, follows immediately after the chapter on Enzymes), and each includes its own end-of-topic problems. These Selected Topics offer instructors maximal flexibility; they may be omitted or assigned as outside reading without loss of continuity.
New to this edition:
In this new edition, unit conversions and significant figures are now in Chapter 1. VSEPR theory and the shapes of molecules are in Chapter 3, with our discussion of chemical bonding. Nuclear chemistry is now Chapter 12, following the general chemistry part of the text and just before the organic chapters. The chapters dealing with metabolism (24-27) have been extensively reorganized and rewritten and include a more complete discussion of anabolic pathways. Chapter 24 is now an overview of metabolism, with a particular emphasis on digestion and energy production (Krebs cycle and cellular respiration). Chapter 25 is concerned with the metabolic pathways unique to the metabolism of carbohydrates; Chapter 26 discusses the unique metabolism of lipids; and Chapter 27 presents protein metabolism.
Many sections have undergone extensive rewriting, especially the Selected Topics and sections dealing with molecular biology (Chapter 23) and body fluids (Chapter 28).
Capturing students' attention and curiosity is critical in teaching this course. To aid in this effort, we have created a text rich in applied chemistry. We offer applications in three places:
- In a series of special boxed essays within each chapter (you can find a list of these on page iv)
- In marginal notes located throughout the text
- In the prose itself (where even those students who tend to skip boxes and marginal notes, thinking they "won't be on the exam," can see the importance of chemistry to their lives and future careers).
New to this edition:
Most of the health-related topics from the fifth edition have been retained, and in some cases expanded. For example, the essay on "Aspartame" in Chapter 19 has been expanded to include other artificial sweeteners. We have added several new essays, including Body Temperature, Hypothermia, and Hyperthermia; Sizes and Masses of Objects: Powers of Ten; Oxidation-Reduction: Bleaches and Stain Removal; Reducing Fat Intake; Prions; Human Genome Project; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Creatine Phosphate; Cyanide Poisoning; Obesity Genes; and Genetic Diseases of Amino Acid Catabolism.
Each chapter has a list of Key Terms and a chapter Summary. The Key Terms are boldfaced when they are introduced in the text, and all are defined in the Glossary (Appendix II).
At the end of each chapter we offer two classes of end-of-chapter exercises:
- Problems arranged by topic test mastery of the material and - where pertinent - of problem-solving techniques introduced in the chapter. These problems are usually arranged in matched pairs.
- The Additional Problems are not grouped by type. Some are intended to be a bit more challenging; they often require a synthesis of ideas from more than one chapter. Others, however, are not any more difficult than those arranged by topic. Rather, they pursue an idea further than is done in the text, or they introduce new ideas.
New to this edition:
New to this edition are Learning Objectives/Study Questions, given at the beginning of each chapter. These are in the form of questions that students should be able to answer after completing the chapter.
Most sections of each chapter are followed by new Review Questions intended to provide an immediate assessment of the student's understanding of the section's material. Many worked-out Examples and Practice Exercises are also interspersed in the body of each chapter. Where appropriate, we provide two Exercises, labeled A and B, after a worked Example. The A exercise is much like the Example it follows; the B exercise often requires incorporation of knowledge acquired previously. Many of the worked-out Examples have been revised to improve the pedagogy.
- Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual, by Marvin L. Hackert of the University of Texas at Austin, Roger K. Sandwick of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Michael Pelter of Purdue University-Calumet, and Libbie Pelter. This student-friendly manual contains chapter summaries, additional examples and problems, and numerous self-tests (with answers). Solutions correspond to the odd-numbered problems in the text. (ISBN 0-13-0853852)
- Chemistry and Life Companion Website: http://www.prenhall.com/hill. This student-oriented web site features computer-graded quizzes with detailed, book-specific feedback, pre-built molecular models for students to view using Chime, downloadable animations, and up-to-date links to chemistry and career-oriented Web site.
- Chemistry on the Internet, by Thomas Gardner of Tennessee State University. This brief review of the Internet is perfect for students using the Internet and World Wide Web for the first time. It focuses on using the Internet to study chemistry. Available free with new copies of the text. Ask your Prentice Hall representative for details.
- Chemistry and Life in the Laboratory: Experiments in General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry, by Victor L. Heasley and Val J. Christensen of Point Loma Nazarene College, and Gene E. Heasley of Southern Nazarene University. This Manual contains 36 experiments that cover the same general topics as the text. Laboratory instructions are clear and thorough and the experiments are well-written and imaginative. This revision includes expanded information on issues of safety and disposal. All experiments have been thoroughly class tested. (ISBN 0-13-085376-3)
- Allied Health Chemistry: A Companion, by Tim Smith and Diane Vukovich, both of the University of Akron. This student companion teaches students how to apply the basic mathematics needed for this course. The book features study tips, examples, and careful explanations. Chapters cover metric conversions, unit conversions, simple algebra, temperature conversions, mole conversions, and stoichiometry. (ISBN 0-13-470460-6)
- Prentice Hall/The New York Times Themes of Times. Through this unique program, adopters of Chemistry and Life are eligible to receive our New York Times supplement for their students. This newspaper-format resource uses current chemistry-related articles to emphasize the importance and relevance of chemistry in everyday life. (Free in quantity to qualified adopters through your local Prentice Hall representative.)
- Instructor's Solutions Manual with Test Bank, by Sandwick, Pelter, Pelter, and Aninna Carter of Adirondack Community College. The Instructor's Manual contains solutions to all the problems in the text. The extensively reviewed Test Bank contains over 1100 multiple-choice questions. (ISBN 0-13-085377-1)
- PH Custom Test for Windows (ISBN 0-13-085379-8) and PH Custom Test for Macintosh (ISBN 0-13-085378-X). These electronic versions of the Chemistry and Life Test Bank allow you to customize tests and questions.
- Transparencies: 137 full-color transparency acetates selected by the text authors. (ISBN 0-13085381-X)
- GOB Presentation Manager is designed for instructors who use a computer to present material in-class. This CD-ROM features most of the art from the text as well as animations relevant to general, organic, and biological chemistry. All images can be shown using the Presentation Manager program on the CD ROM or can be downloaded into other presentation programs (such as PowerPoint). (ISBN 0-13-0853836)
- Instructor's Manual to the Laboratory Manual, by Heasley, Christensen, and Heasley. This Manual features equipment lists, chemical lists, teaching suggestions, and precautions for instructors using the Lab Manual. It also includes answers to the pre- and post-lab questions posed in the Lab Manual. (ISBN 0-13-085370-4)
