Basic Physical Chemistry

The Route to Understanding

This elegant book provides a student-friendly introduction to the subject of physical chemistry. It is by the author of the very successful Basic Chemical Thermodynamics and is written in the same well-received popular style. It is concise and more compact than standard textbooks on the subject and emphasises the two important topics underpinning the subject: quantum mechanics and the second law of thermodynamics. Both topics are challenging to students because they focus on uncertainty and probability. The book explains these fundamental concepts clearly and shows how they offer the key to understanding a wide range of chemical phenomena including atomic and molecular spectra, the structure and properties of solids, liquids and gases, chemical equilibrium and the rates of chemical reactions.

This revised edition has enabled improvements and corrections to be made.

Contents:

• Background
• Energy
• The First Principle: Energy is Not Continuous
• Electrons in Atoms
• Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
• Atomic and Molecular Spectra
• The Second Principle: The Higher, the Fewer
• Chemical Equilibrium
• The States of Matter
• Mixtures and Solutions
• Rates of Chemical Reactions

Readership: Undergraduates and graduates studying the physical and biological sciences and those who wish to prepare for the study of chemistry at a more advanced level.
Key Features:

• Basic Physical Chemistry is more concise than standard physical chemistry textbooks
• The book is written by the author of the very successful Basic Chemical Thermodynamics in the same well-received, popular style
• It places strong emphasis on the fundamental principles that underpin physical chemistry and shows how they can lead to a thorough understanding of the subject