collected
Nonfiction · Science · Science and nature
About 26 h 30 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 53 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
Chemistry connects the behavior of substances to the atoms and molecules that compose them, covering the material of a two-semester general chemistry course. Beginning with matter, measurement, and chemical reactions, it develops atomic structure, bonding, energy, reaction rates, and equilibrium before moving into electrochemistry, nuclear reactions, and metals. Organic and biological chemistry receive a brief introduction.
Molecular diagrams and worked calculations give the explanations a visual and practical structure, with exercises requiring regular pauses to apply what you have learned. The cumulative textbook format demands sustained study: understanding the later material depends on practicing the concepts and calculations introduced earlier.
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
It suits someone studying the material of a two-semester general chemistry course. The academic, technical explanations connect the behavior of substances to their atoms and molecules, supported by diagrams, worked calculations, and exercises.
Yes, it demands sustained study because the concepts and calculations build on one another. Molecular diagrams and worked calculations help structure the explanations, but understanding later material depends on practicing earlier material.
Work through the explanations and pause regularly to attempt the exercises. Practice the concepts and calculations introduced earlier before moving ahead, since the later material depends on that foundation.
Organic and biological chemistry receive a brief introduction. The main coverage develops general chemistry through atomic structure, bonding, energy, reaction rates, and equilibrium, then moves into electrochemistry, nuclear reactions, and metals.
1,320 pages in the Pearson Education, Limited 2021 paperback edition.
Pearson Education, Limited · 2021 · Paperback. ISBN 9781292407616.
About 26 hours 30 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 1,320-page Pearson Education, Limited edition. Dense books can take longer.
Theodore L. Brown was an American chemist, teacher, university administrator, and philosopher of science whose career centered on physical inorganic chemistry. His research pursued mechanistic explanations of inorganic reactions, while his teaching and writing asked how students could be drawn into chemistry through clear accounts of how it works. In textbooks such as Chemistry, he connected observable properties and reactions to bonds, structures, and the arrangement of matter; his general chemistry and science-communication books reached readers in multiple languages and countries. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Brown also held senior academic posts and became the founding director of the Beckman Institute, extending his commitment to interdisciplinary research and team science.
H. Eugene Lemay is a chemist and professor emeritus whose writing career is rooted in education at college, Advanced Placement, and high-school levels. His laboratory research examined reactions in solids, especially isomerization and ligand exchange in coordination compounds, using crystallography and thermal analysis to relate structure to reactivity. As a coauthor of Chemistry: The Central Science, he helped shape a comprehensive introduction that moves between observable behavior, molecular illustrations, models, graphs, and symbolic notation. Worked problems proceed through Analyze, Plan, Solve, and Check, while numbered guidance isolates difficult operations. The book repeatedly connects chemical principles to medicine, sustainability, discoveries, and practical uses, reflecting the clarity and classroom focus associated with Lemay’s teaching.
Bruce E. Bursten is a chemist, professor, and former president of the American Chemical Society whose career combines theoretical inorganic research, education, and scientific leadership. His work centers on metal-containing molecules, using electronic-structure theory and modeling alongside experimental evidence to explain bonding, energetics, and reactivity. As a coauthor of Chemistry: The Central Science, he brings that emphasis on models and disciplined reasoning to general chemistry, helping readers connect atomic-scale structures with observable properties and reactions. The book’s visual explanations and Analyze/Plan/Solve/Check framework reflect his broader interest in making chemical thought accessible, systematic, and useful beyond the specialist laboratory.
Catherine Murphy is a chemist whose work connects inorganic, materials, biophysical, and analytical chemistry through the study of colloidal nanoparticles. Her research follows these materials from controlled fabrication and surface reactions to sensing, cellular imaging, treatment, toxicity, and environmental fate. She is particularly associated with methods for producing gold and silver nanorods in controllable proportions. As a coauthor of the fifteenth edition of Chemistry: The Central Science, Murphy helps present general chemistry as a practice of scientific reasoning. The textbook moves from concepts to worked problems through an Analyze/Plan/Solve/Check structure, pairing molecular illustrations and graphs with real data, experiment-design exercises, and applications in medicine, environmental science, and sustainability.
Patrick Woodward is an inorganic and solid-state chemist whose collaborative textbooks extend from introductory chemistry to the specialized study of materials. His teaching shapes a methodical approach: Chemistry: The Central Science turns problem solving into an Analyze/Plan/Solve/Check sequence, pairing visual models and real data with questions that require students to design experiments. In Solid State Materials Chemistry, structure, defects, bonding, and properties provide the organizing thread across crystalline, amorphous, organic, inorganic, bulk, and nanoscale materials. Mathematical detail appears where it clarifies a concept, supported by figures, problems, and compact discussions of synthesis and characterization. Woodward’s recurring concern is the connection between composition, structure, and physical behavior, presented through intuitive links to familiar molecular chemistry.
Matthew W. Stoltzfus is a chemistry educator whose publications connect disciplinary research with practical questions of teaching. His work has ranged from bonding and local structure in inorganic materials to active learning in large general-chemistry courses. As a coauthor of the fifteenth edition of Chemistry: The Central Science, he contributes to a textbook that makes invisible processes legible through molecular illustrations, models, graphs, and atomic-scale representations. Its problems follow a repeatable Analyze–Plan–Solve–Check sequence, while exercises connect foundational concepts to medicine, sustainability, scientific discoveries, and experimental design. This method reflects his classroom practice, in which preparation leads into problem solving, rapid checks of understanding, and small-team work.
Kenneth H. Rosen
Science · Science and nature · Knowledge and truth
Randall Munroe
Science · Science and nature · Knowledge and truth
Gerard J. Tortora, Bryan H. Derrickson
Science · Science and nature · Knowledge and truth
Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Desmond, Carlo Pedretti
Science · Science and nature · Knowledge and truth
