Introduction

Part I. Basic concepts of chemistry. Chap. 1. What is chemistry, and why do I need to know some?

Chap. 2. Matter and energy

Chap. 3. Something smaller than an atom? Atomic structure

Chap. 4. The periodic table (but no chairs)

Chap. 5. Nuclear chemistry : it'll blow your mind

Part II. Blessed be the bonds that tie. Chap. 6. Opposites do attract : ionic bonds

Chap. 7. Covalent bonds : let's share nicely

Chap. 8. Chemical cooking : chemical reactions

Chap. 9. Electrochemistry : batteries to teapots

Part III. The mole : the chemist's best friend. Chap. 10. The mole : can you dig it?

Chap. 11. Mixing matter up : solutions

Chap. 12. Sour and bitter : acids and bases

Chap. 13. Balloons, tires, and scuba tanks : the wonderful world of gases

Part IV. Chemistry in everyday life : benefits and problems. Chap. 14. The chemistry of carbon : organic chemistry

Chap. 15. Petroleum : chemicals for burning or building

Chap. 16. Polymers : making big ones from little ones

Chap. 17. Chemistry in the home

Chap. 18. Cough! cough! hack! hack! air pollution

Chap. 19. Brown, chunky water? water pollution

Part V. The part of tens. Chap. 20. Ten serendipitous discoveries in chemistry

Chap. 21. Ten great chemistry nerds

Chap. 22. Ten useful chemistry web sites

Appendix A. Scientific units : the metric system

Appendix B. How to handle really big or really small numbers

Appendix C. Unit conversion method

Appendix D. Significant figures and rounding off

Index.

We're all natural born chemists. Every time we cook, clean, take a shower, drive a car, use a solvent, such as fingernail polish remover, or perform any of the countless everyday activities that involve complex chemical reactions we're doing chemistry. You might even say that we're all participating in a grand chemistry experiment that started with the first human who mixed pigments to do a cave painting. Why do so many of us desperately resist learning chemistry when we're young? Maybe it has something to do with the way it's taught in school. Now there's a fun, easy way to learn basic chemistry. Whether you're studying chemistry in school and you're looking for a little help making sense of what's being taught in class, or you're just into learning new things for their own sake, this book gets you rolling with all the basics of matter and energy, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, and much more.