Simple Chemistry

Plot

Product Description Simple experiments, projects, and learning activities--including making gases and plastics, electroplating, crystals, and more--introduce the basic principles and concepts of chemistry From School Library Journal Grade 4-6 With the exception of a project that claims to "turn iron into copper," the scientific content of these 24 chemistry projects is accurate, but the explanations are superficial, often describing what has taken place rather than providing the how or why of the observed phenomena. Procedures are incompletely described, and precise quantities of substances needed are rarely given. Information essential to each project is divided between the text and the captions, sometimes making it difficult to form a clear idea of the intent or scope of the project. Many will require adult supervision and explanation. Safety concerns are not integrated into the text; there are a few warnings at the corner of some pages, but because of the format of text, illustrations and captions, they are easy to overlook. Eight safety tips are buried at the end of the book, with insufficient reference to them in the introduction. One illustration shows a procedure being conducted in the exact opposite manner of that required. Kitchen Chemistry (Messner, 1982) by Gardner contains more projects that students can complete on their own, and Fascinating Experiments in Chemistry (Sterling, 1978; o.p.) by Cherrier provides excellent material for an adult and child to use together. Allen Meyer, Vernon Area Pub . Lib .u District, Prairie View, Ill.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.