The Handy Chemistry Answer Book (The Handy Answer Book Series)

402 Pages·2013·10.48 MB·English

by  Justin P. Lomont

About the Authors
Ian C. Stewartis a chemist at a petrochemical company. He formerly worked with Nobel
Prize-winning chemist Robert H. Grubbs and is the recipient of several fellowships. He
lives in Houston, Texas.
Justin P. Lomontis a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow whose doc-
toral research at the University of California Berkeley focuses on organometallic reaction
mechanisms using ultra-fast infrared spectroscopy. He lives in Berkeley, California.
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THE
HANDY
CHEMISTRY
ANSWER
BOOK
Ian C. Stewart and Justin P. Lomont
Detroit
THE Copyright © 2014 by Visible Ink Press®
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright
HANDY laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and
other applicable laws.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in
CHEMISTRY
writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine,
newspaper, or Website.
ANSWER
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Visible Ink Press®
BOOK
43311 Joy Rd., #414
Canton, MI 48187-2075
Visible Ink Press is a registered trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC.
Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when
purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized
printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet
your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible
Ink Press, www.visibleink.com, or 734-667-3211.
Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile
Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski
Typesetting: Marco Di Vita
Proofreaders: Shoshana Hurwitz and Crystal Rosza
Indexer: Larry Baker
ISBN 978-1-57859-374-3
Cover images: Background image: Shutterstock. All other images: iStock.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stewart, Ian (Ian Christopher), 1980–
The handy chemistry answer book / by Ian Stewart and Justin Lomont.
pages cm — (The handy answer book series)
ISBN 978-1-57859-374-3 (paperback)
1. Chemistry—Miscellanea. 2. Chemistry—Examinations, questions, etc. I.
Lomont, Justin. II. Title.
QD39.2.S75 2014
540—dc23
2013020166
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
xi
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF INORGANIC
CHEMISTRY … 1 CHEMISTRY … 79
Structure and Bonding … Electricity and
ATOMS AND Magnetism … Organometallic Chemistry
MOLECULES … 13
Structure of the Atom … Trends in Reactivity ANALYTICAL
and the Periodic Table … Properties of Atoms CHEMISTRY … 95
and Electrons in Atoms … Molecules and
A Little Math … Measure Twice …
Chemical Bonds
Electrochemistry … Analytical Chemistry in
Our Lives
MACROSCOPIC
PROPERTIES: THE WORLD
BIOCHEMISTRY … 113
WE SEE … 33
Molecules of Life … Genetics … Metabolism
Phases of Matter and Intensive Properties …
and Other Biochemical Reactions … Brains!
Food and Senses
PHYSICAL AND
CHEMICAL
THEORETICAL
REACTIONS … 49
CHEMISTRY … 135
Kinetics and Thermodynamics … Acids and
Energy Is Everything … Kinetics … Faster
Bases … Catalysis and Industrial Chemistry
Than a Speeding Wave … Big Freaking Lasers
… Other Kinds of Chemical Reactions
… Other Spectroscopy … If You Can Imagine It
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY … 63 NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY … 151
Structures and Nomenclature … Reactions of Chemistry Inside the Atom … Nuclear
Organic Compounds Chemistry at Work v
POLYMER SUSTAINABLE “GREEN”
CHEMISTRY … 163 CHEMISTRY … 233
Polymers Are Chemicals Too! … Polymers in
and around You MATERIALS SCIENCE … 247
ENERGY … 177 ASTROCHEMISTRY … 259
Energy Sources … Pollution … Emerging
CHEMISTRY IN THE
Sources of Energy … Quantifying Power
KITCHEN … 271
THE MODERN
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS
CHEMISTRY LAB … 191
YOU CAN DO AT
Purification Is Essential … Spectroscopy and
HOME … 283
Spectronomy … Other Measurements …
Safety First!
THE WORLD AROUND
US … 203
Medicine and Drugs … Chemicals in Food …
Chemicals in the Natural World … Chemicals
in Our World
313
PHYSICAL CONSTANTS
315
CONVERSION FACTORS
319
GLOSSARY
333
HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY TIMELINE
337
NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY WINNERS
361
BIBLIOGRAPHY
365
FURTHER READING
369
INDEX
vi
Acknowledgements
We would first like to thank Roger Jänecke and Kevin Hile at Visible Ink Press for their
assistance, patience, and for taking a chance on two young science writers.
College students at the University of Michigan and Brandeis University submitted
many of the questions in the chapter titled “The World around Us.” Our thanks go out
to these people for their creative and inspiring questions: Jon Ahearn, Krishna Bathina,
Alex Belkin, Matt Benoit, Emma Betzig, Jeetayu Biswas, Ariana Boltax, Nick Carducci,
Gina DiCiuccio, Alice Doong, Christina Lee, Shelby Lee, Greg Lorrain, Jake Lurie,
Sotirios Malamis, Aysha Malik, Yawar Malik, Katie Marchetti, Nicholas Medina, Leah
Naghi, Humaira Nawer, Logan Powell, Nilesh Raval, Alexandra Rzepecki, Minna
Schmidt, Leah Simke, Sindhura Sonnathi, Eva Tulchinsky, Afzal Ullah, Anna Yatskar.
Finally, we would like to dedicate this book to the person who initially brought us
together, inspired and challenged us with this project and many others, taught us what
it really means to learn and to teach, and so much more. This is for you, Brian.
vii

Photo Credits
All line art illustrations by Kevin S. Hile. Photographs in the “Chemistry Experiments
You Can Do at Home” chapter by James Fordyce.
All other images courtesy of Shutterstock, with the following exceptions: page 18:
Armtuk; page 62: BrokenSphere; pages 67, 79, 129, 156, 186, 193, 222: public domain;
pages 106, 141: Wikicommons; page 136: Patrick Edwin Moran; page 163: (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:5)(cid:7)
(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:11); page 252: AlexanderAlUS; page 271: Miia Ranta from Finland.
ix