Physical Chemistry

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps a bit TOO concise
Review: While I agree with the previous review that most people who have trouble with the book just have trouble with the topic, there are times where the text is much too concise to be useful. Much of the mathematics of thermodynamics and kinetics is more easily understood if the steps in deriving them are explained. Here, however, they are not. The illustrations in the margins greatly help imporve one's understanding of the material. Plentiful, rigourous exercises at the end of the chapters - in conjunction with the solutions manual or a good professor - really help to drive the concepts home. It may have been improved by being divided into several more expanded textbooks on specialized topics, instead of being a concentrated "everything there is about physical chemistry" text.

Rating:
Summary: An Honest Opinion...
Review: After reading all the other reviews on this book, one might notice the large gap in opinion on this text. And I think that is justified...For those who really enjoy P-Chem and pour alot of energy and time into the course, this book should be fine; but for those of us who are not particularly fascinated with the inner thermodynamic or kinetic workings of the molecules we've come to love, this book isn't necessarily as explanatory as it could be. Also, the professor one has makes a BIG difference in this course. If one has a professor who uses this book as simply a reference to his/her teaching/lecturing then the book makes a great reference material. But for those professors who are new (like mine) and expect undergraduate CHEM majors to leave their course understanding every single facet of the P-Chem cosmos, using this book as their Bible and lecturing straight from it, then this book is not so great (pretty bad, in fact). However, I must say, the text varies in readability and depth of explanation. Some parts give sufficient explanation and other portions leave students feeling confused at least. That's why I give this book a 3 star rating. I think other books may be more beneficial.

Rating:
Summary: The Gold Standard of Physical Chemistry Texts
Review: Those who have rated this text poorly must do so not becuase of the quality of the text, but because of their appernt dislike of the subject. If you need to learn and understand central concepts of physical chemistry, you need look no farther then Atkins.
Atkin's text is the gold standard of the field, lovingly writen and orginized, text books (in any subject) simply dont get much better than this.
Disliking Physical Chemistry is one thing, but blamming this book is nonsence.

Rating:
Summary: Covers a lot...but....
Review: This book is great in that it covers the many topics associated with physical chemistry. On the other hand, because the book is so poorly written and organized, it fails to do anything but give the student a brief introduction to p-chem. My school uses it simply becuase it contains both the therm/kinetics and the quantum/spectoscopy aspects of the course. The professors, however, go far beyond the book even in the introductory class. This is not a book that you can just pick up, read, and expect to know anything more about p-chem than you did when finishing general chem. So, read it. Talk about the topics with friends, to try to understand Atkins ramblings. Make sure your professor explains the topics in depth. And buy another book for reference.

Rating:
Summary: Not a very good book
Review: Mathematicians would favor this book. The text is dense and dry. The material is presented in the most boring manner possible. Atkins prefers to explain himself with equations rather than words. The subject matter is not thoroughly explored. No concepts are placed into the "big picture." At best, this book could serve as a decent reference for a chemist or physicist already familiar with the topics and therefore only in need of review. Learning physical chemistry for the first time using this book is a serious chore. I honestly believe that physical chemistry can be a fun, exciting, and challenging subject that is worth learning. This book fails to deliver the material in a manner that does anything but annoy and frustrate. This problem is only compounded by the fact that there are numerous mathematical errors present both in the text and in the solutions of selected problems. If you are stuck using this book because it was required for a class, I suggest you find supplementary material that elaborates better on the many areas in which this book is lacking.

Rating:
Summary: You could find a better physical chemistry text elsewhere
Review: Out of curiosity, I have read some of the reviews on this book and the first thing that came to my attention was how a couple reviewers mentioned that they believe that those who give bad reviews simply had a hard time with the subject matter. I, however, must disagree. When I took two semesters of physical chemistry last year I had absolutely no trouble with the subject matter. I had seen most of it in my previous physics classes, and I found the math and derivations rather simple (I'm a math major and a physics major). Yet, I still believe that this is by far not the best science text I have ever read. I believe that this text (as with most chemistry books that I have read) could be far more concise. My biggest problem, was the lack of SIMPLE explanation. What I mean by that statement, is that in many instances there is little to no explanation of what the variables in each equation represent, and when the meaning of each variable is explained, the book is so long winded, that by the time one reaches the equation, they've forgotten what they were told the variables did represent.How can anyone understand an explanation when they're not told what values are being spoke of? For those who already know the subject matter, this little fact can be easily overlooked, but for those trying to learn physical chemistry nothing could be worse. Also, this book seems to lack mathematical rigor. Many equations are derived using a lot of hand waving. Why even bother? If the author is not going to offer a completely rigorous derivation, then he should just give a simple English explanation. On, the good side, I think that the book is well organized and has enough illustrations to guide the student through the basic theory, and concepts.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent and efficient textbook
Review: I have read the other reviews and I believe that the students who rate this book poorly are mistaking their inability to grasp physical chemistry with a poor textbook. The textbook is excellent and any good professor can teach physical chemistry from it. It is well organized, starting with some basic thermodynamics background and moving to more complicated thermo. The next section is kinetics, which is also presented not nearly as well as the thermo, but Atkins does a good job nonetheless. Spectroscopy and statistical mechanics come next and although they are not simple to understand, Atkins is concise in his presentation. The remainder of the book is additional material which may or may not be covered in a physical chemistry course. What should also be noted are the appendices at the end. Atkins includes very helpful supplemental material in mathematics which is needed for the thermodynamics discussion. The tables are somewhat lacking, but any good reference book can supplement this information. Overall, I would say the book is well worth the money and I have yet to see another physical chemistry text which contains as much information as well presented as it is.

Rating:
Summary: Not for AMATEUR
Review: Professor Atkins wrote an excelent text about Physical Chemistry, covering the areas of this subjetc being extremely rigorous in the concepts and in the math explanations. In this book you will find Thermodynamics (First and Second Laws), Kinetic Chemistry, Kinetic-Molecular Theory of Gases, Equilibrium, Solids, Liquids, Solutions, Kinetic of Complex Reactions, Molecular Simetry, Molecular Struture, Electrochemical Systems, Quantum Mechanics (a very important subject that every student should know), Spectroscopy and many other things. I am really disappointed to define this book with 20, or 30 words. It's a really complex book, and it is for someone who wants to travel in the exciting world of Chemistry, to study and learn the truth about this science. You won't learn Physics or Chemistry without knowing, before, Derivatives, Integrals (Calculus), Linear Algebra. Phisycal Chemistry has an appendix (with bibliography) to cover this subjects in order to become clear the text. If you are an amateur, do not buy this book. I think that amateurs shouldn't send their comments to here: "Oh, it's difficult to read and understand..." ---> You should study before to read a book written by a member of the Division of Physical Chemistry of IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), instead of sending insignificant comments to here. I am fighting with this book, and if you buy it, you'll too.

Rating:
Summary: Like Overcooked Fish, dry
Review: If you are a completely dry and boring person, then this is the text for you. That's the reason I believe that others rate this book so high. First of all, having a grasp of the concept has nothing to do with the reading of this terrible book. It is awful, and I recommend that you look for something better. Atkins may just have well put this in greek. If you have nothing better to do with your time, then by all means read this God foresaken nonsense. Yet, if you really want to learn P. Chem, then I strongly suggest that you check out the book by David W. Ball. The book is simply entitled Physical Chemistry, and it really makes sense. I love the Ball book so much! It's a huge improvement over Atkins. I don't care what any of the other reviews say, this Atkins book is horrendous. (...) It is clear, concise, easy to follow, has great examples, and really explains P. Chem. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Excelent Book
Review: I've used this book both to learn p-chem and as a refrence. I found it very usefull and informative. It covers all the major topics well and I didn't have difficulty reading it. The examples are usefull and the problems were informative.