The High School Chemistry Tutor (High School Tutors)

Rating:
Summary: Useful, but a primitive type face. Good supplement!
Review: You cannot learn chemistry soiely from this book. But that is not what this book is for. This book is a series of chapters on the topics included in a high school chemistry course. Within each chapter are a series of questions and solutions that are very pertinent to the topic being addressed. However, there is no explication of the topics or discussion of the general principles of chemistry other than those included within the solutions offered. So, if you have a rough familiarity with the topics this can help you flesh out your understanding.

So, as supplementary material to a course you or your child is taking or as a refresher this book is very appropriate and quite useful. However, if you don't have some grounding in the topic you might get lost fairly quickly. Don't get me wrong. It isn't that it dives into the deep end of the pool too quickly. The topics included aren't that esoteric. It is just that if you aren't used to working with formulas and the terms of chemistry you might find it a bit confusing until you get acclimated. Also, there are a few typos - so BE CAREFUL.

The book is printed in a way that it looks like it came from a typewriter which is very odd in 2003. And there is no color. All the diagrams are in black and white. Nowadays, color ink isn't that expensive! And used judiciously, it can help explain some concepts more clearly. Of course, color can be misused as glitz and actually confuse things, but that is not what I am arguing for. I think it wouldn't be that painful to modernize these books to current standards of media presentation and that it could actually help the students using the book.

I do recommend the book. Just realize what it is intended for and I think you can get quite a bit out of it. If you expect a course in high school chemistry, you won't find it here.

Rating:
Summary: Useful, but a primitive type face. Good supplement!
Review: You cannot learn chemistry soiely from this book. But that is not what this book is for. This book is a series of chapters on the topics included in a high school chemistry course. Within each chapter are a series of questions and solutions that are very pertinent to the topic being addressed. However, there is no explication of the topics or discussion of the general principles of chemistry other than those included within the solutions offered. So, if you have a rough familiarity with the topics this can help you flesh out your understanding.

So, as supplementary material to a course you or your child is taking or as a refresher this book is very appropriate and quite useful. However, if you don't have some grounding in the topic you might get lost fairly quickly. Don't get me wrong. It isn't that it dives into the deep end of the pool too quickly. The topics included aren't that esoteric. It is just that if you aren't used to working with formulas and the terms of chemistry you might find it a bit confusing until you get acclimated. Also, there are a few typos - so BE CAREFUL.

The book is printed in a way that it looks like it came from a typewriter which is very odd in 2003. And there is no color. All the diagrams are in black and white. Nowadays, color ink isn't that expensive! And used judiciously, it can help explain some concepts more clearly. Of course, color can be misused as glitz and actually confuse things, but that is not what I am arguing for. I think it wouldn't be that painful to modernize these books to current standards of media presentation and that it could actually help the students using the book.

I do recommend the book. Just realize what it is intended for and I think you can get quite a bit out of it. If you expect a course in high school chemistry, you won't find it here.