General Chemistry: Atoms First, 2nd edition

General Chemistry: Atoms First starts from the building blocks of chemistry, the atom, allowing the authors to tell a cohesive story that progresses logically through molecules and compounds to help students intuitively follow complex concepts more logically. This unified thread of ideas helps students build a better foundation and ultimately gain a deeper understanding of chemical concepts. Students can more easily understand the microscopic-to-macroscopic connections between unobservable atoms and the observable behavior of matter in daily life, and are brought immediately into real chemistry–instead of being forced to memorize facts.

Reflecting a true atoms first perspective, the Second Edition features  experienced atoms-first authors, incorporates recommendations from a panel of atoms-first experts, and follows historical beliefs in teaching chemistry concepts based and real experimental data first. This approach distinguishes this text in the market based whereby other authors teach theory first, followed by experimental data.  

• Atoms-First Organization: This approach makes it possible to tell a cohesive story about chemistry that follows an intuitive logic in progressing from the simplest building blocks to successively more complex concepts.
• Chapters 0-2 start at the logical beginning of the chemical story by discussing atoms–their history, stability, electronic structure, and consequent periodicity.
• Ion formation and ionic bonding are discussed in Chapter 3, followed by covalent bonding and the structures of molecules in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.
• Stoichiometric mass relationships are introduced in Chapters 6.  After the foundation has been set in Chapters 1-6, Chapter 7 follows with chemical reactions in aqueous solution
• A brief introduction of nuclear chemistry in Chapter 2 is a unique feature that provides students with an early understanding of relevant applications of the atom. Chapter 22 provides complete coverage of Nuclear Chemistry.
• Periodicity is a major theme incorporated throughout the text to help students better predict and understand chemical properties and their reactions.
• Problem Solving and Conceptualization: Numerous example types are incorporated throughout the text to help build students problem-solving skills and their conceptual understanding of chemistry.
• Worked Examples provide a consistent problem-solving strategy using the Strategy — Solution layout typically followed by two to three problems for students to practice.
• Worked Concept Examples emphasize the conceptual nature of problem solving in chemistry and often incorporate molecular illustrations.  Many Worked Examples are followed by Worked Concept Examples. 
• Concept Problems are non-numerical problems that test the understanding of principles rather than the ability to put numbers into a formula.
• Ballpark Checks follow many of the worked examples to reinforce students’ conceptual understanding of the concept they have just expressed numerically in the worked example 
• Design and Illustration Program: McMurry/Fay’s design uniquely integrates explanatory narrative with key principles by connecting words, numbers, and graphics together.
• Streamlined illustrations — Illustrations are seamlessly woven into the narrative and in many places figure captions are integrated into the figure itself.  The effect is to make the text flow naturally with the figures and thereby entice students to spend more time understanding those figures.
• Brief margin notes under the heading "Remember..." whose purpose is to jog a reader's memory about important topics from previous chapters that help in understanding the new topic. NEW “Looking Ahead…” reinforces the logical flow of the atoms-first approach to help link concepts more logically together,
• Chemical concepts are presented with quantitative examples to help students make the connection between chemical reasoning and math.
• MasteringChemistry^®

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• NEW! Organization of Table of Contents starting with Chapter 0 with key changes in Chapter 2 to reflect the atoms-first approach.
• NEW! Looking Ahead reinforces the logical flow of the atoms-first approach to help link concepts more logically together by introducing related concepts that will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters,
• NEW! FYI have been completely redesigned, updated. and renamed from Interlude.
• NEW! Key Equations have been added to the end of each chapter with accompanying section references.
• NEW! All tutorials, end-of-chapter questions, reading quizzes, and test bank questions have been tagged to learning outcomes.
• NEW! A dedicated atoms-first lab manual written by authors teaching with this approach reflecting the changes needed to successfully integrate the lab is available.