Viva CatchUp Chemistry, 2/e

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Description:

If you are about to study for a degree in the life or medical sciences, you will need to understand some core facts and concepts in chemistry.You do not need to be a budding chemist but you do need to be comfortable with chemical terms and principles.
Viva Catchup Chemistry will bring you up to speed and lay the foundations of chemistry in those topics that will underpin your studies, such as:

?    the nature of atomic structure and molecular bonding
?    the properties of biological molecules and macromolecules
?    the gas laws
?    the special properties of water
?    thermodynamic concepts in biology
?    biological transport mechanisms and transporters?
?    understanding reaction mechanisms and kinetics?
?    deriving energy from molecules

At every stage the authors remind you of the relevance of this chemistry to your life or medical sciences course -this is not just chemistry for the sake of it. The book also contains lots of questions (and answers), so that you can test your understanding at any time - it really does get easier with practice.

Contents:

Preface to the second edition ? Preface to the first edition ? About the Authors
Chapter 1: Elements, atoms and electrons ? Isotopes ? Electrons ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Isotopes in biology ? Taking it further: The periodic table
Chapter 2: Bonding, electrons and molecules ? What is a covalent bond? ? Non-bonding electrons ? lone pairs ? Pi molecular orbitals ? Coordinate bonds ? Electronegativity and polar covalent bonds ? What effect does electronegativity have on covalent bonds? ? Ionic bonds ? The concept of the chemical bond ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: The peptide bond
Chapter 3: Interactions between molecules ? Hydrogen bonding ? Charge?charge interactions ? Short range charge?charge interactions ? Hydrophobic interactions ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Solubility in water ? Taking it further: The gas laws
Chapter 4: Counting molecules ? Moles ? Molecular mass ? Moles and molarity ? A note on units ? Dilutions ? Percent composition solutions ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Confidence with moles
Chapter 5: Carbon?the basis of biological life? The electronic structure of carbon ? Hybridisation ? The tetravalency of carbon ? Shapes of molecules ? Carbon in chains and rings ? delocalisation of electrons ? Aromaticity ? Functional groups and carbon families ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Carbon structures ? Taking it further: macromolecules
Chapter 6: The same molecule but a different shape ? Isomers ? Optical isomerism ? Geometric isomerism ? Isomers as a problem ? Summing up ? Test yourself
Chapter 7: Water ? the solvent of life? Bonding in the water molecule ? The dissociation (auto-ionisation) of water ? Acids and bases ? Using pH as a measure of acidity ? Calculating the pH of water ? The dissociation of weak acids and weak bases in water ? Buffers and buffered solutions ? Calculating the pH of buffer systems using the Henderson?Hasselbalch equation ? Life in water ? Amino acids ? Controlling cellular pH ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Biological buffers
Chapter 8: Reacting molecules and energy ? Energy from molecules ? Getting molecules to react ? Energy, heat and work: some basic terms of thermodynamics ? Enthalpy ? Entropy ? Gibbs free energy and work ? Energy changes in biological reactions ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Free energy and metabolic pathways
Chapter 9: Reacting molecules and kinetics ? Rate equations ? Reaction routes or mechanisms ? The rate-limiting step ? Considering the activation energy ? Equilibrium ? The equilibrium position can change ? Free energy and equilibrium ? Free energy change is zero at equilibrium ? Transport mechanisms ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Biological transporters
Chapter 10: Energy and life ? Oxidation and reduction ? Half-reactions ? Redox potential ? Free energy and redox potentials ? Obtaining energy for life ? What happens to this free energy? ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Further oxidation
Chapter 11: Reactivity of biological molecules ? Addition reactions ? Substitution reactions ? Elimination reactions ? Reaction mechanisms and reaction kinetics ? Free radical reactions ? Pi bonds and addition reactions ? Functional groups link molecules together ? Enzyme-catalysed reactions ? Summing up ? Test yourself ? Taking it further: Enzyme catalysis

Answers to ?test yourself? questions

appendices: Some common chemical formulae ? Common anions and cations ? Common functional groups ? Notations, formulae and constants ? Glossary
Index

About the Author:

Dr Mitch Fry, (BSc PGCE PhD) is a biochemistry graduate who has worked as both a senior research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry and as a science teacher in secondary and higher education. This has included the teaching, supervision and support of life science and medical undergraduate students, at the University of Leeds and Sheffield Hallam University, including ?pre-university? awareness activities and university admission procedures.
Dr Elizabeth Page, (BSc PhD PGCE) is Senior Lecturer in Chemistry Education and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Chemistry at the University of Reading. She has had experience in teaching chemistry to biologists and other life sciences students for the past fifteen years. She has particular interest in supporting first year undergraduates as they make the transition to tertiary education.

Target Audience:

This book is helpful for chemistry undergraduates and good reference source thereafter.