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Hill's Chemistry for Changing Times, 15th edition

Published by Pearson (January 4, 2019) © 2020

  • John W. Hill University of Wisconsin- River Falls
  • Terry W. McCreary Baylor University
  • Marilyn D. Duerst
  • Rill A. Reuter

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For non-majors introductory chemistry courses.

Contemporary, relevant applications of chemistry

Hill's Chemistry for Changing Times defines the liberal arts chemistry course with its visually appealing and readable introduction to chemistry. Applications and examples let students of varied majors readily relate to chemistry. The focus on health & wellness and the environment helps students see connections between the course and their everyday lives.

For the 15th Edition, the authors introduce new examples and a consistent problem-solving model. New problem types challenge students to develop skills for everyday life, such as analyzing graphs and data, recognizing fake vs. real news, and more.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Critical Thinking Exercises encourage thinking critically about the scientific process and evaluating whether statements they might see in daily life meet the rational and objective standards of scientific rigor outlined by the FLaReS method (Falsifiability, Logic, Replicability, Sufficiency).
  • Let's Experiment, at the end of each chapter, provide safe and interesting activities students can do on their own to observe how chemistry is relevant to their day-to-day lives.
  • Green Chemistry Essays reflect current events and scientific findings, providing a way to interpret environmental issues through a chemical perspective. The essays emphasize recycling as a theme and include discussions on atmospheric pollution and preservation of the benign greenhouse effect.

New and updated features of this title

  • Every Example follows a consistent model of 2 follow-up exercises that guide students through solving a particular type of problem. The first exercise requires the student to apply a similar situation to the method outlined in the Example, and the second asks the student to combine that method with ideas previously learned.
  • Problem types cover how to analyze graphs and data, develop scientific literacy, recognize fake vs. real news and create reports.
  • REVISED: End-of-Chapter problems expand their application of chemistry and its relevance to students. Additional Problems immediately follow the End-of-Chapter Problems, providing 1 set of traditional problems and a follow-up set of applied, contemporary problems.
  • REVISED & UPDATED: Why It Matters presents contemporary, relevant and up-to-date applications with a concentration on health & wellness and the environment to resonate with non-science and allied-health majors.
  • REVISED: Biochemistry chapters implement examples, contemporary applications and visuals that appeal to students taking this course.
  • REVISED & UPDATED: Chapter Openers concentrate on wellness applications such as diet, exercise, supplements, natural remedies and medications to help students connect chemistry with their everyday lives.

Features of Mastering Chemistry for the 15th Edition

  • NEW & UPDATED: Let's Experiment! Videos immerse students in doing the chemistry they are learning with readily available household materials. Students predict the outcome of the experiments part way through the video to assess their conceptual understanding of what is being tested. 8 new videos are available.
  • NEW & UPDATED: Enhanced end-of-chapter questions provide personalized feedback when and where students need it, including wrong-answer feedback for homework assignments.
  • The Chemistry Primer helps students remediate chemistry math skills and prepare for their first college chemistry course. Pre-built Assignments ensure students practice and maintain their math skills. Remediation includes tutorials, wrong-answer specific feedback, video instruction, and stepwise scaffolding.

Features of Pearson eText for the 15th Edition

  • NEW & UPDATED: Let's Experiment! Videos immerse students in doing the chemistry they are learning with readily available household materials. Students predict the outcome of the experiments part way through the video to assess their conceptual understanding of what is being tested. 8 new videos are available. 

1. Chemistry
1.1 Science and Technology: The Roots of Knowledge
1.2 Science: Reproducible, Testable, Tentative, Predictive, and Explanatory
1.3 Science and Technology: Risks and Benefit
1.4 Solving Society's Problems: Scientific Research
1.5 Chemistry: A Study of Matter and Its Changes
1.6 Classification of Matter
1.7 The Measurement of Matter
1.8 Density
1.9 Energy: Heat and Temperature
1.10 Critical Thinking

2. Atoms
2.1 Atoms: Ideas from the Ancient Greeks
2.2 Scientific Laws: Conservation of Mass and Definite Proportions
2.3 John Dalton and the Atomic Theory of Matter
2.4 The Mole and Molar Mass
2.5 Mendeleev and the Periodic Table
2.6 Atoms and Molecules: Real and Relevant

3. Atomic Structure
3.1 Electricity and the Atom
3.2 Serendipity in Science: X-Rays and Radioactivity
3.3 Three Types of Radioactivity
3.4 Rutherford's Experiment: The Nuclear Model of the Atom
3.5 The Atomic Nucleus
3.6 Electron Arrangement: The Bohr Model (Orbits)
3.7 Electron Arrangement: The Quantum Model (Orbitals/Subshells)
3.8 Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table

4. Chemical Bonds
4.1 The Art of Deduction: Stable Electron Configurations
4.2 Lewis (Electron-Dot) Symbols
4.3 The Reaction of Sodium with Chlorine
4.4 Using Lewis Symbols for Ionic Compounds
4.5 Formulas and Names of Binary Ionic Compounds
4.6 Covalent Bonds: Shared Electron Pairs
4.7 Unequal Sharing: Polar Covalent Bonds
4.8 Polyatomic Molecules: Water, Ammonia, and Methane
4.9 Polyatomic Ions
4.10 Guidelines for Drawing Lewis Structures
4.11 Molecular Shapes: The VSEPR Theory
4.12 Shapes and Properties: Polar and Nonpolar Molecules

5. Chemical Accounting
5.1 Chemical Sentences: Equations
5.2 Volume Relationships in chemical Equations
5.3 Avogadro's Number and the Names
5.4 Molar Mass: Mole-to-Mass and Mass-to-Mole Conversions
5.5 Solutions

6. Gases, Liquids, Solids…and Intermolecular Forces
6.1 Solids, Liquids, and Gases
6.2 Comparing Ionic and Molecular Substances
6.3 Forces between Molecules
6.4 Forces in Solutions
6.5 Gases: The Kinetic-Molecular Theory
6.6 The Simple Gas Laws
6.7 The Ideal Gas Law

7. Acids and Bases
7.1 Acids and Bases: Experimental Definitions
7.2 Acids, Bases, and Salts
7.3 Acidic and Basic Anhydrides
7.4 Strong and Weak Acids and Bases
7.5 Neutralization
7.6 The pH Scale
7.7 Buffers and Conjugate Acid-Base Pairs
7.8 Acids and Bases in Industry and in Daily Life

8. Oxidation and Reduction
8.1 Oxidation and Reduction: Four Views
8.2 Oxidizing and Reducing Agents
8.3 Electrochemistry: Cells and Batteries
8.4 Corrosion and Explosion
8.5 Oxygen: An Abundant and Essential Oxidizing Agent
8.6 Some Common Reducing Agents
8.7 Oxidation, Reduction, and Living Things

9. Organic Chemistry
9.1 Organic Chemistry and Compounds
9.2 Aliphatic Hydrocarbons
9.3 Aromatic Compounds: Benzene and Its Relatives
9.4 Halogenated Hydrocarbons: Many Uses, Some Hazards
9.5 Functional and Alkyl Groups
9.6 Alcohols, Phenols, Ethers, and Thiols
9.7 Aldehydes and Ketones
9.8 Carboxylic Acids and Esters
9.9 Nitrogen-Containing Compounds: Amines and Amides

10. Polymers
10.1 Polymerization: Making Big Ones Out of Little Ones
10.2 Polyethylene: From the Battle of Britain to Bread Bags
10.3 Addition Polymerization: One + One + One + … Gives One!
10.4 Rubber and Other Elastomers
10.5 Condensation Polymers
10.6 Properties of Polymers
10.7 Plastics and the Environment

11. Nuclear Chemistry
11.1 Natural Radioactivity
11.2 Nuclear Equations
11.3 Half-Life and Radioisotopic Dating
11.4 Artificial Transmutation
11.5 Uses of Radioisotopes
11.6 Penetrating Power of Radiation
11.7 Energy from the Nucleus
11.8 Nuclear Bombs
11.9 Uses and Consequences of Nuclear Energy

12. Chemistry of Earth
12.1 Spaceship Earth: Structure and Composition
12.2 Silicates and the Shapes of Things
12.3 Carbonates: Caves, Chalk, and Limestone
12.4 Metals and Their Ores
12.5 Salts and "Table Salt"
12.6 Gemstones and Semi-Precious Stones
12.7 Earth's Dwindling Resources

13. Air
13.1 Earth's Atmosphere: Divisions and Composition
13.2 Chemistry of the Atmosphere
13.3 Pollution through the Ages
13.4 Automobile Emissions
13.5 Photochemical Smog: Making Haze While the Sun Shines
13.6 Acid Rain: Air Pollution Water Pollution
13.7 The Inside Story: Indoor Air Pollution
13.8 Stratospheric Ozone: Earth's Vital Shield
13.9 Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change
13.10 Who Pollutes? Who Pays?

14. Water
14.1 Water: Some Unique Properties
14.2 Water in Nature
14.3 Organic Contamination; Human and Animal Waste
14.4 The World's Water Crisis
14.5 Tap Water and Government Standards for Drinking Water
14.6 Water Consumption: Who Uses It and How Much?
14.7 Making Water Fit to Drink
14.8 Wastewater Treatment

15. Energy
15.1 Our Sun, a Giant Nuclear Power Plant
15.2 Energy and Chemical Reactions
15.3 Reaction Rates
15.4 The Laws of Thermodynamics
15.5 Fuels and Energy: People, Horses, and Fossils
15.6 Coal: The Carbon Rock of Ages
15.7 Natural Gas and Petroleum
15.8 Convenient Energy
15.9 Nuclear Energy
15.10 Renewable Energy Sources

16. Biochemistry
16.1 Energy and the Living Cell
16.2 Carbohydrates: A Storehouse of Energy
16.3 Carbohydrates in the Diet
16.4 Fats and Other Lipids
16.5 Fats and Cholesterol
16.6 Proteins: Polymers of Amino Acids
16.7 Structure and Function of Proteins
16.8 Protein in the Diet
16.9 Nucleic Acids: Parts, Structure, and Function
16.10 RNA: Protein Synthesis and the Genetic Code
16.11 The Human Genome

17. Nutrition, Fitness, and Health
17.1 Calories: Quality and Quantity
17.2 Minerals
17.3 Vitamins
17.4 Fiber, Electrolytes, and Water
17.5 Food Additives
17.6 Starvation and Malnutrition
17.7 Weight Loss, Diet, and Exercise
17.8 Fitness and Muscle

18. Drugs
18.1 Drugs from Nature and the Laboratory
18.2 Pain Relievers: From Aspirin to Oxycodone
18.3 Drugs and Infectious Diseases
18.4 Chemicals against Cancer
18.5 Hormones: The Regulators
18.6 Drugs for the Heart
18.7 Drugs and the Mind
18.8 Drugs and Society

19. Chemistry Down on the Farm
19.1 Growing Food with Fertilizers
19.2 The War against Pests
19.3 Herbicides and Defoliants
19.4 Sustainable Agriculture
19.5 Looking to the Future: Feeding a Growing, Hungry World

20. Household Chemicals
20.1 Cleaning with Soap
20.2 Synthetic Detergents
20.3 Laundry Auxiliaries: Softeners and Bleaches
20.4 All-Purpose and Special-Purpose Cleaning Products
20.5 Solvents, Paints, and Waxes
20.6 Cosmetics: Personal-Care Chemicals

21. Poisons
21.1 Natural Poisons
21.2 Poisons and How They Act
21.3 More Chemistry of the Nervous System
21.4 The Lethal Dose
21.5 The Liver as a Detox Facility
21.6 Carcinogens and Teratogens
21.7 Hazardous Wastes

About our authors

John Hill received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. As an organic chemist, he published more than 50 papers, most of which have an educational bent. In addition to Chemistry for Changing Times, he authored or coauthored several introductory-level chemistry textbooks, all of which have been published in multiple editions. He presented over 60 papers at national conferences, many relating to chemical education. He received several awards for outstanding teaching and was active in the American Chemical Society, both locally and nationally. 

Terry McCreary received his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Virginia Tech. He has taught chemistry at Murray State University since 1988 and was presented with the Regents Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. He is a member of the Kentucky Academy of Science and has served as technical editor for the Journal of Pyrotechnics. McCreary is author of several laboratory manuals for general chemistry and analytical chemistry, as well as General Chemistry with John Hill, Ralph Petrucci, and Scott Perry, and Experimental Composite Propellant, a fundamental monograph on the preparation and properties of solid rocket propellant. In his spare time, he designs, builds, and flies rockets with the Tripoli Rocketry Association of which he was elected president in 2010. He also enjoys gardening, machining, woodworking, and astronomy. 

Marilyn D. Duerst majored in chemistry, math, and German at St. Olaf College, graduating in 1963 and earned a Master's Degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1966. For over five decades her talents in teaching have flourished in every venue imaginable, with students aged 4 to 84, but were focused on non-science majors, preservice and inservice teachers. She taught at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls from 1981 to 2015; in 2006 she was presented with the Outstanding Teaching Award. Now a Distinguished Lecturer in Chemistry, emerita, from UWRF, she is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, an organization in which she has long been active both locally and nationally, particularly in outreach activities to the public. In 1999, she co-authored a book for children with John W. Hill entitled The Crimecracker Kids and the Bake-shop Break-in. Marilyn is a birder, rockhound and nature photographer, collects sand, minerals and elements, has traveled 4 continents, and studied a dozen languages. 

Rill Ann Reuter earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Connecticut College and her M.S. in Biochemistry from Yale University. She worked in academic research laboratories at Yale University, Princeton University, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School for twelve years, with a primary emphasis on nucleic acid research. After moving to Minnesota in 1980, she taught at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, the College of Saint Teresa, and Winona State University and did research on photosynthesis. She retired from Winona State in 2015 as Professor Emerita of Chemistry. Over the years she has taught large numbers of general chemistry, non-science, and pre-nursing students. She was active in local and regional science fairs for 35 years and is a member of the American Chemical Society. She has a keen interest in history, politics, and classical music. 

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