The third edition of this book builds on user and reviewer comments on the previous editions. Our goal remains to provide students with an accessible overview of the whole field of physical chemistry while focusing on basic principles that unite the subdisciplines of the field. We continue to present new research developments in the field to emphasize the vibrancy of physical chemistry.
Many chapters have been extensively revised as described below. We include additional end of chapter concept problems and most of the numerical problems have been revised. The target audience remains undergraduate students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering, as well as many students majori8ng in the atmospheric sciences and the biological sciences. The following objectives, illustrated with brief examples, outline our approach to teaching physical chemistry.
1. Fundamental Concepts of Thermodynamics
2. Heat, Work, Internal Energy, Enthalpy, and the First Law of Thermodynamics
3. The Importance of State Functions: Internal Energy and Enthalpy
4. Thermochemistry
5. Entropy and the Second and Third Laws of Thermodynamics
6. Chemical Equilibrium
7. The Properties of Real Gases
8. Phase Diagrams and the Relative Stability of Solids, Liquids, and Gases
9. Ideal and Real Solutions
10. Electrolyte Solutions
, etc.