General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications

Citation

Petrucci, R. H., Herring, F. G., Madura, J. D., & Bissonnette, C. (2023). Petrucci's General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications (12th ed., Global ed.). Pearson.

Chapter Summary

The twelfth edition has 28 chapters, the last of which is supplied online. Pearson's description presents it as a detailed treatment written by authors who regularly taught general chemistry to both majors and non-majors, and lists three recurring features: Concept Assessment questions inside each chapter, with full solutions in Appendix G; "Are You Wondering?" boxes that answer questions students often ask; and worked examples that all follow an Analyze–Solve–Assess structure. The publisher's notes on this edition mention a reorganised table of contents, twenty new profiles of scientists, updates for recent revisions to the periodic table, and more than 400 revised end-of-chapter problems.

Chapters 1–5: Matter: Its Properties and Measurement; Atoms and the Atomic Theory; Chemical Compounds; Chemical Reactions; Introduction to Reactions in Aqueous Solutions

The opening block covers measurement and the properties of matter, atomic theory, compounds, chemical reactions, and then a separate introductory chapter on reactions in water. Atomic structure is treated here at the level of atomic theory; the quantum description of electrons waits until Chapter 8.

Chapters 6–7: Gases; Thermochemistry

Gases and thermochemistry come before electronic structure, so the gas laws and the energy changes of reactions are in place early in the first semester.

Chapters 8–11: Electrons in Atoms; The Periodic Table and Some Atomic Properties; Chemical Bonding I: Basic Concepts; Chemical Bonding II: Valence Bond and Molecular Orbital Theories

The structural core: electrons in atoms, periodic properties, and bonding in two chapters, first the basic concepts and then valence bond and molecular orbital theories.

Chapters 12–14: Intermolecular Forces: Liquids and Solids; Spontaneous Change: Entropy and Gibbs Energy; Solutions and Their Physical Properties

Condensed phases come next. Entropy and Gibbs energy are placed in Chapter 13, between intermolecular forces and solutions, which means the thermodynamic criteria for spontaneity are available before kinetics and equilibrium rather than after them.

Chapters 15–20: Chemical Kinetics; Principles of Chemical Equilibrium; Acids and Bases; Additional Aspects of Acid–Base Equilibria; Solubility and Complex-Ion Equilibria; Electrochemistry

The rates and equilibrium block. Acid–base chemistry gets two chapters, the second on additional aspects of acid–base equilibria, followed by solubility and complex-ion equilibria and electrochemistry.

Chapters 21–24: Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements I: Groups 1, 2, 13, and 14; Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements II: Groups 18, 17, 16, 15, and Hydrogen; The Transition Elements; Complex Ions and Coordination Compounds

Four descriptive chapters. The main-group elements are split across two chapters, the second working backwards from the noble gases to group 15 and ending with hydrogen; the transition elements and coordination compounds each have a chapter of their own.

Chapters 25–28: Nuclear Chemistry; Structure of Organic Compounds; Reactions of Organic Compounds; Chemistry of the Living State (online)

The book closes with nuclear chemistry, two organic chapters (structure, then reactions) and an online chapter on the chemistry of living systems.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–7: Foundations

• Measurement and atomic theory: the properties of matter and the atomic view of it, set up before any quantum mechanics.
• Reactions in aqueous solution: a chapter of its own introducing the reaction types met in water.
• Thermochemistry: the energy changes accompanying reactions, studied before electronic structure.

Chapters 8–14: Structure, Bonding and Spontaneity

• Valence bond and molecular orbital theories: the two models of covalent bonding to which Chapter 11 is devoted.
• Intermolecular forces: the basis for the properties of liquids and solids.
• Entropy and Gibbs energy: the criteria for spontaneous change, introduced before equilibrium.

Chapters 15–28: Reactions, Equilibrium and Descriptive Chemistry

• Chemical kinetics and equilibrium: rates of reaction, then the principles of equilibrium applied to acids and bases, solubility and complex ions.
• Coordination compounds: complex ions, treated after a survey of the transition elements.
• Organic structure and reactions: two chapters that take organic chemistry beyond a single survey chapter.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A structured problem-solving method. According to Pearson, every worked example uses the same Analyze–Solve–Assess sequence, and many include a drawing or photograph of the situation, which gives students one consistent routine to imitate.
• Self-checks with full solutions. Concept Assessment questions, many of them qualitative, appear inside the chapters, and their full solutions are printed in Appendix G, so students can test understanding before reaching the end-of-chapter problems.
• Broad descriptive and organic coverage. With two main-group chapters, separate chapters on the transition elements and on coordination compounds, two organic chapters and an online biochemistry chapter, the table of contents covers more descriptive and organic chemistry than a book with a single organic survey.
• Room for curiosity. The "Are You Wondering?" boxes address common misconceptions, offer alternative explanations and resolve apparent inconsistencies; Pearson describes them as optional for instructors to assign or skip.

Limitations

• Length. Twenty-eight chapters, seven more than OpenStax's Chemistry 2e, mean that instructors and self-learners have to choose; the descriptive chapters (21–24) are the obvious candidates for selective reading.
• Online-only final chapter. Chemistry of the Living State is not in the printed book, so the bridge to biochemistry has to be read separately.
• Tied to a paid platform. Pearson presents the book together with its Mastering Chemistry platform, where the expanded item library of end-of-chapter problems sits; that part of the practice material requires an instructor's course access.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is one of the comprehensive general chemistry textbooks on the list, comparable in scope to Brown and colleagues' Chemistry: The Central Science. OpenStax's Chemistry 2e follows a similar two-semester sequence for free, but orders some topics differently: it keeps entropy and free energy for a chapter after the equilibrium chapters, and gives organic chemistry a single survey chapter. Petrucci introduces Gibbs energy before kinetics and equilibrium and devotes two chapters to organic structure and reactions. Students using Chemistry 2e as their main text can turn to Petrucci for more problems and for the extra organic and descriptive chemistry, and vice versa.

For more depth afterwards, Atkins and colleagues' Chemical Principles is calculus-based and derives results from physical principles, and Keeler and Wothers's Chemical Structure and Reactivity abandons the usual organic–inorganic–physical division to explain structure and reactivity from orbital theory, thermodynamics and kinetics; both suit students heading for a chemistry degree.

How to Use This Book

The book is aimed at first-year university students in a general chemistry course, majors and non-majors alike. Pearson does not state prerequisites; the chapter sequence starts from measurement and atomic theory, so school algebra and some school chemistry are the realistic starting point.

A practical plan:

• First semester: Chapters 1–12, from measurement through gases, thermochemistry, atomic structure, bonding and intermolecular forces.
• Second semester: Chapters 13–20, from entropy and Gibbs energy through solutions, kinetics, the four equilibrium chapters and electrochemistry.
• Selective: Chapters 21–25 according to the course, and Chapters 26–27 as a bridge to organic chemistry. The online Chapter 28 is a useful preview for students heading into biochemistry.

When working through a chapter, answer each Concept Assessment question before reading on and check it against Appendix G. Follow the Analyze–Solve–Assess pattern of the worked examples when doing end-of-chapter problems, and treat the "Are You Wondering?" boxes as the place to resolve points that seem contradictory. Students whose course uses the Mastering Chemistry platform will find the end-of-chapter problems there as well.