Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all those students who used the first two editions and took the time to write to us and to John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to express their gratitude for helping them understand chemistry and successfully complete a required chemistry course. They were high school, nursing school, community college, technical school, and university students of all ages. It is because of them we have written this third edition.

We also wish to thank those faculty who thought enough of the book that they adopted it for classroom use or recommended it as a self-paced, “second opinion” study guide.

We wish to thank our respective universities, all of our editors for all three editions—especially the late Judy V. Wilson, who had the vision for both the entire Self-Teaching Guide series as well as this book—and our publisher, John Wiley & Sons. We also thank the Wiley editorial and production staff for their very thorough editorial comments and enthusiastic encouragement during the preparation of this manuscript.

Chad Snyder would like to thank his wife and children for their love and support through this process. Authors Post and Houk likewise wish to thank their families for their encouragement, patience, and support in the development of this book in its current and previous editions.

APPRECIATING THE CONNECTIONS

The history of science and technology is often based upon a series of individual discoveries and historical events which at first seem unconnected, but in hindsight represent a chain of events that building upon one another result in a new discovery or idea. Scientists often describe this as, “We stood upon the shoulders of giants,” acknowledging appreciation for their colleagues and forebears who set the groundwork for their discoveries.

This chain of events is also true of much of history. This book grew out of a need to develop self-instruction for a few concepts in chemistry. The initial authors had no plans for a book. They were directly supported and encouraged in developing their self-instructional materials and related research efforts by their university, where they would continue to spend the major part of their academic careers. Thus without the support of that university, this book would not exist.

By historical connection, that university would itself not exist without an idea presented in 1787, the land grant. As the first university in what was then known as the Northwest Territory, the land west of the Ohio River, Ohio University directly stems from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, one of the primary documents of American history. The ordinance of Congress called for a public university as part of the settlement and eventual statehood of the Northwest Territory stipulating, “Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” That ordinance and that wording form the basis for a large historical landmark displayed at Ohio University's class gateway.

The authors' self-instructional material eventually came to the attention of Judy V. Wilson, who developed the Self-Teaching Guide series for publishers John Wiley & Sons. With the book now in its third edition, as you learn about the interesting and fundamental science of chemistry, you may find yourself becoming part of the chain of events. Let the authors and publisher know how this book contributed to your career through your study of chemistry. Wishing you success.

RP, CS, CCH