Why Chemical Reactions Happen

By tackling the most central ideas in chemistry, "Why Chemical Reactions Happen" provides the reader with all the tools and concepts needed to think like a chemist. The text takes a unified approach to the subject, aiming to help the reader develop a real overview of chemical processes, by avoiding the traditional divisions of physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. To understand how chemical reactions happen we need to know about the bonding in molecules, how molecules interact, what determines whether an interaction is favourable or not, and what the outcome will be. Answering these questions requires an understanding of topics from quantum mechanics, through thermodynamics, to "curly arrows". In this book, all of these topics are presented in a coherent and coordinated fashion, showing how each leads to a deeper understanding of chemical reactions.

I feel that Peter and James have done a tremendous job of explaining chemical reactions using perspectives that are not used in traditional text books. They explain reactions in terms of bonding theories and orbitals rather than solely using kinetics and equilibrium. The author's use of visual representations throughout the book increases the comprehension of the material covered in the text. I look forward to using this textbook in my organic chemistry courses. Physical Sciences Educational Reviews 2004. 'Why Chemical Reactions Happen is one of nature's secrets...This insightful book reveals in clear and impressive style what motivates molecules to metamorphose into something new. It supplies all the essentials for understanding entrophy and how to choreograph molecular transformations to its music' Times Higher Education Supplement, February 2004.

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