For students, DIY hobbyists, and science buffs, who can no longer get real chemistry sets, this one-of-a-kind guide explains how to set up and use a home chemistry lab, with step-by-step instructions for conducting experiments in basic chemistry -- not just to make pretty colors and stinky smells, but to learn how to do real lab work:

• Purify alcohol by distillation

• Produce hydrogen and oxygen gas by electrolysis

• Smelt metallic copper from copper ore you make yourself

• Analyze the makeup of seawater, bone, and other common substances

• Synthesize oil of wintergreen from aspirin and rayon fiber from paper

• Perform forensics tests for fingerprints, blood, drugs, and poisons

• and much more

From the 1930s through the 1970s, chemistry sets were among the most popular Christmas gifts, selling in the millions. But two decades ago, real chemistry sets began to disappear as manufacturers and retailers became concerned about liability. ,em>The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments steps up to the plate with lessons on how to equip your home chemistry lab, master laboratory skills, and work safely in your lab. The bulk of this book consists of 17 hands-on chapters that include multiple laboratory sessions on the following topics:

• Separating Mixtures

• Solubility and Solutions

• Colligative Properties of Solutions

• Introduction to Chemical Reactions & Stoichiometry

• Reduction-Oxidation (Redox) Reactions

• Acid-Base Chemistry

• Chemical Kinetics

• Chemical Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's Principle

• Gas Chemistry

• Thermochemistry and Calorimetry

• Electrochemistry

• Photochemistry

• Colloids and Suspensions

• Qualitative Analysis

• Quantitative Analysis

• Synthesis of Useful Compounds

• Forensic Chemistry

With plenty of full-color illustrations and photos, Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course. This hands-on introduction to real chemistry -- using real equipment, real chemicals, and real quantitative experiments -- is ideal for the many thousands of young people and adults who want to experience the magic of chemistry.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 19 Ratings

An Excellent Book - 2008-11-12
Reviewer Rating:
This is an excellent book. The author is very knowledgeable, and the book is well written. It is a must for anyone who is interested in amateur chemistry.

Reignited my passion for Chemistry! - 2008-10-31
Reviewer Rating:
At first I picked this book to help with home-schooling, but it's a bit over my son's (and my) head. It also does not explain the theories as well as a plain school textbook. That said, this book is AWESOME! Every page made me want to go buy more chemisty stuff and try things. The experiments cover safety and post experiment waste disposal; things parents are concerned about.

Whether or not my son chooses to join me in "the lab", I can see several months of fascination and pure joy of learning ahead.

Not just "home" chemistry but THE chemistry of the future - 2009-04-12
Reviewer Rating:
This is a dream come true -- a home chemistry book that is not just a bagatelle, but a full-sized lab manual and reference book (412+ pages). It's a serious book. Sadly, it will also be an historical publication, I predict, the cornerstone of all real chemistry of the future. Why? Because of the Culture of Fear: fear of chemicals, fear of glass, fear of litigation, fear of terrorism, fear of druggies (see Thompson's note about iodine on page 65). Already that culture has resulted in the death of the chemistry set, as noted in his Preface. In the near future, that same culture will result in the death of the chemistry class, too, which can easily be "replaced" by computer simulations and labs equipped with timid fake nonsense. (As much as I admire many applets that simulate reactions, as miniature works of art, I also find them disturbing as harbingers of the chemistry pseudo-lab of the future.) As that transformation continues, the day will come when KMnO4 has been replaced on the lab bench by a lookalike that pretends to do a few limited KMnO4-esque tricks and can optionally be sipped as imitation grape juice. At that point, home chemistry will be the ONLY chemistry, the only game in town. Then millions will thank Robert Thompson for having shown them a way back to the real thing.

You're gonna need a chemistry equipment supplier. - 2009-07-27
Reviewer Rating:
This book is some solid science! It's more for the home-school crowd than the dilettante who just wants some party tricks. Granted, some of the experiments are pretty darn cool (copper ore comes to mind), but you're not going to be blowing stuff up like on YouTube - hopefully - you're just going to be doing some basic (dangerous) experiments.

This book is NOT for kids under 12 or so to use alone. It involves acids and bases of strengths which can cause burns. Which is half the fun, of course, because the book has a comprehensive safety section.

You will need some lab equipment to get more out of this book than just "hey, you can do that?" You'll need someplace that sells chemicals and someplace that sells beakers, etc. Fortunately, the book tells you how to find these sorts of retailers.

Very useful book - 2009-11-09
Reviewer Rating:
Very useful book for teachers who love and enjoy making experiments not only in a laboratory but also in a theoretical class of chemistry.
The instructions are so0 clear and the ilustrations are so good.

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