Physical Organic Chemistry (Hammett, L. P.)

Abstract

Any of these manuals would serve satisfactorily to guide the freshman through the usual first year's laboratory work in chemistry. While some are designed to accompany specific textbooks, they are nevertheless essentially independent and could be used with any standard textbook. A casual inspection of these and comparable laboratory manuals fails to disclose any tendency toward an increased use of the inductive laboratory approach to chemistry. The difficulties presented by mass education with the resulting large laboratory sections, frequently taught by inexperienced graduate assistants, evidently are best met by such carefully planned outlines as these. Initiative and inquisitive-ness, however, are not encouraged, and because of the* routine character of the work, it is to be expected that all too often able students will reject rather than be attracted to careers in natural science.