1. Introduction 
   
   1. Approach 
      
   2. What chemistry is about 
      
2. Some important materials and how they are made 
   
   1. Some techniques used in making materials 
      
   2. Some important materials 
      
   3. Some classes of material 
      
   4. Cells used to generate electricity 
      
3. Basic ideas and terminology 
   
   1. Introduction 
      
   2. Matter 
      
   3. Substances and solutions 
      
   4. Elements and compounds 
      
   5. Summary of definitions 
      
4. Some important elements 
   
   1. Scope 
      
   2. Chemistry of some important elements 
      
   3. More on acids, bases, and salts 
      
   4. Types of element 
      
5. Basic laws and phenomena of chemistry 
   
   1. Quantitative chemistry 
      
   2. Laws and phenomena of chemistry 
      
   3. Percentage composition of substances 
      
6. The constitution of matter 
   
   1. Atoms and molecules 
      
   2. Atomic compositions 
      
   3. Molecular and non-molecular substances 
      
   4. Avogadro number 
      
7. Chemical calculations 
   
   1. Chemical equations 
      
   2. Calculating quantities in reactions 
      
   3. Amount of substance and the mole 
      
   4. Qualitative and quantitative analysis 
      
   5. Incomplete reactions 
      
8. Formulae of substances and valency 
   
   1. Scope 
      
   2. Formulae of important substances 
      
   3. Groups of atoms 
      
   4. Valency 
      
9. Relations among elements 
   
   1. Families of elements 
      
   2. Periodicity 
      
   3. Electrochemical series and electronegativity 
      
10. More on electrolytes 
    
    1. Aim 
       
    2. Electrolyte solutions 
       
    3. Ionic charges 
       
    4. Solid electrolytes 
       
    5. Important ions 
       
    6. Reactions involving electrolytes 
       
11. Structures of atoms 
    
    1. Scope 
       
    2. Electrical properties of gases and the electron 
       
    3. Isotopes 
       
    4. The nucleus and atomic structure 
       
    5. Configurations of electrons in atoms 
       
    6. Quantum theory 
       
    7. Radiochemistry 
       
    8. Structure of the nucleus 
       

Chemistry is about the many different kinds of materials we see around us and use every day. It is about what they are made of and how they are made.

This book introduces chemistry to beginners. It does this “progressively”, that is, the presentation moves logically from experimental observations to theory. No new ideas are introduced without first giving their experimental basis.

About the author

The author is a retired lecturer in chemistry at the University of Hull, England. His research interest is in the fundamental ideas of chemistry.