This text integrates chemical principles and applications with descriptive chemistry. It emphasises the relationship between macroscopic observations of chemical and physical changes, the symbols used to describe them, and the way those changes are viewed at the atomic and molecular level.
Part I The basic tools of chemistry: matter and measurement; atoms and elements; molecules and compounds; chemical equations and stoichiometry; reactions in aqueous solution; principles of reactivity - energy and chemical reactions. Part II The structure of atoms and molecules: atomic structure; atomic electron configurations and chemical periodicity; bonding and molecular structure - fundamental concepts; bonding and molecular structure - orbital hybridization and molecular orbitals; carbon - more than just another element. Part III States of matter: gases and their properties; bonding and molecular structure - intermolecular forces, liquids and solids; solutions and their behaviour. Part IV The principles of reactivity: principles of reactivity - chemical kinetics; principles of reactivity - chemical equilibria; principles of reactivity - the chemistry of acids and bases; principles of reactivity - reactions between acids and bases; principles of reactivity - precipitation reactions; principles of reactivity - entropy and free energy; principles of reactivity - electron transfer reactions. Part V The chemistry of the elements: the chemistry of the main group elements; the transition elements; nuclear chemistry.