Comparison On General Chemistry Textbooks For College Students

In the process of general chemistry curriculum reformation, there have been more and more general chemistry textbooks meeting the various needs of the students at different levels. Even some excellent textbooks have been further revised. In order to guide the compilation of the general chemistry textbooks in the new century, we make a research into the general chemistry textbooks nowadays from two aspects. One is to compare the different types of the textbooks, and the other is to make a developmental study on the five editions of the general chemistry textbook compiled by General Chemistry Teaching and Research Group of Zhejiang University.In the comparative research, we divide the textbooks into three types: textbooks for the students of Chemistry department, for the students majoring in natural science and for the students majoring in social science. Our research shows "that these three types of textbooks are completely different in their content selection, requirements and organization because of their different curriculum objective.Textbooks for the students of Chemistry department aim at elevating the students' chemistry knowledge foundations. The main contents of these textbooks are chemistry principles which are not easy to grasp. As for the organization, this type of textbooks is mostly discipline-centered with little content associated with society. Textbooks for the students majoring in natural science are intended to make the students understand chemistry. The main contents of this type of textbooks include the basic chemistry principles and contents associated with society and life. Textbooks for the students majoring in social science aim at bringing up the students' interest in natural science and their awareness of the importance of chemistry in social life. The contents are not so difficult as those of the former two types of textbooks and the organization is society-centered.In the development research, we compare the five editions of the general chemistry textbooks compiled by Zhejiang University from the perspective of the direction, content selection, and content construction. The research has found that the revision of the general chemistry textbook reflects the trend of the general chemistry curriculum reform. The textbook is intended to fully develop the students' knowledge, ability, attitude and view of value. It adds not only the basic chemistry principles but also the environment chemistry, material chemistry, biochemistry and other branches of chemistry. The contents embody the development of chemistry science. In addition,...