It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything
- Downloads：9629
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-14 16:31:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kate Biberdorf
- ISBN：B088PXNPLZ
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kathleen Gray
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I gotta tell you- I learned more about chemistry from this entertaining book about chemistry than I did in my academic career。 That's because Biberdorf， after taking the reader through the basics， actually applies the principles by explaining how chemical reactions are critical to our daily lives。 Starting with coffee and getting dressed and moving throughout the day， it's revelatory。 I know not to put dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher but not why， really （beyond the fact that it creates a me I gotta tell you- I learned more about chemistry from this entertaining book about chemistry than I did in my academic career。 That's because Biberdorf， after taking the reader through the basics， actually applies the principles by explaining how chemical reactions are critical to our daily lives。 Starting with coffee and getting dressed and moving throughout the day， it's revelatory。 I know not to put dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher but not why， really （beyond the fact that it creates a mess）。 It's written in a colloquial manner with relevant anecdotes。 Thanks to the publisher for the ARC。 Perfect for readers who like to learn but also recommended for students who might want an accessible if brief insight into the subject。 。。。more
rachel
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A wonderful introduction to chemistry for non chemists！I have to say， as a chemist （PhD candidate） I found this novel a little simplistic at times- but honestly？ Thats the whole point。 It is supposed to be reachable to wider audiences！'I think this would be a great book to give to a high schooler interested in science （particularly the science behind how things work）。 A wonderful introduction to chemistry for non chemists！I have to say， as a chemist （PhD candidate） I found this novel a little simplistic at times- but honestly？ Thats the whole point。 It is supposed to be reachable to wider audiences！'I think this would be a great book to give to a high schooler interested in science （particularly the science behind how things work）。 。。。more
Michelle
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Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review！I really expected to like this--it sounded like nerd heaven。 I could just never get involved in it， though， especially the very basic opening chapters， and then the later chapters felt mechanical and forced。 I'm sorry it wasn't my thing， and I hope it is just what someone else needs。 Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review！I really expected to like this--it sounded like nerd heaven。 I could just never get involved in it， though， especially the very basic opening chapters， and then the later chapters felt mechanical and forced。 I'm sorry it wasn't my thing， and I hope it is just what someone else needs。 。。。more
Bookclubbish
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CategoriesApplied Sciences， History of Science
Dayna
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My husband taught high school chemistry for years and pretty much anytime he talks about chemistry or tries to explain something my eyes glaze over and I loose the thread once he gets beyond the most rudimentary concepts。 My own high school chemistry experience was so awful that it turned me off of science for a very long time。I saw the author （known better as Kate the Chemist） speak at the Simmons Leadership Conference a few years ago， and she was great！ She did some chemistry demonstrations bu My husband taught high school chemistry for years and pretty much anytime he talks about chemistry or tries to explain something my eyes glaze over and I loose the thread once he gets beyond the most rudimentary concepts。 My own high school chemistry experience was so awful that it turned me off of science for a very long time。I saw the author （known better as Kate the Chemist） speak at the Simmons Leadership Conference a few years ago， and she was great！ She did some chemistry demonstrations but more importantly talked about women's leadership in STEM。 Between the talk， which made quite an impact， and my desire to understand my husband's work stories better， I had to read this book。The first section goes over the basics in a really understandable way。 Concepts that I remembered being confused by in the past suddenly became clear。 Biberdorf has a gift for explaining chemistry。 She starts easy and breaks everything down into manageable chunks。Then she goes over various real-life applications of chemistry。 Some are more interesting and some are less interesting。 The most memorable parts of the book for me were when she explained the chemistry of the human body; I was fascinated！Overall I would recommend the book as a clear way to get an overview of chemistry， even if you've found the subject intimidating or confusing in the past。 I would definitely read future books by Biberdorf。Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book。 。。。more
A。 M。 Kimber
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:: Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review :: I’ve never been one for science， it’s always fascinated me but always seemed too smart for my lame brain， which was why I was kind-of excited for ‘It’s Elemental’。 It seemed like the perfect bridge to understand the science of what makes the world the world and， for the most part， it was。 I really enjoyed the first half of the book， the author managed to bring history and science together and made leaning about atoms and :: Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review :: I’ve never been one for science， it’s always fascinated me but always seemed too smart for my lame brain， which was why I was kind-of excited for ‘It’s Elemental’。 It seemed like the perfect bridge to understand the science of what makes the world the world and， for the most part， it was。 I really enjoyed the first half of the book， the author managed to bring history and science together and made leaning about atoms and protons fun。 I loved the examples （Hello， Ryan Reynolds）， they helped me piece it all together and actually understand what I was reading… Unfortunately， the second half of the book dealt with the science behind our everyday （cleaning， cooking， alcohol and strangely enough， her makeup routine） and wasn’t as fun。 The examples helped but just didn’t have the charm as Ryan Reynolds， but then again what does？ Overall， it was a good read and I don’t feel as scientifically incompetent as I did going in， and for that， I’d recommend it。 。。。more
Erikka
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I really wanted to like this。 I’ve seen her on various shows and heard her in podcasts， and I was so excited to read this book。 And the first half was awesome！ She explained chemistry in a way I’ve never really been able to understand。 Part 1 is a solid 4 stars。 Then…part 2 started。 While I love the concept of showing how your every day life is chemistry， this was so boring I could barely stay awake。 It wasn’t compelling， it didn’t teach me anything new， and it was weirdly personal？ Like…I felt I really wanted to like this。 I’ve seen her on various shows and heard her in podcasts， and I was so excited to read this book。 And the first half was awesome！ She explained chemistry in a way I’ve never really been able to understand。 Part 1 is a solid 4 stars。 Then…part 2 started。 While I love the concept of showing how your every day life is chemistry， this was so boring I could barely stay awake。 It wasn’t compelling， it didn’t teach me anything new， and it was weirdly personal？ Like…I felt like I was in her bathroom with her instead of just learning about generic science。 It was odd。 I got to her makeup routine before I called it quits。 。。。more
Christy
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This book would be a great refresher for anyone who left chemistry behind in high school or college。 The author describes Part I as equivalent to a six week introductory course， and I think she does a great job making chemistry accessible。 She covers everything you need to understand Part II， where the author explains the chemistry of everyday life， from cooking to cleansers to sunsets。 This is a four-star book for me and not five stars because throughout most of Part II I kept wishing for more This book would be a great refresher for anyone who left chemistry behind in high school or college。 The author describes Part I as equivalent to a six week introductory course， and I think she does a great job making chemistry accessible。 She covers everything you need to understand Part II， where the author explains the chemistry of everyday life， from cooking to cleansers to sunsets。 This is a four-star book for me and not five stars because throughout most of Part II I kept wishing for more depth。 I wanted to know a little bit more about a number of the things she mentioned， but she jumped to the next topic too quickly for me。 I think either a longer book or fewer topics would make for a more satisfying read， because I don’t think I will retain much from the short explanations of so many topics。 。。。more
Andrea
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If， like me， your painful memories of college chemistry are the stuff of nightmares， you may shy away from a book written by a chemistry professor intended to enlighten us about the importance of chemistry in our lives。 But， Kate Biberdorf， like the prof we wish we had， firmly guides the reader through the elementary principles of chemistry we didn’t learn or don’t remember and then rewards us with witty and interesting explanations of the chemistry of objects from coffee beans to swimsuits and If， like me， your painful memories of college chemistry are the stuff of nightmares， you may shy away from a book written by a chemistry professor intended to enlighten us about the importance of chemistry in our lives。 But， Kate Biberdorf， like the prof we wish we had， firmly guides the reader through the elementary principles of chemistry we didn’t learn or don’t remember and then rewards us with witty and interesting explanations of the chemistry of objects from coffee beans to swimsuits and why the chemistry of everyday life matters。 I feel smarter after reading this but also intrigued by the way basic science can explain so much of our everyday lives。 。。。more
Roxanne Spencer
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Great engaging description of why chemistry is so fascinating。 This books succeeds in presenting central concepts without over simplifying them。 Recommended for any one who's interested in chemistry and the molecules they encounter everyday。 Great engaging description of why chemistry is so fascinating。 This books succeeds in presenting central concepts without over simplifying them。 Recommended for any one who's interested in chemistry and the molecules they encounter everyday。 。。。more
Julie Huskey
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