The Periodic Table of the Elements

I'm a retired MBA who hasn't studied chemistry or physics since high school. I'm self-studying chemistry so that I can better understand soil sciences and science.

The Periodical table book caught my attention because it's free and I thought it would give me a chance to try iBooks on my iPad. First, the book is formatted more like a Kindle book than what I expected from iBooks. The table of contents is clunky and the interactive questions and tables aren't much better, imo.

As for the text, it's breezy and and easy read. Having read the history of chemistry a couple of times in the last month, I skipped the first chapter. It was disconcerting to not see the periodic table until the end of the book.

This text teaches more about the history if the development of the periodic table than about the periodic table.

The questions were mildly helpful. It took me a while to get that there were more than one question in the interactive questions. What I"d like to see improved are the responses to the readers' answers, especially on problems. Whether the reader gets the answer correct or not, the author could help readers show both the algebraic and chemical reasons for the correct answer.

This is because readers like me haven't studied algebra or calculus since grad school.

So I'd like to see some rewrites of the early chapters. Tell us what you're going to teach, teach it, tell us what you've taught. Tell us why you're focusing on the history of chemistry as much as on the chemistry. Give some better tables/illustrations and help readers out with problem solving. Assume your readers haven't looked at a chem book in years, if ever.

Love chemistry books. This is easily one of the best that I've read. Totally cool the way the authors setup all the interactive modules.

The author's excitement and sense of discovery shines throughout this text. We follow and share in the development of the logic and reasoning that eventually leads to building the periodic table.
I'm reading and enjoying the text, and interactive questions, but even better, I'm watching my ten year old read, use the quizzes, and then tell everyone what he's learned, as if he had made the discoveries himself! The text is entertaining, enjoyable, and informative in an easy to read package.