The set includes a main text that is hardcover and the accompanying Solutions and Test manual, which is softcover. Most experiments are done with household items but the author gives suggestions for obtaining several additional items, if desired. He also shows where to buy a complete experiment equipment kit. Nothing else is needed.
Jay Wile learned about his love for chemistry when his dedicated parents bought him his first chemistry set. Many stink bombs and a few explosions later, he was hooked! Although he loved chemistry, he also had many other interests. For a while, he thought about becoming a concert pianist, but unfortunately, his fingers were not long enough (no kidding!). As he was finishing up his high school years, he became extremely interested in the theater and began to pursue a career in acting. Partly because he learned the science behind some of the special effects of the plays in which he performed, he eventually went back to his first love: chemistry.
He went to the University of Rochester in upstate New York to study chemistry, and while he was there, he began working on nuclear chemistry experiments. He became so fascinated with nuclear chemistry that he stayed at the University of Rochester and got a Ph.D. in that field. For several years, he did research in the field under the auspices of the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. This research led to several grants and many publications. While doing research, Dr. Wile was also an assistant professor of chemistry.
Dr. Wile's love of science is demonstrated by the many awards he has won for excellence in teaching and research. He has also presented numerous lectures on the topics of Nuclear Chemistry, Christian Apologetics, Homeschooling, and Creation vs. Evolution. He has published 30 articles on these subjects in nationally-recognized, peer-reviewed journals, and has 9 books to his credit, most of which belong to the award-winning "Exploring Creation with" series of junior-high and high-school science courses.
I shall not be rating this book. It does not deserve the one star I'm longing to give it, but I'm incapable of lying and giving it four or five stars.
But basically: I SURVIVED! And got a decent grade!!!! And I never, never have to do chemistry again (THANK YOU, JESUS.) And maybe even no hard(natural?) sciences, ever again. <3 I AM FREE!!!!!
I don't really like science. I liked biology a lot better than chemistry, but Apologia is probably one of the best textbooks for science, and the best part is the fact that it is from a Christians point of view
I'm just glad to be all done with chemistry, it was a long course :)
too hard to understand, terribly put together. this book sucks. i had to give up and take Nutrition instead. it's sad that Christian schools feel the need to place priority on Christian-written kooky science books over all the nice normal text books that are out there. I would've liked to learn Chemistry.
I absolutely hated this book when I had to go through it my Senior year. In fact, I always thought science was terrible in high school. However, I am now a biology major. I now love science. I think the combination of this dry, confusing book and bad teachers made me think I hated science. One problem is that huge paragraphs would be underlined, bold and italicized, making reading difficult. The explanation of equations and such was also hard to understand. Tests were very long and tricky. If you hate this book, don't give up on the science field! It gets better! With good teaching, you may come to love science. As a sophmore in college, I have actually done well (mostly As) in college inorganic and organic chemistry, but did terrible (got an A but only because I was home schooled) in high school chemistry!
This is a wonderful curriculum, especially for home-schoolers! At the age of eighteen, my mother knew I was into science and loved to read, which made for a perfect situation for her. She didn't have to do anything. I did it all. I went through the pages, did all of the experiments (which are geared toward homeschoolers and use household items to make them inexpensive), worked on the practice problems and extra problems, and went through every test. I never advanced until I got a passing grade, which, according to the author, the course material was made so difficult that a C would be the average on tests. I averaged that C because I made sure I was being honest with myself. Dr. Wile is a great teacher and I have all of his books! I highly recommend him to the aspiring young scientists and even the aging enthusiasts!
Excellent and through Christian Chemistry textbook. I truly enjoyed reading and studying this book! I think it has prepared me well to take college Chemistry in the fall.
Dr. Wile seems to have a love/hate relationship with most of his readers. For me, it was love. His explanations are always accessible, understandable, and conversational. And isn't that what you are reading it for anyway? If you can get past the so-bad-they're-sad jokes, and read with a teachable attitude, Exploring Creation With Chemistry is a workable, thorough chemistry text.
Wile's textbook is a very educational, Creation-oriented textbook on chemistry...however, I did find it a bit boring. As far as textbooks go, it's an excellent, educational, well-written book, but it doesn't compare to the other Apologia science textbooks that can make anything interesting.
Great textbook for high school chemistry. Everything is explained very clearly, great study resources are included, and almost all the experiments worked perfectly. This really made me excited to take AP Chemistry.
Clear explanations, conversational style, scientific tid-bits that will amaze and astound you...but the math is still challenging. I am a middle-aged adult studying chemistry for the first time, and this text made it quite do-able.