This "Painless" addition does a great job of explaining the concepts of chemistry. Chemistry is presented in easy-to-understand terminology that will help students understand. Chapters cover the topics of matter, periodic table of the elements, phases of matter, gas laws, mixtures, molecules and compounds, chemical reactions, acids/bases/salts, nuclear reactions, and environmental chemistry.
Every chapter includes textual information that is written to the student, diagrams, illustrations, 'brain ticklers' which review material from the previous section, boxes with vocabulary and important facts, and a summary of the chapter in bulleted format. You even have the option of downloading a free app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android, which includes quizzes and games. The quizzes test over material taken directly from the book, but the games are simply for fun not content related.
Use this 257-page book as a self-study course in the middle school grades, or as a course summary, review, or introduction for chemistry. You could also use this as a supplement to your existing curriculum, to add simpler explanations and fun review, for a 'painless' understanding of the subject. ~ Donna