AP Chemistry Summer Reading List

You may choose one of the following books to read and write a 2-3 page paper discussing the items included at the end of the list.

  • Napoleon’s Buttons: 17 molecules that changed history by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson, Copyright 2003. ISBN# 978-1-58542-331-6

Summary:Napoleon's Buttonsis the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.

  • The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. Copyright 2010. ISBN# 978-0316051644

Summary: Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery--from the Big Bang through the end of time.

  • The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier. Copyright 2007. ISBN# 978-0618242955

Summary:In this exuberant book, the best-selling author Natalie Angier distills the scientific canon to the absolute essentials, delivering an entertaining and inspiring one-stop science education. Angier interviewed a host of scientists, posing the simple question “What do you wish everyone knew about your field?” The Canon provides their answers, taking readers on a joyride through the fascinating fundamentals of the incredible world around us and revealing how they are relevant to us every day. Angier proves a rabble-rousing, wisecracking, deeply committed tour guide in her irresistible exploration of the scientific process and the basic concepts of physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, cellular and molecular biology, geology, and astronomy. Even science-phobes will find her passion infectious as she strives "to make the invisible visible, the distant neighborly, the ineffable affable."

  • The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things by Cathy Cobb. Copyright 2005. ISBN# 978-1591022312

Summary:This book challenges the perception of chemistry as too difficult to bother with and too clinical to be any fun. From the fascination of fall foliage and fireworks, to the functioning of smoke detectors and computers, to the fundamentals of digestion (as when good pizza goes bad!), the authors illustrate the concepts of chemistry in terms of everyday experience, using familiar materials.The authors begin with a bang—a colorful bottle rocket assembled from common objects you find in the garage—and then present the principles of chemistry using household chemicals and friendly, nontechnical language. They guide the reader through the basics of atomic structure, the nature of molecular bonds, and the vibrant universe of chemical reactions. Using analogy and example to illuminate essential concepts such as thermodynamics, photochemistry, electrochemistry, and chemical equilibrium, they explain the whys and wherefores of chemical reactions. Hands-on demonstrations, selected for their ease of execution and relevance, illustrate basic principles, and lively commentaries emphasize the fun and fascination of learning about chemistry.This delightful and richly informative book amply proves that chemistry can appeal to our intuition, logic, and—if we’re willing to get down and dirty—our sense of enjoyment too.

  • The Chemistry of Spaceby David E. Newton, PhD. Copyright 2007. ISBN# 978-0816052745

Summary:Offers an overview of the information about the solar system, the planets, comets and meteors, and other features of our universe. Beginning with an explanation of the origin of the universe, this book discusses various developments in our understanding of the chemical composition and chemical changes within stars, comets and meteors.

Astrobiology: A Brief Introductionby Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross. Copyright 2011. ISBN# 978-1421400969

Summary: Informed by new planetary discoveries and the findings from recent robotic missions to Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, scientists are rapidly replacing centuries of speculation about potential extraterrestrial habitats with real knowledge about the possibility of life outside our own biosphere―if it exists, and where. This second edition of Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross’s widely acclaimed text incorporates the latest research in astrobiology to bring readers the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and engaging introduction to the field available.Plaxco and Gross expand their examination of the origin of chemical elements, the developments that made the Universe habitable, and how life continues to be sustained. They discuss in great detail the formation of the first galaxies and stars, the diverse chemistry of the primordial planet, the origins of metabolism, the evolution of complex organisms, and the feedback regulation of Earth's climate. They also explore life in extreme habitats, potential extraterrestrial habitats, and the current status of the search for extraterrestrial life.Weaving together the relevant threads of astronomy, geology, chemistry, biophysics, and microbiology, this broadly accessible introductory text captures the excitement, controversy, and progress of the dynamic young field of astrobiology.

  • Oxygen: The Molecule That Made the Worldby Nick Lane. Copyright 2004. ISBN# 978-0198607830

Summary:In Oxygen, Nick Lane takes the reader on an enthralling journey as he unravels the unexpected ways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. He shows how oxygen underpins the origin of biological complexity, the birth of photosynthesis, the sudden evolution of animals, the need for two sexes, the accelerated aging of cloned animals like Dolly the sheep, and the surprisingly long lives of bats and birds. Drawing on this grand evolutionary canvas, Oxygen offers fresh perspectives on our own lives and deaths, explaining modern killer diseases, why we age, and what we can do about it. Advancing revelatory new ideas, following chains of evidence, the book ranges through many disciplines, from environmental sciences to molecular medicine. The result is a captivating vision of contemporary science and a humane synthesis of our place in nature. This remarkable book will redefine the way we think about the world.

  • Stellar Alchemy: The Celestial Origin of Atoms by Michel Cassé and Stephen Lyle. Copyright 2003. ISBN# 978-0521821827

Summary:Why do the stars shine? What messages can we read in the light they send to us from the depths of the night? Nuclear astrophysics is a fascinating discipline, and enables connections to be made between atoms, stars, and human beings. Through modern astronomy, scientists have managed to unravel the full history of the chemical elements, and understand how they originated and evolved into all the elements that compose our surroundings today. The transformation of metals into gold, something once dreamed of by alchemists, is a process commonly occurring in the cores of massive stars. But the most exciting revelation is the intimate connection that humanity has with the debris of exploded stars.

  • The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg by Robert P. Crease. Copyright 2008. ISBN# 978-0393062045

Summary: While we may be familiar with some of science’s greatest equations, we may not know that each and every equation emerged not in “Eureka!” moments but in years of cultural developments and scientific knowledge. With vignettes full of humor, drama, and eccentricity, philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease shares the stories behind ten of history’s greatest equations, from the “first equation,” 1 + 1 = 2, which promises a rational, well-ordered world, to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which reveals the limitations of human knowledge. For every equation, Crease provides a brief account of who discovered it, what dissatisfactions lay behind its discovery, and what the equation says about the nature of our world.

  • To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Scienceby Steven Weinberg. Copyright 2015. ISBN# 978-0062346667

Summary:In this rich, irreverent, and compelling history, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg takes us across centuries from ancient Miletus to medieval Baghdad and Oxford, from Plato’s Academy and the Museum of Alexandria to the cathedral school of Chartres and the Royal Society of London. He shows that the scientists of ancient and medieval times not only did not understand what we understand about the world—they did not understand what there is to understand, or how to understand it. Yet over the centuries, through the struggle to solve such mysteries as the curious backward movement of the planets and the rise and fall of the tides, the modern discipline of science eventually emerged. Along the way, Weinberg examines historic clashes and collaborations between science and the competing spheres of religion, technology, poetry, mathematics, and philosophy.

  • The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America by Steven Johnson. Copyright 2009. ISBN# 978-1594484018

Summary: InThe Invention of Air, national bestselling author Steven Johnson tells the fascinating story of Joseph Priestley—scientist and theologian, protégé of Benjamin Franklin, friend of Thomas Jefferson—an eighteenth-century radical thinker who played pivotal roles in the invention of ecosystem science, the discovery of oxygen, the uses of oxygen, scientific experimentation, the founding of the Unitarian Church, and the intellectual development of the United States. As he did so masterfully inThe Ghost Map, Steven Johnson uses a dramatic historical story to explore themes that have long engaged him: innovative strategies, intellectual models, and the way new ideas emerge and spread, and the environments that foster these.

  1. After selecting a book and reading it, please submit the following in a well-written paper:
  1. Introductory paragraph, including a thesis or purpose for the book
  2. Evidence of the author’s credibility and background
  3. What is the author’s tone (attitude toward the subject) and who is the intended audience?
  4. Connection to prior knowledge (at least five things)
  5. Give at least 5 ways the book relates to relevant, real-world issues.
  6. What further study would you like to pursue after reading this book? To whom would you recommend it?
  7. In what ways is this book now considered “outdated?” Give at least two descriptive examples to support your claim.
  8. Summary paragraph that includes what you feel is the ”quotation of the book.”
  9. Bibliography of any sources in addition to this book written in proper MLA format:

Last name, first name. Book Title. Publishing Place: Publisher, Year of Publication.

  1. This should be emailed to me by September 9, 2016. If you do not hear back from me within 24 hours of submission, this indicates that your email did not go through, so it may be wise to submit it a few days prior to the due date. My email address is