Chemistry: Structure and Dynamics, 5^th Edition emphasises deep understanding rather than comprehensive coverage along with a focus on the development of inquiry and reasoning skills. While most mainstream General Chemistry texts offer a breadth of content coverage, the Spencer author team, in contrast, focuses on depth and student preparation for future studies. The fifth edition is revised in keeping with our commitment to the chemical education community and specifically the POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) Project. This text reflects two core principles, first that the concepts that are covered are fundamental building blocks for understanding chemistry and second, that the concepts should be perceived by the students as being directly applicable to their interests and careers. The authors further provide this "core" coverage using 1 of 3 models; data-driven, chemical theories and student understanding, which allows for a more concrete foundation on which students build conceptual understanding.

Dr. James Spencer is a professor of chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College. He has received a number of awards and commendations including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, Bradley R. Dewey Award for Outstanding Scholarship, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association National Award for Teaching. Dr. Spencer was a founding member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, a national organization dedicated to promoting research in all disciplines by undergraduates. He was appointed chair of the ACS Task Force on the General Chemistry Curriculum, served as a member and chair of the Advanced Placement Chemistry Committee and now chairs the Advanced Placement Redesign Panel for Chemistry.