Passage 2

This book is written expressly for students in an attempt to present the material that is most useful and interesting to them. Previous courses in chemistry are not necessary for the understanding of the material, although those students who have had high school chemistry will find that a review of the inorganic section will better enable them to master the organic and biochemistry sections that follow.

The author has felt that in the past there was an improper selection of material from inorganic, organic, and biochemistry in the majority of the textbooks of chemistry for nurses. The tendency has been to develop the inorganic chemistry to such an extent that organic chemistry and biochemistry are covered too briefly. The recent advances in biochemistry and their widespread application to the practice of medicine and nursing have considerably altered the situation. Not only is biochemistry more closely allied to the practical chemistry of medicine and nursing but it is also of more interest to the students. In the author's experience the response to biochemistry has always been more favorable than to the other sections. Within the brief period allotted to chemistry, therefore, the sections on inorganic, organic, and biochemistry should be so arranged that a good share of the time is spent in the study of biochemistry. This book presents mainly those fundamentals of inorganic and organic chemistry that are necessary for the understanding of the section on biochemistry.

The fundamental points suggested in the Curriculum Guide are included in the book, with some additions in the biochemistry section. The author feels that a study of urine, vitamins, nutrition, and hormones is so obviously a part of biochemistry that at least the fundamentals should be included in this course.

The book has been planned in such a way that it may be adapted to various courses in chemistry. The material suggested by the Curriculum Guide is covered in the first nineteen chapters and may be used in accelerated courses or where minimum time is allotted to chemistry. When the time allotted to the course is sixty to ninety hours the entire contents of the book may be used to advantage. While the book has been written especially to fit the needs of Schools of Nursing it could readily be applied in instances where students are required to take but one course in chemistry. The apathetic attitude of nonprofessional students toward a course in inorganic chemistry may well be overcome by the proper presentation of material selected from inorganic, organic, and biochemistry.

This piece of writing is ________.

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In the author's experience, the students are most interested in ________.

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Paragraph 4 suggests that one characteristic of this book is its ________.