Novare General Chemistry is another successful text by John Mays. Lots of colorful, attractive and intriguing illustrations capture students’ attention and aid in presenting ideas. Enthusiastic and captivating narration gives both the technical information as well as the historical development of ideas. The narration includes examples in everyday life to provide lots of connections for students to place and relate this new knowledge to their own experiences. The author is able to reach a range of students, those seeking basic, general knowledge in chemistry and those seeking a more serious foundation for a future science career. There are plentiful references to topics that a motivated student may pursue in more depth as he chooses. Proper scientific terminology is maintained with clear details of presentation leading to understanding, not just memorizing information…
…some students might find Mays’ approach more challenging. But if lessons are properly taught, the learning experience is more engaging and motivated.
…These books fill a serious gap for homeschoolers for high school science. They are God honoring. They are written with high school students in mind. The concepts are clearly explained, but the language is not dumbed-down…
…Mays maintains a conversational tone in the book so that lectures are not needed, but presents the material more rigorously and more compatible with modern standard science texts than Apologia in using and explaining S.I. units, using modern terms like ‘quanta,’ and using the more correct, rigorous terminology like ‘energy’ rather than ‘heat.’ Overall, the big picture presented is so much more complete than what Apologia presents since it includes modern developments and proper, accepted scientific terminology. Exact vocabulary and terminology are an important aspect of science, which can be especially beneficial if a student is not encountering this exact vocabulary in their home setting…
Novare beautifully lays out a solid accounting of modern science from a Christian perspective…[their books] interact with real world data and boldly discuss mainline scientific theory within the structure of a Christian world-and-life view. I wish I had these textbooks as a child, and am relieved that I can use them to teach my own.
The strength of the text book throughout is the conversational and first person narrative…essential equations are not left to stand on their own – derivations are explained and relationships are well detailed. I think it is immensely helpful to show how seemingly unrelated principles (gravitational forces and electrical forces) share some common mathematical principles. The text takes time to show how all the pieces of fit together rather than dumping them all onto the dining room table and letting the student sort it all out. I really appreciate the overall format. Too often (or at least my memory seems to recall) scientific texts emphasize compartmentalization of the topics which, to my way of thinking keeps all the concepts separate and unfamiliar. The text you have written maintains a forward momentum without losing touch with the concepts that have just been presented.