THE AMAZING CHEMISTRY IN YOUR HOME

A room-by-room house tour, showing that chemical substances and reactions are everywhere and essential.

Prefaced by a chatty periodic table of elements, this Czech import opens in a bedroom, where a racially diverse quartet of young people are directly interacting with oxygen and other atmospheric gases, a toy made from neodymium magnets, a silicon-dependent cell phone, and a sampling of other common items. After identifying the elements in play there, Karpíšková and Vlach demonstrate in general terms how changes in temperature affect molecular bonds before moving to a kitchen to discuss the processes of mold, rot, fat, and digestion. The continuing tour turns out to be distinctly hit or miss; the authors are specific on the essential components in shampoo in the bathroom and in colored fireworks on the porch, but they skip describing how electric and internal combustion motors function (in the garage), explaining only how fuel cells work. Nor are their scattered suggestions for young experimenters always entirely safe, including tasting cellophane and dripping orange juice on a balloon to make it pop, without donning protective eyewear. They also include more than a few questionable opinions, simplistically recommending long-lasting metal tableware over the biodegradable sort for environmental reasons and warm water over cold in the laundry.

Eye-opening, but superficial and occasionally iffy.