If organic chemistry is defined as the chemistry of hydrocarbon compounds and their
WHAT IS derivatives, inorganic chemistry can be described broadly as the chemistry of "every-
The theories of atomic and molecular structure depend on quantum mechanics to describe
atoms and molecules in mathematical terms. Although the details of quantum
mechanics require considerable mathematical sophistication, it is possible to understand
the principles involved with only a moderate amount of mathematics. This chapter
presents the fundamentals needed to explain atomic and molecular structures in
qualitative or semiquantitative terms.