At a time when U‎.‎S‎.‎ high school students are producing low scores in mathematics and science on international examinations‎,‎ a thorough grounding in physical chemistry should not be considered optional for science undergraduates‎.‎ Based on the author‎'‎s thirty years of teaching‎,‎ Essentials of Physical Chemistry merges coverage of calculus with chemistry and molecular physics in a friendly yet thorough manner‎.‎ Reflecting the latest ACS guidelines‎,‎ the book can be used as a one or two semester course‎,‎ and includes special topics suitable for senior projects‎.‎ The book begins with a math and physics review to ensure all students start on the same level‎,‎ and then discusses the basics of thermodynamics and kinetics with mathematics tuned to a level that stretches students‎'‎ abilities‎.‎ It then provides material for an optional second semester course that shows students how to apply their enhanced mathematical skills in a brief historical development of the quantum mechanics of molecules‎.‎ Emphasizing spectroscopy‎,‎ the text is built on a foundation of quantum chemistry and more mathematical detail and examples‎.‎ It contains sample classroom‎-tested exams to gauge how well students know how to use relevant formulas and to display successful understanding of key concepts‎.‎ * Coupling the development of mathematical skills with chemistry concepts encourages students to learn mathematical derivations * Mini‎-biographies of famous scientists make the presentation more interesting from a "people" point of view * Stating the basic concepts of quantum chemistry in terms of analogies provides a pedagogically useful technique Covering key topics such as the critical point of a van der Waals gas‎,‎ the Michaelis‎-Menten equation‎,‎ and the entropy of mixing‎,‎ this classroom‎-tested text highlights applications across the range of chemistry‎,‎ forensic science‎,‎ pre‎-medical science and chemical engineering‎.‎ In a presentation of fundamental topics held together by clearly established mathematical models‎,‎ the book supplies a quantitative discussion of the merged science of physical chemistry‎.‎