Steven S. Zumdahl earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Wheaton College (IL) and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has been a faculty member at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Parkland College (IL), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) where he is Professor Emeritus. He has received numerous awards including the National Catalyst Award for Excellence in Chemical Education, the University of Illinois Teaching Award, the UIUC Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching, UIUC Liberal Arts and Sciences Advising Award, and the School of Chemical Sciences Teaching award (five times). He is the author of several chemistry textbooks. In his leisure time he enjoys traveling and collecting classic cars.

The Study Guide is a comprehensive self-study aid for students containing alternative strategies for solving problems, supplemental explanations for the most difficult material, and self-tests. There are approximately 400 worked examples and 1200 practice problems (with answers) designed to give students mastery and confidence with the concepts covererd in the text.