Chemistry - this is wrong!

[JellySlice]

If I may just have a little boast:

Y7 ds has just spotted an error in his textbook:

[PickAChew]

God, it's wrong twice over in that diagram, too.

[tessieandoz]

Is it the name that you think is wrong ?
I cant see anything wrong with the diagram; I must be thick but had to Google . . .
" John L. Odom, BA and MA Chemistry, Pacific Union College (1955)
Answered Nov 10, 2015
Hydrogen Dioxide would be WRONG. It is sometimes called Dihydrogen oxide or dihydrogen monoxide. This is usually done to show people that because something has a chemical name it is not always bad or poisonous."

[JellySlice]

First mistake: substance X has to be oxygen, otherwise substance Y is HO2, which cannot exist. Water is H2O.

Second mistake (and this is the bit I'm particularly chuffed about ds spotting) substance X cannot be monatomic. Free hydrogen and free oxygen are both always diatomic.

Ahh, my child genius

[spinabifidamom]

My knowledge of science is rusty. Perhaps you should talk to the teacher? I’m sure that the textbook publisher will be happy to correct the error.

[MadgeMidgerson]

Textbooks will have been written in extreme haste to capitalise on changing specifications- the gcse and a level ones are typically riddled with them.

KS3 used to be more stable and less prone to this, but hey ho.

Yes this is an error, please tell the teacher who will be mortified, the publisher will either not give a shit or be delighted to release a revised edition for purchase

[Newsername]

That’s really shit. They’ve even used a diagram telling them what each substance is to confuse them! . I’d tell the teacher and contact the publisher.

[JellySlice]

I doubt the teacher will be mortified, I suspect she'll be as proud of one of her students as I am (ds thinks she's the bee's knees). Also, Madge is quite right about the hasty textbooks, which the teacher can do absolutely nothing about.