This text provides a pared-down but thorough approach that is perfectly suited to one-semester survey courses in general, organic, and biological chemistry. Instructors find Stoker's pedagogical approach--including problem sets and learning objectives for each section, as well as cumulative practice quizzes at the ends of chapters--easy to apply and use. "Chemical Portraits" profile chemical elements in the periodic table and explain their importance in students' everyday lives, offering students challenging questions linked to resources on the student web site. The text's focus on biochemistry is particularly helpful to the many students for whom this subject matter is highly applicable to their careers. The biochemistry chapters in the text were written first, with the general and organic chapters written after to support the biochemistry presentation.