Includes bibliographical references and index.

Symmetry elements and operations -- More symmetry operations and products of operations -- The point groups used with molecules -- Point group representations, matrices and basis sets -- Reducible and irreducible representations -- Applications in vibrational spectroscopy -- Symmetry in chemical bonding -- Appendix 1: H₂O models for identifying the results of symmetry operation products -- Appendix 2: Assignment of chiral centre handedness using Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules -- Appendix 3: Model of a tetrahedron and the related cube -- Appendix 4: Model of an octahedron -- Appendix 5: Matrices and determinants -- Appendix 6: The mathematical background to infrared selection rules -- Appendix 7: The Franck-Condon principle -- Appendix 8: Classical treatment of Stokes/anti-Stokes absorption -- Appendix 9: The atomic orbitals of hydrogen -- Appendix 10: The origin of chemical bonding+₂ -- Appendix 11: H₂O molecular orbital calculation in C₂[subscript v] symmetry -- Appendix 12: Character tables.

An accessible introduction to symmetry and spectroscopy, this text examines symmetry in nature and chemistry, point groups, the interaction of light with molecules, electronic spectra of transition metal complexes with a final chapter on symmetry and the spectra of complexes.