Scribd
Upload
441 views12 pages

Introduction To Chemistry

Chemistry can be understood from different perspectives. It is the central science that interfaces with practically all other areas of science and human endeavor. At its most fundamental level, chemistry can be organized into dynamics, energetics, and composition/structure. Chemistry is important in everyday life because many observable changes are chemical reactions, and everything that exists is made of chemicals, including humans, food, drugs, and the environment. There are several branches of chemistry including organic, inorganic, physical, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry.

Uploaded by

Richard Kyle
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
441 views12 pages

Introduction To Chemistry

Chemistry can be understood from different perspectives. It is the central science that interfaces with practically all other areas of science and human endeavor. At its most fundamental level, chemistry can be organized into dynamics, energetics, and composition/structure. Chemistry is important in everyday life because many observable changes are chemical reactions, and everything that exists is made of chemicals, including humans, food, drugs, and the environment. There are several branches of chemistry including organic, inorganic, physical, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry.

Uploaded by

Richard Kyle
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY

Do you remember the story about the group of blind men who encountered an
elephant? Each one moved his hands over a different part of the elephant's body—
the trunk, an ear, or a leg— and came up with an entirely different description of the
beast.
Chemistry can similarly be approached in different ways, each yielding a different,
valid, (and yet hopelessly incomplete) view of the subject.
So just what is chemistry?

Chemistry is such a broad subject and one so full of detail that it is easy for a
newcomer to find it somewhat overwhelming, if not intimidating.

The best way around this is to look at Chemistry from a variety of viewpoints:
➢ What’s the importance of chemistry in our daily lives?
➢ How Chemistry relates to other sciences and to the world in general
➢ What are some of the fundamental concepts that extend throughout
Chemistry?
Chemistry: The Central Science
The real importance of Chemistry is that it
serves as the interface to practically all of
the other sciences, as well as to many other
areas of human endeavor. For this reason,
Chemistry is often said (at least by chemists!)
to be the "central science
At the most fundamental level, chemistry can be organized along
the lines shown here.
Dynamics - refers to the details of that rearrangements of
atoms that occur during chemical change, and that strongly
affect the rate at which change occurs.

Energetics - refers to the thermodynamics of chemical


change, relating to the uptake or release of heat. More
importantly, this aspect of chemistry controls the direction in
which change occurs, and the mixture of substances that
results.
Composition and structure
➢ define the substances that are results of chemical
change. Structure refers specifically to the relative
arrangements of the atoms in space. The extent to
which a given structure can persist is itself
determined by energetics and dynamics.
Importance of Chemistry
Chemistry is important in everyday life because:
• Many of the changes you observe in the world around you are
caused by chemical reactions.
• Knowing some chemistry can help you make day-to-day decisions
that affect your life.
• Everything is made of chemicals. You are made of chemicals. So is
your dog. So is your desk. So is the sun. Drugs are chemicals. Food
is made from chemicals.
• Understanding basic chemistry is essential for understanding the
effects of chemicals on the environment.
• Chemistry concepts are important in other disciplines. It's key to
cooking, biology, physics, and astronomy.
Branches of Chemistry
1. Organic Chemistry – the study of the compounds of carbon.
- important to the petrochemical,
pharmaceutical and textile industries.
2. Inorganic Chemistry – the study of chemical elements and
their compounds except carbon.

3. Physical Chemistry – deals with the relations between the


physical properties of substances and
their chemical formulations along with
their changes.
4. Biochemistry – is concerned with the composition and
chemical functions that occur in the
formation of living species.

5. Analytical Chemistry – deals mostly with the composition of


substances. It seeks to improve
means of measuring chemical
composition of natural and artificial
materials.

You might also like