Chemistry affects every area of our lives. Ever wondered why onions make you cry or ice floats on water? Onions make you cry because onions produce a chemical irritant that stimulates the tear glands in the eyes so they release tears. Ice floats on water because it is less dense than water. Many such questions are answered by the science of chemistry.
In this lesson, we will talk about
Chemistry is a branch of science that studies what everything is made of and how things work. It is the study of the materials that make up our bodies and everything in the world around us. Scientists who specialize in chemistry are called chemists.
Chemistry affects nearly everything we see and every action we take. Chemistry explains why a cake rises in the oven, how we digest food and convert it into energy, how gasoline makes a car engine run, how fireworks get their color, etc. Chemistry touches every area of our lives. Right from the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the medicines we take, and the products we use at home - everything is a product of chemistry.
Chemistry looks at the world at two levels - macroscopic and microscopic.
In the above illustration, at a macroscopic level, we see water in the ocean, icebergs, and air. It exists in three different forms, solid, liquid, and gas. At a microscopic level, chemists will study why water exists in these three different forms, what are the properties of each form and how one form is different from the other forms. Chemists, first observe and do experiments at a macroscopic level, and then give explanations that are microscopic in nature.
For example, when we see the rusted parts of a bicycle or iron pole, we see a physical appearance change. This is the macroscopic level. When we tend to find out what is going on inside that changes the iron into rust when it is exposed to oxygen and water in the air, we study the microscopic information about rusting.
The study of modern chemistry has many branches, but it can be broadly broken down into five main areas of study. These are discussed below.
The branch of chemistry deals with the relations between the physical properties of substances and their chemical composition and transformations. It focuses on analyzing materials, developing methods to test and characterize the properties of materials, developing theories about these properties, and discovering the potential use of the materials. It studies things such as the rates of chemical reactions, the energy transfers that occur in reactions, or the physical structure of materials at the molecular level.
It is a branch of chemistry that involves the study of properties, structure, reactions, and compositions of substances containing carbon and hydrogen also called organic compounds. Carbon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and is capable of forming a tremendously vast number of chemicals. Organic compounds form the basis of all life on Earth. There are millions of organic compounds that can be seen every day in the form of plastics, petroleum, fibers, clothing, food, and medications.
It is the opposite of organic chemistry. It is the study of the formation, synthesis, and properties of chemicals that do not contain carbon. Inorganic chemicals are generally found in rocks and minerals. Examples of inorganic compounds include sodium chloride, sulfuric acid, and silicon dioxide.
It is the study of the composition of a material. It uses complex instruments to separate, identify, and quantify unknown components of a chemical. For example, determining cholesterol or hemoglobin in the blood.
It is the study of chemical substances and processes that occur in living things. It brings together biology and chemistry. It deals with the chemistry of life. Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are the main types of biological substances studied in biochemistry. For example, studying cellular processes to understand disease states so better treatment can be developed.
The study of modern chemistry can be split into two types of research - pure and applied.
Pure chemistry focuses on studying something for purely knowledge gain. It answers basic questions, such as "how do gases behave?" This is primarily done to advance mankind's understanding of chemistry. For example, studying the properties of oxygen, the molecular structure of cotton or silk fibers, etc.
Applied chemistry focuses on using existing knowledge of the principles and theories of chemistry to answer a specific question or solve a real-world problem. For example, drawing on the knowledge of natural oil and gas to find ways to better fuel efficiency, less wear and tear, and fewer emissions.
Pure chemistry which looks at the 'how', 'what', and 'why' of things, can inform applied chemistry, which is the application of our chemistry knowledge. In fact, without the knowledge gained from pure chemistry, we might not have many developments that have come from applied chemistry.
