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Mar 24, 2021 · 1.1: The Scope of Chemistry. Chemistry is the study of matter and the ways in which different forms of matter combine with each other. You study chemistry because it helps you to understand the world around you. Everything you touch or taste or smell is a chemical, and the interactions of these chemicals with each other define our universe.
- Physical and Chemical Changes
Chemical Changes. When exposed to air, an object made of...
- Chemicals Compose Ordinary Things
Inorganic chemistry, historically, focused on minerals and...
- Introductory Chemistry
This Textmap is an introductory chemistry text aimed for a...
- 1.1: Introduction to Chemistry
Chemistry is a very universal and dynamically-changing...
- Physical and Chemical Changes
A free online textbook for a one-semester introductory or preparatory chemistry course. The book covers topics such as atoms, molecules, reactions, energy, acids, bases, and more, with examples and exercises.
- Overview
- The scope of chemistry
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Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with the properties, composition, and structure of elements and compounds, how they can change, and the energy that is released or absorbed when they change.
How are chemistry and biology related?
Chemistry is the study of substances—that is, elements and compounds—while biology is the study of living things. However, these two branches of science meet in the discipline of biochemistry, which studies the substances in living things and how they change within an organism.
chemistry, the science that deals with the properties, composition, and structure of substances (defined as elements and compounds), the transformations they undergo, and the energy that is released or absorbed during these processes. Every substance, whether naturally occurring or artificially produced, consists of one or more of the hundred-odd species of atoms that have been identified as elements. Although these atoms, in turn, are composed of more elementary particles, they are the basic building blocks of chemical substances; there is no quantity of oxygen, mercury, or gold, for example, smaller than an atom of that substance. Chemistry, therefore, is concerned not with the subatomic domain but with the properties of atoms and the laws governing their combinations and how the knowledge of these properties can be used to achieve specific purposes.
The great challenge in chemistry is the development of a coherent explanation of the complex behaviour of materials, why they appear as they do, what gives them their enduring properties, and how interactions among different substances can bring about the formation of new substances and the destruction of old ones. From the earliest attempts to understand the material world in rational terms, chemists have struggled to develop theories of matter that satisfactorily explain both permanence and change. The ordered assembly of indestructible atoms into small and large molecules, or extended networks of intermingled atoms, is generally accepted as the basis of permanence, while the reorganization of atoms or molecules into different arrangements lies behind theories of change. Thus chemistry involves the study of the atomic composition and structural architecture of substances, as well as the varied interactions among substances that can lead to sudden, often violent reactions.
Chemistry also is concerned with the utilization of natural substances and the creation of artificial ones. Cooking, fermentation, glass making, and metallurgy are all chemical processes that date from the beginnings of civilization. Today, vinyl, Teflon, liquid crystals, semiconductors, and superconductors represent the fruits of chemical technology. The 20th century saw dramatic advances in the comprehension of the marvelous and complex chemistry of living organisms, and a molecular interpretation of health and disease holds great promise. Modern chemistry, aided by increasingly sophisticated instruments, studies materials as small as single atoms and as large and complex as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which contains millions of atoms. New substances can even be designed to bear desired characteristics and then synthesized. The rate at which chemical knowledge continues to accumulate is remarkable. Over time more than 8,000,000 different chemical substances, both natural and artificial, have been characterized and produced. The number was less than 500,000 as recently as 1965.
The days are long past when one person could hope to have a detailed knowledge of all areas of chemistry. Those pursuing their interests into specific areas of chemistry communicate with others who share the same interests. Over time a group of chemists with specialized research interests become the founding members of an area of specialization. Th...
Chemistry is the science of substances, their properties, structure, and transformations. Learn about the history, branches, and applications of chemistry from Britannica, a trusted source of information.
Learn chemistry with videos, articles, and exercises by topic. Explore atoms, compounds, ions, reactions, equilibrium, acids, bases, thermodynamics, kinetics, and more.
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Learn the basics of chemistry with this online course from Duke University. Topics include matter, energy, stoichiometry, periodic table, nomenclature, and problem solving.
