INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY

hat Is Chemistry?When you hear the word 'chemistry,' there are likely certain images that come to mind- molecules, test tubes, the periodic table, maybe even some cool explosions in a movie.But chemistry is so much more than these things! In fact, chemistry is known as the centralscience because it touches all other natural sciences, like biology, physics, geology, and more.Chemistryis a physical science, and it is the study of the properties of and interactions between matter and energy. In other words, chemistry is a way to study the properties, characteristics, and physical and chemical changes of matter.Matteris pretty important because it's anything that has mass and takes up space - basically, all of the 'stuff' that makes up our world! Chemists studyatoms, which are the basic building blocks of matter, as well interactions between atoms.They also studysubatomic particles, which are smaller than atoms, and these include things like protons, neutrons, and electrons. Since everything on Earth is made of matter, and matter is made of atoms, you can see how this creates the overlap between chemistry and other sciences. You can't have 'stuff' tostudy if you don't have 'stuff' in the first place. In other words, matter really matters!Chemistry Has a Rich HistoryYour understanding of chemistry may be shiny and new, but chemistry itself has been around for a very long time. Basic chemistry dates back to ancient times and is described as originating from alchemists who were very thorough scientists. They ran experiments and recorded their results, which is a key component of good science.Modern chemistry dates back to the 17th century, and credited as one of the founders of this scientific field is Robert Boyle. Boyle is one of the developers of thescientific method, which is anorganized set of steps to gain knowledge and answer questions. Boyle believed in rigorous, tested experimentation and was a strong advocate of proving scientific theories before calling them 'truths.'Though not always considered a formal science, chemistry has been performed throughout human history. People have been fermenting food and drink for centuries. Extracting metal from ores is another form of 'natural' chemistry, as is making glass, soap, and extracting plant components for medicinal purposes. Archaeologists find pottery at their dig sites, and both the pots and the glazes used to protect them come from knowledge of chemistry as well.Branches of ChemistryAs you can see, chemistry exists whether we define it or not. And because an understanding of chemistry is so vital in so many other scientific fields, there are several different branches of chemistry that exist. In fact, chemistry is often studied so thatscientists can better understand their own field.An exhaustive list of the different branches of chemistry would be, well, exhausting to go through. We only have so much time in this lesson, so let's focus on some of the major ones to give you an idea of how chemistry plays a role as a natural science.Analytical chemistryis a field thatis just what it sounds like: the analysis of matter. Analytical chemists try to gain information and knowledge about the properties, composition, and structure of different materials and substances in order to better understand them.Applied chemistryis a neat field because it is the application of chemistry for practical purposes. You know all those different shampoos at the store? Some arefor colored hair, some for dry/damaged hair, and others are for thin hair. Applied chemistry is specifically used to solve problems - in this case, chemistry is used to have different effects on different hair types.