Chemistry is the scientific study of matter. A person professionalized in this science is known as a chemist or chemist. These can consider the amount of space that an object can fill (density), measure the energy of atoms (state of matter), analyze the results of the combination of substances (reactions), among many other interesting things.
Chemistry begins with the study of matter. For thousands of years, chemists have come to understand many different ways of how matter changes and moves through the Universe.
But they are not the only ones to make use of this science. Doctors use it to make medicines that help us when we are sick. The engineers to make electronic devices like your television or your cell phone. Farmers use chemistry to help their crops grow and so we can have food Chemistry WordPress Blog. Chefs use chemistry to cook delicious foods, even your mom does it (consciously or unconsciously) when she cooks.
By understanding chemistry, you can better understand the world around you and how it works. Because everything is matter: your computer, the air you breathe, the water you drink, your lunch, the ground you walk on, the flowers you enjoy, even you are made of matter.
Any object you can see, smell or touch is made of matter… but there are also very small pieces of matter that cannot be seen or touched. Chemists use special equipment to study these little things. According to scientists, all the matter that we can observe constitutes approximately 5% of the Universe. The rest is made of dark matter and energy.
There are two main qualities of matter: it occupies space and it has mass. Even the smallest particles and parts of atoms take up some space. And regarding mass, it is the amount of matter you have. For now, you can think of dough in terms of weight… or you may have been distracted like me thinking about the mass of the gorditas.
It is not necessary for chemistry to tell you that an elephant has much more mass than a butterfly and an atom has less mass than a butterfly. Holding an object will tell you the weight of the object and give you a good idea of its mass compared to other objects.
Although weight gives us a reference to mass, mass and weight are different. Mass is an amount of matter that is the same everywhere in the Universe. One kilogram of gold (Au) will have the same mass on Earth or the Moon. While the weight is based on the gravity of the environment. So that kilogram of gold will weigh more on Earth than on the Moon, because the Earth has a stronger gravity than our beautiful satellite. Since Jupiter is much larger than Earth (with stronger gravitational force), the weight of that gold if we take it to Jupiter will be much greater. The mass will always be the same, here in China and on Jupiter.
The elementary unit of matter is atoms. These are the smallest and most basic units of matter that have the properties of an element. All atoms have the same basic parts (electrons, protons, and neutrons), but they are organized in different ways.
We could say that then atoms are not the smallest parts of matter, and we would be right. But electrons, though, are smaller than atoms and there are other subatomic particles that are even smaller than electrons. These tiny particles do not have the properties of an element.
Elements are pieces of matter where all atoms have the same chemical properties. Elements are made of similar atoms. We want to say that atoms are exactly the same, but that is not entirely true. An element is made up of atoms that have the same number of protons. If you have a batch of atoms and they all have the same number of protons, they are all one element.
For example, if all atoms have four protons, they are beryllium (Be) atoms. Some of these atoms may have four (neutral) electrons. Some atoms can have three electrons, leaving the atom with a positive charge (ions). Those ions are still considered beryllium atoms.
Neutrons work the same way. It can have four neutrons, but it can also have three or five neutrons. Atoms with the same number of protons and different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of an element. Isotopes and ions are still the same element even though they have different numbers of neutrons and electrons. Well, we already went into great detail… let’s beat around the bush.
Chemistry is a broad and deep subject, and is divided into five main areas or branches: analytical, biochemistry, physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Analytical chemistry uses tests to discover the ingredients of a substance, just as it is done in a water analysis laboratory to know what dissolved substances it has or a nutritionist when analyzing foods to know the nutrients they contain and placing seals on the packaging. .
Biochemistry mainly studies chemistry in the body. You can study cancer cells to learn how to cure the disease and also viruses and bacteria to learn about infectious diseases like Covid-19.
Physical chemistry studies the physical properties of molecules: how they move or change. When you bake cookies, the cookies solidify and brown, a physical reaction. One branch refers to living beings and the human body; another branch studies products and materials manufactured in a laboratory.
Inorganic chemistry is the study of inert substances, such as metals, rocks, and other minerals. A scientist might study rock formations to determine how they were made or study the composition of a steel beam to determine its strength.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds, such as cleaners, plastics, food additives, and medicines. It is very important, and Dr. Omar Cortezano Arellano shares with us that it has a lot to do with our daily lives, as you could already imagine, ranging from our clothing to the aspirin that takes away our headaches.
Are you interested in knowing more? Join us in the talk “What is Organic Chemistry, what does it study and what is it for?” in which Dr. Omar will tell us about some molecules that have changed the world thanks to their isolation or preparation to cure diseases and the representative discoveries that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in this field.