CHEMISTRY AND LIFE

What is Chemistry?

Chemistry is the study of matter, energy, and their interactions. Chemists study the composition of substances, their properties, and how they react with each other under varying circumstances. Indeed, chemists work to develop new substances, with properties that help us solve problems faced by society today.

Because chemistry deals with the fundamental structure of matter (such as the structure of the atom,electrons, protons, and neutrons), it overlaps with physics. Because chemistry is involved in the biology of life (for instance, in photosynthesis), it overlaps with biology. Similarly, because geology involves study of the matter the Earth and other bodies in the solar system are made of, geology involves chemistry.

Geochemistry is the study the properties of Earth materials, working to understand how they vary under different pressures and temperatures. Geochemists study the abundances of the chemical elements in minerals, soils, rocks, and ores, as well as in the Earth's hydrosphere andatmosphere. They study how these elements move and change due to processes in the Earth system.

Biogeochemistry is the study of the chemical composition of substances in the natural environment, and how they change based on chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes in the Earth system. Biogeochemists study cycles in the Earth system, such as the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle, to understand the role of these substances in the Earth system.

The origin of the word "chemistry" is not clear. It appears to have evolved from the word "alchemy", which may come from the Arabic word "al-kimia". Alchemy was the practice of trying to change common metals into gold, and attempts to develop other magical compounds that would allow immortality or ultimate wisdom.

What Is the Importance of Chemistry?

Chemistry has a reputation for being a complicated and boring science, but for the most part, that reputation is undeserved. Fireworks and explosions are based on chemistry, so it's definitely not a boring science. If you take classes in chemistry, you'll apply math and logic, which can make studying chemistry a challenge if you are weak in those areas. However, anyone can understand the basics of how things work... and that's the study of chemistry. In a nutshell, the importance of chemistry is that it explains the world around you.

Chemistry Explains...

Cooking
Chemistry explains how food changes as you cook it, how it rots, how to preserve food, how your body uses the food you eat, and how ingredients interact to make food.

Cleaning
Part of the importance of chemistry is it explains how cleaning works. You use chemistry to help decide what cleaner is best for dishes, laundry, yourself, and your home. You use chemistry when you use bleaches and disinfectants and even ordinary soap and water. How do they work? That's chemistry!

Medicine
you need to understand basic chemistry so you can understand how vitamins, supplements, and drugs can help or harm you. Part of the importance of chemistry lies in developing and testing new medical treatments and medicines.

Environmental Issues
Chemistry is at the heart of environmental issues. What makes one chemical a nutrient and another chemical a pollutant? How can you clean up the environment? What processes can produce the things you need without harming the environment?

We're all chemists. We use chemicals every day and perform chemical reactions without thinking much about them. Chemistry is important because everything you do is chemistry! Even your body is made of chemicals. Chemical reactions occur when you breathe, eat, or just sit there reading. All matter is made of chemicals, so the importance of chemistry is that it's the study of everything.

Importance of Taking Chemistry
Everyone can and should understand basic chemistry, but it may be important to take a course in chemistry or even make a career out of it. It's important to understand chemistry if you are studying any of the sciences because all of the sciences involve matter and the interactions between types of matter. Students wanting to become doctors, nurses, physicists, nutritionists, geologists, pharmacists, and (of course) chemists all study chemistry. You might want to make a career of chemistry because chemistry-related jobs are plentiful and high-paying. The importance of chemistry won't be diminished over time, so it will remain a promising career path.