1.1 Introduction of Chemistry & its Branches
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Introduction:
Science:
The knowledge which helps us in understanding our surroundings and some basic scientific concepts of the world is known as Science.
It is defined as; "The knowledge which is gained from observations and experiments is known as Science."
Chemistry:
"The scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of the chemical elements and the compounds they form is called chemistry." In other words, we can say that "The composition, structure, properties, and reactions of a substance is known as chemistry."
The development of science and technology has provided us a lot of facilities in daily life. Imagine the role and importance of petrochemical products, medicines, and drugs, soap, detergents, paper, plastics, paints and pigments, insecticides, pesticides which all are the fruit of the efforts of chemists. The development of the chemical industry has also generated toxic wastes, contaminated water, and polluted air around us. On the other hand, chemistry also provides knowledge and techniques to improve our health and environment and to explore and conserve natural resources.
Branches of Chemistry:
Traditionally, chemistry has been divided into the following main subdisciplines:
- Physical Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Industrial Chemistry
- Nuclear Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
Physical chemistry
"The branch of chemistry that deals with the relationship between the composition and physical properties of matter along with the changes in them are known as Physical Chemistry."
In this branch of chemistry, we read the properties such as the structure of atoms or formation of molecules, the behavior of gases, liquids, and solids, and the study of the effect of temperature or radiation on matter.
Organic chemistry
"Organic chemistry deals with the study of covalent compounds of carbon and hydrogen (which are known as hydrocarbons) and their derivatives."
Organic chemists are the ones who devise experimental methods to isolate or synthesize new materials and study their properties and also do the study on naturally occurring compounds. would you like to be an organic chemist in the future the branches of organic chemistry involve many different disciplines including the study of ketones aldehydes hydrocarbons and alcohols in organic chemistry would you like to know how our earth forms gold this is what inorganic chemists do
Inorganic chemistry
"Inorganic chemistry deals with elements and compounds other than carbon or hydrocarbons (hydrocarbons) and their derivatives."
It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry such as glass, cement, ceramics, and metallurgy (extraction of metals from ores). It covers all materials that are not organic and are termed as nonliving substances those compounds that do not contain carbon-hydrogen bond compounds studied by inorganic chemists include crystal structures minerals metals catalysts and most elements on the periodic table.
Biochemistry
"The branch of chemistry in which we study of chemical processes in substances found within living organisms is called biochemistry."
Everything in the body is made up of atoms and molecules of different chemical compounds like carbon oxygen and hydrogen this is what we study in biochemistry. We study the mechanism of metabolism and photosynthesis etc.
Biochemistry can further be divided into interesting disciplines like:
Enzymology is the study of enzymes.
Endocrinology is the study of hormones.
Clinical biochemistry is the study of diseases.
Molecular biochemistry is the study of biomolecules and their functions.
Industrial chemistry
Industrial chemistry is the branch of chemistry that applies chemical and physical processes towards the transformation of raw materials into products that are of benefit to humanity. It can be also defined as:
"The branch of chemistry in which we synthesize various chemical compounds on Industrial scale is known as Industrial chemistry."
It deals with the manufacturing of basic chemicals such as oxygen, chlorine, ammonia, caustic soda, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. These chemicals provide the raw materials for many other industries such as fertilizers, soap, textiles, agricultural products, paints, and paper, etc.
Environmental chemistry
"The branch of chemistry in which we deal with the study of components of our environment and effect of the human activities on them is known as Environmental chemistry."
Environmental chemistry is related to other branches like biology, geology, ecology, soil, and water. The knowledge of chemical processes taking place in the environment is necessary for its improvement and protection against pollution and other harmful activities.
Nuclear chemistry
"The branch of chemistry that deals with the radioactivity, nuclear processes and properties is called Nuclear chemistry."
The main concern of this branch is atomic energy and its uses in daily life. It also includes the study of the chemical effects resulting from the absorption of radiation within animals, plants, and other materials.
Applications: It has vast applications in medical treatment (radiotherapy), preservation of food, and generation of electrical power through nuclear reactors, etc.
Analytical chemistry
- qualitative analysis
- quantitative analysis
The qualitative analysis employs methods and measurements to help determine the components of substances.
Quantitative analysis on the other hand helps to identify how much of each component is present in a substance.
Both types of analysis can be used to provide important information about an unidentified sample and help to identify what the sample is.
Which of these branches interest you the most do tell us in the comments below you.
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