Chemistry: An Introduction

Chapter 1

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 What is Science?

• The study of our environment, trying to

understand how and why things work,
using logic and experimentation.
• Is accumulated and systematized learning.
• Is a combination of both processes and
products.

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 Processes and Product

• Processes
are the scientific attitudes and scientific
methods of inquiry.
• Products
are the accumulated and systematized
bodies of knowledge.

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 What is Technology?

• Is applied science
• comes from the word “techo” the greek
word for art and skill.
• Greek origin of technology technologia
meaning “systematic treatment”.

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Why is Chemistry Important?
• In Our Daily Lives
– New Materials
– New Pharmaceuticals
– New Energy Sources
– Food Supplies
– Can you think of others?

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Chemistry deals with the natural
world.

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Source: Terry Donnelly/Stone/Getty Images
Why is Chemistry Important?
• In Your Education
– Help you learn to Gather and Organize
Information
• Qualitative and Quantitative
– Help you learn to find Patterns in Information
– Help you learn to Analyze Complex Systems
– Help you develop skills to Predict Future
Events based on Patterns of Behavior
– Help you develop Problem-Solving Skills
• Systematic Approach
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 What is Chemistry?

• The science that deals with the materials

of the universe and the changes these
materials undergo.
• The Central Science
– Understanding most other fields of science
requires an understanding of Chemistry
• Is considered as one of the natural sciences.

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Categories of Natural Sciences

• Physical Science
concerned with the materials in our
world and in the entire universe and how
energy affects these materials (study of
matter and energy)
• Biological Science
involved the study of life forms

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 Major Areas of Chemistry
• Biochemistry
study of life at molecular level and the
processes associated with life.
• Organic chemistry
study of matter that is composed
principally of carbon and hydrogen.
• Inorganic chemistry
study of matter that consists of all
elements other than carbon and hydrogen.
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• Analytical chemistry
involves the analysis of matter to
determine its composition and the quality of
each kind of matter that is present.
• Physical chemistry
attempts to explain the way in which
matter behave.
• Colloid chemistry
study of the behavior of particles of matter
that are larger than ordinary molecules but
smaller than objects that can be seen with
the best optical microscope. 11
• Chemical Engineering
a combination of chemistry and
engineering that improves or develops
industrial processes for making commercial
amounts of desirable chemicals that have
been produced only in small quantities or in
laboratory.
• Nuclear chemistry
study of radioactivity, the atomic nucleus
and nuclear reactions and the development
of applications for radioactive isotopes in
medicine and industry. 12
• Electrochemistry
study of the chemical reactions that are
produce an electric current; provides
method for chemical analysis and the
production of chemicals by electrical
means.

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 Year
3500 B.C. People learned to make bronze
400 B.C. Democritus proposed the atomos, uncuttable or indivisible.
600 A.D. Alchemy began to spread from Egypt to Arabian Peninsula and
reached western Europe in the 1100’s
1600’s Robert Boyle taught that theories must be supported by careful
experiments.
Early Georg Ernst Stahl developed the phlogiston theory.
1700’s
1750’s Joseph Black identified carbon dioxide.
1766’s Henry Cavendish identified hydrogen as an element.
1770’s Carl Scheele and Joseph Priesley discovered oxygen.
Late 1770’s Antoine Lavoiser stated the law of conservation of mass.

1803 John Dalton proposed his atomic theory.

1811 Amedeo Avogadro suggested that equal volumes of all gases at the
same temperature and pressure contain equal number of particles.14
(avogardo’s law)
 Year
Early 1820’s Jons J. Berzalius calculated accurate atomic weights for a number of
elements.
1828 Friedrich Wohler made the first synthetic organic substance from
inorganic compounds, urea.
1856 Sir William H. Perkin made the first synthetic dye
1856 Dmitri Mendeleev and Julius Lothar Meyer discovered the periodic table
and periodic law.
1910 Fritz Haber patented a process to produce synthetic ammonia.
1913 Niels Bohr proposed his model of the atom.
1916 Gilbert N. Lewis described electron bonding between atoms. (Lewis-Dot
diagram).
Early 1980’s Chemists began working to develop a solar-powered device that
produces hydrogen fuel by means of the chemical breakdown of water.
1985 Richard Smalley, Robert Curl and Harold Kroto discover
buckyminsterfullerene, a ball-shaped allotrope of carbon.
1995 Physicists at the University of Colorado created the super cold atoms, the
Bose-Einstein condensate, by cooling the gaseous Rubidium atoms15to
about 1.7 x 10-7K.
 The Scientific Method

• A process of studying natural phenomena

that involves making observations, forming
laws and theories, and testing theories by
experimentation

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Solving Problems Using a Scientific Method

• Define the Problem

• Gather Information
Facts
Observations
• Gathering Data
• Observation are made to gather data or
information related to the problem.

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• Qualitative
 consisting of general observations
about the system.
 a data expressed in words or
images, obtained from interviews,
recorded observations, group
discussions (primary), or from
documents, pictures and material
objects (secondary).

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• Quantitative
 comprising the numbers obtained by
various measurements of the
system.
 a data expressed in numbers,
obtained from conducting survey
(primary), or accessing existing
databases (secondary).

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• Formulating Hypothesis
• make a wise or educated guess of the
solution to the problem based on the
gathered data or facts
• Testing Hypothesis
• the hypothesis is tested by
experimentation to establish its
validity.

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• Formulating a Theory
• after a hypothesis has been tested many
times and found to be true again and
again, a theory is formulated
• usually a theory explains what has been
observed and is also used to predict the
results of new experiments.
• a theory is different from a law. A law is
a relationship between cause and effect.
It is a statement of what occurs in nature
and proven to be always true based on
observation and experiment.
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The launch
of the space
shuttle gives
clear
indications
that
chemical
reactions
are
occurring.

Source:
NASA
 The Scientific Method
• Repeat the process until we get a well-
tested explanation
• Theory  a set of assumptions put forth
to explain some aspect of the observed
behavior of matter
– May need to be modified or discarded as new
information (observations) becomes known

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 The Scientific Method
• While Experimenting we may Observe the
Same Behavior all the time, and therefore
be able to Predict this Behavior will Always
Occur in the Future
• Law  a generally observed behavior
– Without explanation as to why the behavior
occurs!

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The Difference Between a Theory and a
Law

• Laws predict what will happen

• Theories explain why something

happens
– Which will also allow you to predict what
will happen!

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Figure 1.1:
The various
parts of the
scientific
method.
 The Best Approach to Learning
Chemistry
• Learn the Vocabulary of Chemistry
– Definitions of Terms
– How Common Vocabulary is Applied to Chemistry
• Memorize Important Information
– Names, Formulas and Charges of Polyatomic Ions
– Solubility Rules
• Learn and Practice Processes
– Systematic Names and Formulas
– Dimensional Analysis
• Do the Questions and Exercises at the End of the
Chapter to Test your Understanding and help you
See the Patterns

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 Practice scientific investigation
in the following situation

• Problem: You want to choose a firearm

that is best for you to used.
• Gathering data
• Hypothesis
• Testing hypothesis
• Generalization

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 Scientific Attitudes
• Curiosity
• always try to seek, inquire, and
discover.
• Determination
• Be persistent in your endeavors. Be
firm and self-confident.
• Open-mindedness
• open yourself to new ideas. Do not be
one-sided.
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• Acceptance of failure
• consider failure as a step toward
success because it gives you
additional scientific information on
what to avoid. Failure is a part of the
continuum of research.
• Objectivity
• Do not be influenced by anything but
pertinent physical observations.
• Humility
• You should not be arrogant.
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• Skepticism
• do not accept things blindly without
questioning. Develop the doubting
attitude unless presented with reliable
data.
• Patience
• wait calmly for the result of the
investigation since most scientific
studies take time.

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