Chapters 1.1-1.6

1.1Why Study Chemistry?

   Chemistry is central to some understanding

of many areas of study, including health

related fields, agriculture, many engineering

studies, and a very large number of today's

political decisions  about how our taxes

are spent. Be a informed consumer and form a

basic understanding of chemistry. Sharpen your

problem solving skills for your career or your

child rearing years.

1.2 The Nature of Chemistry   

 Chemistry is the science of matter,

it's composition, and the changes in the

composition of matter. Matter is

anything that occupies space and has

mass.

1.3 The Process of Chemistry

   Individuals and teams, whether they

call themselves chemists or not are often

engaged in work that involves the solution of

a problem or the investigation of a question

which is a question in chemistry. Often the

investigation  starts to follow a path that

typically leads to more questions or some

interesting phenomena and the study evolves.

The work is usually not straight forward in

terms of posing a question and getting an

answer.

1.4 The Scientific Method

   The scientific method is a process used to

study nature. It involves the following:

• collect data or facts
• formulate a hypothesis
• test the hypothesis with additional experiments
• modify the hypothesis

Why do I need to know this?

This outline describes the basis for a

scientific law and a theory. A theory is a well

tested and established hypothesis and a

scientific law is a simple statement of fact for

which there are no known exceptions under

given conditions.

1.5 Relationships of chemistry to

Other Sciences and Industry

   Chemistry and physics are overlapping in

their areas of endeavor. Chemistry and biology

are overlapping in their area of interest. From

this it is easy to see that chemistry is a key

component of medicine, agriculture, all forms

of engineering and all of the industrial

developments spawned by studies in these

fields.

1.6 Risks and Benefits

   In today's society it is necessary for all of us

to have some idea of the risks and benefits that

confront us on a daily basis. For example,

should we get a vaccination or a flu strain

knowing that we may have an adverse reaction

to the injection? Should we have the asbestos

removed from the structure, knowing the cost

and the long term effects of exposure? Should

we consume a certain type of food or vitamin

or a herb? Do we know the risks as well as the

benefits? A study of chemistry allows us to

begin asking important questions and gives

us a handle on what to pursue and what to

ignore.