Chemists’ jobs analytical chemistry

You are now ready to use what you know about finding the limiting reactant to predict the amount of product that is expected in a reaction. This type of prediction is a routine part of a chemist s job, both in academic research and industry. To produce a compound, for example, chemists need to know how much product they can expect from a given reaction. In analytical chemistry, chemists often analyze an impure substance by allowing it to react in a known reaction. They predict the expected mass of the product(s) and compare it with the actual mass of the product(s) obtained. Then they can determine the purity of the compound. 

The first industrial jobs for computational chemists opened in the early 1960s when such scientists were usually called theoretical chemists or physical chemists. Those early pioneers not only had to prove themselves, they had to prove a whole new approach to answering questions in science, that is, computationally. Human nature being what it is, traditional (experimental) chemists reacted in different ways to computational chemistry some were curious (some of whom even tried their own hand at calculations but often found the early technology—computer punch cards—too bothersome), some were disinterested, and some felt their prerogatives and perquisites were threatened. At the pharmaceutical companies, many of the medicinal chemists (who far outnumbered the computational chemists) were skeptical, if not resentful, of the upstarts." Because of finite resources, one more person hired as a physical (or analytical) chemist often mean one less organic chemist would be hired. 

The concerns of the biochemist, as outlined in chapter 3 of part 2, address the automobile s most dangerous component—the one located directly behind the wheel. But biochemists are also concerned with the sources and management of alternative materials harvested from the biosphere. In chapter 4 of part 2, we consider the efforts of analytical chemists and find that these intrepid souls draw from all of the above described disciplines. It is the job of the analytical chemist to certify the consistency and quality of many materials, including materials for cars, and in some instances, the consistency and quality of human life—as we will see when we consider the contributions of this field to crime-solving as well as cars. In chapter 5, we peer into our crystal ball to see the future of chemistry a universe of new sources and substances. These new materials will no doubt lead to remarkable innovations—and, of course, new cars ... 

So the job of the analytical chemist may be complex, difficult, demanding, and exacting—but it still pays better than crime. And though certain people may have sensitivities to some plants, and though some plants may be poisonous to all people, the interactions between plants and animals are not always so adversarial. Plants can sometimes be very beneficial. In fact, when it comes to plants and animals, they have a future together—the future of chemistry. 

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