What Is Chemistry, and Why Do I Need to Know Some

Simply put, this whole branch of science is all about matter, which is anything that has mass and occupies space. Chemistry is the study of the composition and properties of matter and the changes it undergoes. 

A lot of chemistry comes into play with that last part — the changes matter undergoes. Matter is made up of either pure substances or mixtures of pure substances. The change from one substance into another is what chemists call a chemical change, or chemical reaction, and it s a big deal because when it occurs, a brand-new substance is created (see Chapter 2 for the nitty-gritty details). 

Science is far more than a collection of facts, figures, graphs, and tables. Science is a method for examining the physical universe. It s a way of asking and answering questipns. Science is best described by the attitudes of scientists themselves They re skeptical—they must be able to test phenomena. And tiiey hold onto the results of titeir experiments tentatively, waiting 

The general field of chemistry is so huge that it was originally subdivided into a number of different areas of specialization. But there s now a tremendous amount of overlap between the different areas of chemistry, just as there is among the various sciences. Here are the traditional fields of chemistry  

Analytical chemistry This branch is highly involved in the analysis of substances. Chemists from this field of chemistry may be trying to find out what substances are in a mixture (qualitative analysis) or how much of a particular substance is present (quantitative analysis) in something. A lot of instrumentation is used in analytical chemistry. 

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Chapter 1 What Is Chemistry, and Why Do I Need to Know Some / /... 

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