Whichreally poses the greater environmental threat — the burning of fossil fuels and
its contribution to the greenhouse effect and climatic change, or the use of nuclear
power and the related radiation and disposal problems?
Howcan we develop suitable materials for the semiconductor and microelectronics in-
dustry? Can we develop a battery that is cheaper, lighter, and more powerful?
Whatchanges in structural materials could help to make aircraft lighter and more eco-
nomical, yet at the same time stronger and safer?
Whatrelationship is there between the substances we eat, drink, or breathe and the
possibility of developing cancer? How can we develop substances that are effective in
killing cancer cells preferentially over normal cells?
Canwe economically produce fresh water from sea water for irrigation or consump-
tion?
Howcan we slow down unfavorable reactions, such as the corrosion of metals, while
speeding up favorable ones, such as the growth of foodstuffs?Chemistry touches almost every aspect of our lives, our culture, and our environment. Its
scope encompasses the air we breathe, the food we eat, the fluids we drink, our clothing,
dwellings, transportation and fuel supplies, and our fellow creatures.
Chemistry is the science that describes matter — its properties, the changes it un-
dergoes, and the energy changes that accompany those processes.Matter includes everything that is tangible, from our bodies and the stuff of our every-
day lives to the grandest objects in the universe. Some call chemistry the central science.
It rests on the foundation of mathematics and physics and in turn underlies the life
sciences — biology and medicine. To understand living systems fully, we must first
understand the chemical reactions and chemical influences that operate within them. The
chemicals of our bodies profoundly affect even the personal world of our thoughts and
emotions.
No one can be expert in all aspects of such a broad science as chemistry. Sometimes
we arbitrarily divide the study of chemistry into various branches. Carbon is very versa-
tile in its bonding and behavior and is a key element in many substances that are essen-
tial to life. All living matter contains carbon combined with hydrogen. The chemistry of
compounds of carbon and hydrogen is called organic chemistry.(In the early days of
chemistry, living matter and inanimate matter were believed to be entirely different. We
now know that many of the compounds found in living matter can be made from non-
living, or “inorganic,” sources. Thus, the terms “organic” and “inorganic” have different
meanings than they did originally.) The study of substances that do not contain carbon
combined with hydrogen is called inorganic chemistry.The branch of chemistry that is
concerned with the detection or identification of substances present in a sample (qualita-
tive analysis) or with the amount of each that is present (quantitative analysis) is called
analytical chemistry. Physical chemistry applies the mathematical theories and
methods of physics to the properties of matter and to the study of chemical processes and
the accompanying energy changes. As its name suggests, biochemistryis the study of
the chemistry of processes in living organisms. Such divisions are arbitrary, and most
chemical studies involve more than one of these traditional areas of chemistry. The
principles you will learn in a general chemistry course are the foundation of all branches
of chemistry.
Enormous numbers of chemical
reactions are necessary to produce
a human embryo (here at 10 weeks,
6 cm long).CHAPTER 1: The Foundations of Chemistry 3