Chemistry

Chemistry (The origin of the word is from the greek word chemeia) is the study of structure, composition, and properties of matter, as well as the interactions of chemical elements and compounds. Along with physics, chemistry is one of the physical sciences. Chemistry is the modern counterpart to alchemy. Chemistry be divided into several sub-branches.

Basic Concepts

Each Discipline of Chemistry has specific concepts that relate to it, however there are some concepts that are universal to the study of Chemistry, some of which are below:

Element

For a more detailed treatment, see Element.
An Element is a single type of atom, and is defined by its Atomic Number, or the number of protons present in the nucleus of the atom. All known elements are grouped together in the Periodic table of the elements.

Atom

For a more detailed treatment, see Atom.
An atom is a particle of matter indivisible by chemical means [1] which form the building blocks of molecules. In the atomic nucleus there are positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons. Spinning around the nucleus are negatively charged electrons.

Molecule

For a more detailed treatment, see Molecule.
A molecule is an electronically neutral grouping of two or more atoms by covalent bonds. A molecule may contain more than one element, although this case is generally referred to as a compound.

Disciplines of Chemistry

• Organic chemistry- The study of chemical compounds containing carbon
• Inorganic chemistry- The study of inorganic compounds
• Physical chemistry- The application of Physics to chemical compounds and systems
• Analytical chemistry- The study and use of chemical analysis methods
• Biochemistry- The study of the chemical processes of life.
• Supramolecular chemistry- The study of non covalent bonding interactions between molecules

Notable Chemists

• Antoine Lavoisier
• Dmitri Mendelelev
• Michael Faraday
• Linus Pauling
• Alfred Nobel
• Izaak Kolthoff
• Marie Curie
• Max Gergel

See Also

• Chemistry terms