Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, dealing with the properties and interactions of substances.

Chemistry is often called the central science as it connects other sciences like geology, biology and physics among each other.

The word chemistry believed to have originated from the word alchemy. Alchemy is the old practice in Middle East and other parts of the world which involves chemistry, philosophy, metallurgy, astronomy, astrology, medicine and mysticism. It is commonly thought as a quest to turn something into gold. The term alchemy was derived from an Arabic word meaning “cast together”.

Early chemistry traditionally starts with the study of atoms, molecules, elementary particles, metals, crystals and other substances that make up matter. It was studied in different states- solid, liquid or gas- individually or in combination in a laboratory. The reactions, interactions and transformations happened led to arrangements of the chemical bonds.

Chemistry flourished when Antoine Lavoisier developed the Conservation of Mass theory in 1783; and when John Dalton developed the Atomic theory around 1800.

The Periodic Table has a long history which raced back from alchemy days to its creation of chemical elements by Dmitri Mendeleev. Later synthetic elements were discovered and added.

There are sub-disciplines in chemistry which focus on a certain scope but they are all founded on these essential concepts:

Matter

It is defined as anything that is made of particles and has rest mass and occupies space (volume).

Atom

It is the basic unit and the smallest thing which can keep the elements’ chemical properties. It is composed of an atomic nucleus (the dense core) and an electron cloud (the space) which orbits the nucleus. The nucleus is consist of protons (positive charge) and neutrons (no charge); and the electron cloud is consist of negatively charged electrons.

Element

It is a pure substance which consists of a single type atom. Element is described by its specific number of protons and nuclei of its atoms called the atomic number. Though atoms that belong to an element have the same number of protons, they may not have the same number of neutrons. They are called isotopes. Elements are organized in the periodic table according to their atomic number and grouped by electron configuration.

Compound

It is a pure substance which composed of 2 or more elements combined. There is a ratio of atoms of chemical elements which determine the composition and a certain organization which determine the properties. They are formed, fused and converted by chemical reactions