Chemistry has been called the science of what things are. Its intent is the exploration of the nature of the materials that fabricate our physical environment, why they hold the different properties that depict them, how their atomic structure may be fathomed, and how they may be manipulated and changed.
Although organic reactions have been conducted by man since the discovery of fire, the science of Organic chemistry did not develop until the turn of the eighteenth century, mainly in France at first, then in Germany, later on in England. By far the largest variety of materials that bombard us are made up of organic elements. The beginning of the Ninetieth century was also the dawn of chemistry, all organic substances were understood as all being materials produced by living organisms: wood, bone, cloth, food, medicines, and the complex substances that configure the human body. Inorganic material was believed to come from the Earth: salt, metals, and rock, just to name a few.
Because of the human’s wonder of natural life, organic materials were believed to possess an enigmatic “Vital Force.” Thus organic chemistry was separated from inorganic chemistry, and it became it’s own field of science. By the turn of the Nineteenth the “Vital Force” theory was immensely discredited, but this branch of science still stayed separated from inorganic chemistry. Back when Organic chemistry was the chemistry of living matter, Professor Wohler succeeded in synthesizing in the laboratory an organic compound previously observed in living tissue as Urea. Professor Wohler made this organic compound from non-living chemical substance, Ammonium Cyanate. He evaporated a solution of Ammonium Cyanate to produce Urea. Thus rendering the “Vital Force” theory to be with flaws. Other famous experiments proved the vitalism theory was wrong. In 1845 Kolbe synthesized acetic acid, the chief component in vinegar, in a flow of reactions starting with Carbon, the experiment is demonstrated better defined since acetic acid (C6H4O2) is a carbon-carbon bond. The theory of vitalism, like many other scientific theories, disappeared slowly under the weight of accumulated evidence rather than as a consequence of any one brilliant and enlightening experiment.
Structural theory, which developed in the 1860’s, started the second major period of growth in the organic chemistry field. The de...
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...reactions were already known and in active use to synthesize organic compounds into other compounds, only with this understanding of the nature of a chemical bond did a clear reason of the nature an mechanism of chemical reactions begin to appear. This will be clear when one realizes that the transformation of one molecule to another, a chemical reaction, requires the breaking of some bonds and the making of others. This process could not be understood until one knew what a bond is. Thus if the nineteenth century was devoted to unraveling the fixed structures of molecules, the twentieth century will be devoted to the study of their transformations.
The study of science and more specifically the study of organic chemistry is an on going affair. In the scientific community one never rests, there is a continual stream of experimentation and the desire to explore new realms. The cutting edge in science is grounded in the medical field. How can we manipulate genetic codes the building blocks of life? The things we have learned over the years are allowing us to build those bridges to the future, a future that might see an improvement in the human condition by way of organic chemistry.
Throughout history, the curiosities of obtaining knowledge of facts that show the operation of general laws have resulted into the improvements of today’s society. Such curiosity of chemical reactions coiled in the minds of John Dalton in the atomic theory, Rosalind Franklin with genetics, and most importantly Antoine Lavoisier the father of modern chemistry. All who, worked extensively to acquire the understanding that fascinated them most, chemistry. Another chemist who sought after the same knowledge was Stanislao Cannizzaro. Studying organic chemistry Cannizzaro explained how certain elements lacked the hydrogen atom in what is know n as the Cannizzaro Reaction.
In life and society as most of you know, chemistry is involved in everything in this entire world including; animals, plants, and even food! Although most people don’t like chemistry due to all the equations and “Stoichiometry”, it plays a significant role in everyday life. Thanks to many scientists in the past, we can now use the knowledge of their theories and postulates to find new technology and other scientific advancements to help the evolvement of many organisms in this world.
1. J R Partington, A history of chemistry, volume 3 . London, UK: Macmillan, 1962
3. Corey, E. J., Barbara Czako, and Laszlo Kurti. Molecules and medicine. New Jersey: John
Sootin, Harry, and Gustav Schrotter.Robert Boyle : founder of modern chemistry. New York: F. Watts, 1962. Print.
Brief History Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a physician by trade, first coined the term "organic chemistry" in 1807 for the study of compounds derived from biological sources. Up through the early 19th century, naturalists and scientists observed critical differences between compounds that were derived from living things and those that were not. Chemists of the period noted that there seemed to be an essential yet inexplicable difference between the properties of the two different types of compounds. The vital force theory (sometimes called "vitalism") was therefore proposed (and widely accepted) as a way to explain these differences. Vitalism proposed that there was a something called a "vital force" which existed within organic material but did not exist in any inorganic materials. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Friedrich Wöhler is widely regarded as a pioneer in organic chemistry as a result of his synthesizing of the biological compound urea (a component of urine in many animals) utilizing what is now called "the Wöhler synthesis." Wöhler mixed silver or lead cyanate with ammonium nitrate; this was supposed to yield ammonium cyanate as a result of an exchange reaction, according to Berzelius's dualism theory. Wöhler, however, discovered that the end product of this reaction is not ammonium cyanate (NH4OCN), an inorganic salt, but urea ((NH2)2CO), a biological compound. (Furthermore, heating ammonium cyanate turns it into urea.) Faced with this result, Berzelius had to concede that (NH2)2CO and NH4OCN were isomers. Until this discovery in the year 1828, it was widely believed by chemists that organic substances could only be formed under the influence of the "vital force" in the bodies of animals and plants. Wöhler's synthesis dramatically proved that view to be false. Organic chemistry focuses on carbon and following movement of the electrons in carbon chains and rings, and also how electrons are shared with other carbon atoms and heteroatoms. Organic chemistry is primarily concerned with the properties of covalent bonds and non-metallic elements, though ions and metals do play critical roles in some reactions. The applications of organic chemistry are myriad, and include all sorts of plastics, dyes, flavorings, scents, detergents, explosives, fuels and many, many other products. Read the ingredient list for almost any kind of food that you eat — or even your shampoo bottle — and you will see the handiwork of organic chemists listed there. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Major Advances in the Field of Organic Chemistry Of course no description of a text should be without at least a mention of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.
Chemists are the specialists in chemistry, that interact with chemical properties, and reactions. The earth is made up of different gases. Some of this gases are needed for life in the planet but other gases can be harmful to the living. Gas’s use in regular quantities are favorable to the earth. The world started to become more advance and had to use more of this gases to produce everyday objects and inventions by men. Little did we knew this chemicals we going to affect us in our life. Chemist Jose Mario Molina actually discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were affecting the ozone layer.
In chemistry, we calculate and measure substance to use them in all kind of substance and form every day. It is everywhere in our lives. We use it in all we do, such as cooking cleaning, eating, even in our work force and home. The texts states: (quote) that fuel in our cars with oxygen to make the car move and run, when we cook our food or bleach our hair, chemical reactions take place. (Timberlake, K. C., 01/2014, pg. 211).
This chemistry book report is focus on a book called “Napoleon's buttons: How 17 molecules changed history” by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson. The publisher of this book is Tarcher Putnam, the book was published in Canada on 2003 with 17 chapters (hey the number match the title of the book!) and a total of 378 pages. The genre of this book is nonfiction. “Napoleon's Buttons” contain a fascinating story of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly changed the course of history and continuing affect the world we live in today. It also reveal the astonishing chemical connection among some unrelated events, for example: Chemistry caused New Amsterdamers to be renamed New Yorkers and one little accident of detonating cotton apron in a minor housekeeping mishap lead to the development of modern explosives and the founding of the movie industry.
Chemistry is a branch of natural science that deals principally with the properties of substances, the changes they undergo, and the natural laws that describe these changes. (University of Idaho, 2014) Molecules, as small as they seem, is in the food that we eat and present in our daily lives. Today, scientists would likely know about the history of chemistry but not how chemistry has impacted history. Many would not wonder if these molecules go beyond the chemistry concepts that they have learned. For example, would the world have been different if piperine (molecule) present in pepper had not led to the discovery of the United States? The interesting fact is that molecules have and will continue to shape the world today. In this book, the authors explain in detail how 17 specific molecules had a significant impact on the history of the world. On a whole, this book is very intriguing and very suitable for chemistry lovers as well as the general public.
Our knowledge of chemistry, and the many ways that it surrounds us has helped us better understand the world we live in and the ways in which we can use chemistry to better our world, and improve our exploration of it.
Sazlberg, Hugh W. From Caveman to Chemist: Circumstances and Achievements. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1991.
Ionic compounds, when in the solid state, can be described as ionic lattices whose shapes are dictated by the need to place oppositely charged ions close to each other and similarly charged ions as far apart as possible. Though there is some structural diversity in ionic compounds, covalent compounds present us with a world of structural possibilities. From simple linear molecules like H2 to complex chains of atoms like butane (CH3CH2CH2CH3), covalent molecules can take on many shapes. To help decide which shape a polyatomic molecule might prefer we will use Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion theory (VSEPR). VSEPR states that electrons like to stay as far away from one another as possible to provide the lowest energy (i.e. most stable) structure for any bonding arrangement. In this way, VSEPR is a powerful tool for predicting the geometries of covalent molecules.
Though many people fail to realize it, chemistry is a subject essential to everyday life, due to the fact that it is the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed. But what we must understand is that everything in the universe is composed of matter, hence chemistry is necessary in learning more about the world and universe that we live in. There are many careers and fields affiliated with chemistry that people pursue to learn more about the composition of the universe, but for now, let us examine the logistics of three of these careers. These three careers involving chemistry are geochemistry, environmental chemistry, and chemical engineering.
J. Clayden, N. Greeves, S. Warren, P. Wothers. Organic Chemistry. 8th ed. 2007, Oxford University Press, p. 1186-1191.