Chemistry Tuesday: What is Chemistry?

Here's the definition of Chemistry:

Chemistry is "the science of matter and the changes it undergoes".

The science of physics also deals with changes in matter, but it "takes a more general and fundamental approach." Chemistry is more specialized.

Chemistry is concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions.

It is a physical science that studies various atoms, molecules, crystals and other aggregates of matter, whether in isolation or combination, which incorporates the concepts of energy and entropy in relation to the spontaneity of chemical processes.

Disciplines within chemistry are grouped by the type of matter being studied or the kind of study.

These include:

inorganic chemistry: the study of inorganic matter

organic chemistry: the study of organic matter

biochemistry:the study of substances found in biological organisms

physical chemistry: the energy related studies of chemical systems at macro, molecular and submolecular scales

analytical chemistry: the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure

neurochemistry: the chemical study of the nervous system

This all sounds pretty complicated, doesn't it? Well, chemistry is like any other science. You start to learn with the basics, and the more you learn, the more you know.

Here at Girl Scientist Magazine, we wont' deal with actual chemical formulas or anything like that. What we'll do is cover the history of the study of chemistry, and talk about female chemists, so that you can see that girls can handle chemistry just as well as guys!

So if you're interested in chemistry, don't be scared away by how complicated it sounds. And... here's the thing, even if chemistry or any other science is too complicated for you...that doesn't mean you can't learn about the history of it, and what chemists are doing today.

It is our responsibility as citizens of the scientific world to be "scientifally literate." The "nitty gritty" may be too complicated for the general person to understand, but the overall uses can be understood, and should be known.