The Basics of GOB Chemistry (Ball et al.)

1: Chemistry, Matter, and Measurement

The study of chemistry will open your eyes to a fascinating world. Chemical processes are continuously at work all around us. They happen as you cook and eat food, strike a match, shampoo your hair, and even read this page. Chemistry is called the central science because a knowledge of chemical principles is essential for other sciences. You might be surprised at the extent to which chemistry pervades your life.

In April 2003, the US Pharmacopeia, a national organization that establishes quality standards for medications, reported a case in which a physician ordered “morphine [a powerful painkiller] 2–3 mg IV [intravenously] every 2–3 hours for pain.” A nurse misread the dose as “23 mg” and thus administered approximately 10 times the proper amount to an 8-year-old boy with a broken leg. The boy stopped breathing but was successfully resuscitated and left the hospital three days later. Quantities and measurements are as important in our everyday lives as they are in medicine. The posted speed limits on roads and highways, such as 55 miles per hour (mph), are quantities we might encounter all the time. Both parts of a quantity, the amount (55) and the unit (mph), must be properly communicated to prevent potential problems. In chemistry, as in any technical endeavor, the proper expression of quantities is a necessary fundamental skill. As we begin our journey into chemistry, we will learn this skill so that errors—from homework mistakes to traffic tickets to more serious consequences—can be avoided.

Chemistry is the study of matter—what it consists of, what its properties are, and how it changes. Being able to describe the ingredients in a cake and how they change when the cake is baked is called chemistry. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space—that is, anything that is physically real. Some things are easily identified as matter—this book, for example. Others are not so obvious. Because we move so easily through air, we sometimes forget that it, too, is matter.

Chemistry is one branch of science. Science is the process by which we learn about the natural universe by observing, testing, and then generating models that explain our observations. Because the physical universe is so vast, there are many different branches of science (Figure ). Thus, chemistry is the study of matter, biology is the study of living things, and geology is the study of rocks and the earth. Mathematics is the language of science, and we will use it to communicate some of the ideas of chemistry.

Although we divide science into different fields, there is much overlap among them. For example, some biologists and chemists work in both fields so much that their work is called biochemistry. Similarly, geology and chemistry overlap in the field called geochemistry. Figure shows how many of the individual fields of science are related.