By Darrell Causey
Chemistry is the scientific study of the composition and changes of matter. Therefore, you need to understand a few things:
- what is science
- what is matter and
- how does matter change
Well, let's first discuss science. The term science actually refers to any body of knowledge, but for our purposes we mean a systematic study of natural phenomena. The science of Galileo, Boyle and Newton is what we are talking about here. A science with a definite process and method.
This process is called the scientific method. It is the scientific method that distinguishes science from other disciplines. It was developed by natural philosophers to prevent their biases and opinions from becoming fact without direct proof. The scientific method requires science to be
- observable
- measurable and
- repeatable.
Next let's take a look at matter. Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. It is the stuff the world is made of and the task of the chemist is to determine its composition and how it changes. The study of the atom deals with matter's composition and the study of chemical reactions deals with its changes.
The atom is mostly space with a very small, dense nucleus containing positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons with negatively charged electrons in the atomic space. Although the atom is made of many subatomic particles, it is the electron that is most interesting to the chemist. Because electrons are the main players in chemical bonding and chemical reactions.
Finally, you need to consider the changes that matter experiences. Basically, there are two types of change:
- physical changes and
- chemical changes
Physical changes occur without any change in the substance, such as tearing a piece of paper. But, chemical changes create a new substance, such as burning a piece of of paper. Being able to recognize these changes is a vital part to understanding chemistry.
If you will take the time to study the scientific method, the composition of matter and how matter changes, you will have a clearer understanding of chemistry. I invite you would like to know more about chemistry go to Mr. Causey's World or http://yourCHEMcoach.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrell_Causey |
No comments:
Post a Comment