1. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
General Chemistry
Lecture 0
What Is Chemistry ?

2. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Chemistry: Definition and Scope
• Chemistry is the science of composition,
structure, and properties of matters and the
changes that matters undergo.
 Matter is anything that has mass and volume.
It can be perceived by our senses and measured by
instruments such as weight, size, color, and smell.
Examples: water, air, tree, and earth
 The change of matter is accompanied by energy,
such as heat and radiation (light), either absorbed or
released by the matter.
Energy has no mass, so it is not a matter.

3. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Importance of Chemistry
• Chemistry is the “central science”
 Essential to our way of life.
The air we breathe, the food we eat, etc.
 Together with mathematics and physics, chemistry is
one of the fundamental sciences that provide
systematic and scientific methods
to build knowledge of matter,
to develop new materials (e.g. polymers, drugs, silicon
chips, lasers) , and
to understand the nature of the universe.
 Essential for studying other disciplines such as
biology, geology, ecology, and medicine.

4. Study of Chemistry
• Chemistry is the study of the properties, compositions, and
interactions of matter and the changes it undergoes.
• The scope of chemistry
 Analytical chemistry for measurements of chemical properties,
compositions, and any chemical phenomenon.
 Biochemistry to study the processes and matter associated with living
things such as metabolism, respiration, and reproduction.
 Inorganic chemistry to study the metallic and metalloid substances
such as the steel production, battery, semiconductors, and ceramics.
 Organic chemistry to study matters that are composed of carbon,
hydrogen, and other non-metal elements such as the petroleum,
polymers, and plastics.
 Physical chemistry to study fundamental principals of behaviors of
matter such as the atomic and molecular structures, and gas laws.
 Nuclear chemistry to study the reactions of nuclei, their applications,
and safety issues. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)

5. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications of Chemistry
• Health
• Medicine
• Energy
• Material Development
• Technology
• Food and Agriculture
• Environment

6. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Health
• Dietary studies
 Food analysis, food calories, and healthier food.
• Pollution studies
 Air, water, land, and food pollutions.
• Sanitation systems
 Protect people from infectious diseases.
• Drug testing
• Genome decoding (human & other species)
 Genetic inheritance
 Genetic information is stored in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
 Mechanism of aging

7. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Medicine
• Drug research
 For example: cisplatin for anticancer
Platinum electrode inhabits the cell division in bacteria
discovered by Dr. Rosenberg of MSU.
• Surgery with anesthesia
• Vaccines and antibiotics
• Genome therapy
 To understand and hopefully cure cancer, AIDS,
arthritis, and other diseases.
 Stem cell research
 Drug research

8. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Energy
• Fossil fuels
 Coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc.
• Nuclear energy
 Fission: Nuclear power plants
 Fusion: Provide clean energy, but fusion is still in the research
stage for finding ways to control and regulate it.
• Alternative energy sources
 Convert solar energy to electricity by using photovoltaic cells
 Solar energy is abundant and nearly limitless.
 Fuel cells
 Wind turbines that convert kinetic energy to electricity
 Ocean waves for generating electricity
 Hot spots for generating energy

9. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Material Development
• Dyes for use in textile, printing, and painting industries
• Adhesives (super glue, Post-It notes, etc.)
• Polymers (rubber, nylon, Teflon, etc.)
• Ceramics (cookware, insulator, art works, etc.)
• Solid state materials (semiconductor, silicon chip, light emitting
diode, etc)
• Fiber optics for information transmission (e.g. Internet)
• Liquid crystal (computer display, watch, etc.)
• Lasers (He-Ne, Ar, etc.)
• Superconductor
 Materials have no electrical resistance and can conduct electricity with no
energy loss (Copper loses about 20%).
• Nano-materials (buckminsterfullerene C60, C70, and C76, and
Buckytubes, etc.)

10. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Technology Advancement
• Computers are made by solid state silicon chips and memories.
• Fiber optics and lasers for information transmission in Internet
 By using different wavelengths of light, it can carry audio, data, and
video information at the same time.
• Light emitting diode (LED), charge couple devices (CCD), and
liquid crystal display (LCD) for image systems such as TV and
monitors.
• Superconductor for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
levitated trains, and nuclear fusion.
• Nano-technology
 Optical computer, molecular computer, and drug design.
• Genetic engineering
 Food, drug, pesticide, etc.

11. Henry R. Kang (1/2010)
Applications to Food & Agriculture
• Specialized fertilizers
 More efficient to grow crops
 Less harmful to environment
 Increase production
 Selectively kill weeds
• Better pesticides
 Less harmful to environment and living species
• Bio-engineering (genetically modified) crops
 Better yield and larger crops
 Higher frequency (more crops per year)
 Insect protected crops
 Long-term safety is not yet known

12. Damages to Environment
• Advancements in materials and technologies also create
detrimental consequences to the environment; major
ones are :
 Disposal of used electronic, plastic, and medical products and
wastes.
 Burning fossil fuels causes global warming and pollution.
 Oil spills and oil refinery accidents.
 Nuclear energy produces radioactive wastes.
 Nuclear disasters.
 Excessive uses of fertilizes and pesticides are harmful to the
land, water, and living species
 Hydroelectricity, solar-panel farms, and wind-turbine farms
distort ecological balance.
Henry R. Kang (3/2014)

13. Damages to Environment from Wastes
• Plastics wastes created an island the size of Rhode Island in Pacific ocean.
 Plastic bags for grocery and other products.
 Used tires and used clothing.
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCl3, CF2Cl2, C2F3Cl3, etc.) for hair spray diffuse to
stratosphere that reacts with ozone, O3, under UV light cause O3 depletion.
 Polar ozone hole
• Disposal of used electronic devices
 Computers, cell phones, TV, monitors, etc.
 Cause detrimental health problems for people who dispose them in
underdeveloped countries.
• Harmful medical disposal.
• The wastes of fertilizes and pesticides are harmful to the land, water, and
living species.
 e.g. DDT to eagles and humans.
Henry R. Kang (8/2014)

14. Damages to Environment
from Fossil Fuels
• Burning fossil fuels produce green-house gas such as CO2 that
causes global warming.
 More severe weather disasters.
• Burning fossil fuels produce SO2 and SO3 for forming acid rains.
 Damage trees.
• Driving cars produce NO and NO2 that create smog (air
pollution).
• Oil spills (water pollution)
 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill, 1991 Gulf war, 2010 BP oil spill, etc.
• Oil refinery accidents
 2007 BP refinery blast at Texas.
 2012 Chevron refinery accident at Richmond, CA.
 2015 Exxon-Mobil refinery explosion at Torrance, CA. Henry R. Kang (3/2015)

15. Damages to Environment
from Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear energy produces radioactive wastes.
 Long half-life
 Transport wastes
 Store wastes
• Nuclear disasters
 Three Mile Island, U.S. 1979
 Chernobyl, Ukraine (USSR) 1986
 Fukushima, Japan 2011
Henry R. Kang (1/2012)

16. Applications to Environment Improvement
• Alternative energy sources
 Solar energy, wind, ocean wave, etc.
• Fuel-efficient automobiles.
 More effective catalytic converters.
 Hybrid cars and electric cars
Better battery and electricity storage capacity.
 Fuel-cell cars
• Better ways to dispose nuclear, technological,
medical, and human wastes.
• Safe fertilizes and pesticides.
Henry R. Kang (8/2010)