introduction

What is chemistry?

Before you go further, take a few minutes to recall anything you may remember about chemistry from previous sciences, or from ways you use chemistry in your everyday life.

Hopefully you can come up with many concepts or uses dealing with this science. It is definitey an expansive and encompassing topic. There are many fields of chemistry, as well, which will be briefly discussed below. Follow each link to find out more about these fields.

__[|Analytical Chemistry]__
 * This is probably the most common field of chemistry, one that a four year college degree most likely will lead you. This field deals mainly with the detection, measurement, identification, and preparation of chemicals used in all kinds of industries, from cosmetics to the environment. You will learn to perform many analytical techniques in the chemistry courses offered here at JAHS.

__[|Organic Chemistry]__
 * This field deals primarily with compounds formed by the carbon atom - and there are millions of them! Organic chemists study the structure, shape, physical and chemical properties of carbon-based molecules. They also come up with new or better ways of creating molecules, called organic synthesis. This field is very important for industries such as pharmaceuticals or the health industry, as well as for textile, petrochemicals and plastics.

[|Physical Chemistry]
 * The field of physical chemistry relies heavily on the use of computer simulations, modeling software, and mathematical equations to describe the shape, properties, and features of atoms and molecules. Without this field, we would not understand the physical properties of molecules as well as we do, nor would we be able to model the electrons within an atom. This field provides the physical basis for many of the observations we can make in the world of chemistry.

__[|Biological Chemistry or Biochemistry]__
 * Another important field for the medical and pharmaceutical industry, biochemistry studies how living organisms function at the molecular level. Topics like DNA replication, protein folding, drug modeling and cellular actions are just a small glimpse into the field. This takes a good knowledge of organic chemistry, since most biomolecules are carbon-based.

[|Environmental Chemistry]
 * This is one of the fastest-growing fields of chemistry, and rightly so - environmental, or 'green', concerns are a big topic in today's society. Environmental chemists work on subjects like renewable energy (solar, wind, bio-fuels, fuel cells, etc.), pollution control, water quality, air quality, etc. They have played key roles in studying big events such as ozone depletion, human influences on climate change, chemical damage to living organisms, and toxic exposure to pollutants. This is one of my favorite fields of chemistry, for it incorporates all the other fields of this science, as well as biology, earth and space science, and physics.

Other more specific fields of study in chemistry include [|nuclear chemistry], [|astrochemistry], [|nanoparticle] chemistry, and of course [|chemistry education.]

There are many, many ways in which we use chemistry, chemicals, and chemistry-derived materials in our daily lives. We take these for granted so much that we really don't stop to consider how much of this science we truly use. Here are some examples, just to get you thinking.
 * __Transportation.__ How did you get to school? If you drove or rode a bus, you used one of the largest chemical industries on the planet - petroleum. Petrochemistry - the chemistry of fossil fuels - is so vast that it is impossible to wrap it up in a paragraph. Imagine what it takes to convert thick, greasy, black crude oil into things like gasoline, propane, jet fuel, diesel, motor oil, plastic bottles, toothbrushes, etc. Travel to Bradford, PA and take a look at the oil refinery there to get a sense of how complex this industry really is.
 * __Food:__ If you ate a bowl of cereal today, there's a good chance it has been fortified with essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Who makes these nutrients, and how are they added to the cereal in the right proportion? All cooking involves chemistry, from measuring the proper ingredients, to baking at the right temperature. Some ingredients are pure substances, like sugar and salt. Others are complex mixtures, like brownie mix and milk.
 * __Cosmetics:__ Take a good look at the ingredients on the back of a shampoo bottle or toothpaste tube. Most of those chemicals are unrecognizable, let alone pronounceable. Who makes them, and how did they know these chemicals would work or be safe to use? Did you know that makeup could contain seaweed extracts, crude oil extracts, etc? Imagine working for a shaving cream company, where your job as a chemist is to make it foam faster, and last longer. This is a huge field of chemistry.
 * __Medical:__ Every pill on the market contains at least one chemical as its active ingredient. That chemical had to be designed and built by chemists. Its biological activity (pain killer, for example) had to be tested and verified by biochemists. Who in the world discovered these medicines? The field of pharmacy has existed for thousands of years, and continues to grow and improve today, thanks to the work of chemists. Going to be a nurse, doctor, or pharmacist? Get ready to learn chemistry!
 * __Materials:__ Something as "simple" as a cell phone contains hundreds - if not thousands - of different chemicals. The copper wiring, the lithium battery, the liquid crystal display, the plastic polymer buttons, the silicon computer chips, all man-made materials that required chemistry. What kind of clothes are you wearing? Rayon, nylon, polyester, even teflon stain-resistant clothing, are all synthetic materials made by chemical reactions.

As you can see, this list could go on for a long, long time. Simply pick out one object in the room and think about what it is made of, who thought of making it, and what kind of chemistry is needed to make it.