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Understanding The Term Chemistry? by Nobody: 11:58am On Sep 09, 2012
Chemistry can be defined as the study of matter, energy and the changes that accompanies matter and energy. Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed. Chemistry is the chemical composition and properties of a substance or body. Chemistry is the science of substances, or materials, their composition and characteristics, and the reactions which takes place between those substances. It is concerned with chemical elements in their pure state and when they are combined, that is, reactions of these elements and the compounds which they form. Origin of chemistry: Chemistry is a branch of science that has been around for a long time. In fact, chemistry is known to date back to as far as the prehistoric times. Due to the amount of time chemistry takes up on the timeline, the science is split into four general chronological categories. The four categories are: prehistoric times - beginning of the Christian era (black magic), beginning of the Christian era - end of 17th century (alchemy), end of 17th century - mid 19th century (traditional chemistry) and mid 19th century - present (modern chemistry). The Greek word "chemeia" first appears in about the fourth century and was used to designate the art of metal-working, especially the possible change of base metals into gold and silver. The Arabs later prefixed the article "al" and "alchemy" came finally to signify the arts of chemistry in general. "Chemeia" was probably derived from the Greek word chemi which means "black". There are three possible reasons for the use of this word: 1. The black soil of the Nile Valley gave the Greeks the name Chemi for Egypt where the chemical arts presumably originated. 2. A certain "blackening" process was frequently mentioned as a preliminary to whitening or yellowing of silver or gold. 3. In the sense of "dark" or "hidden", since the Dark, Hidden or Divine Art was the only name by which this science was known to the ancients. Some hold that the word chemistry had a Chinese origin. It may have been derived from the Hakka term KIM-MI or the Cantonese term KEM-MAI, which signifies "gone astray in search of gold" or "secret of gold". They are suggested to be the origin of the Greek "chemeia", the French "chimie", the German "Chemie", and the Arabian "alchemy". The term Chemistry originates from ancient Egyptian term khemeia. Khemeia was an Egyptian art which occurs in various Egyptian groups that was connected to mummification. Later along the history, its practices included things such as dyeing, metallurgy and glass making. Although the ancients knew of copper, silver, gold, tin, lead, iron, carbon and sulphur, they did not know that these are elements. To them, they follow the teachings of the 5th century BC Greek thinker and philosopher Empedocles and popularized by Aristotle. To them, matter was made up of four elements - the earth, air, fire and water. To them this classification made sense because after all, earth is not a solid, water is not a liquid, air not a gas and fire not an energy. Of course, to use people that study "Science" and call ourselves Scientists, that sentence does not make sense to us. When Greek thinking encountered the Egyptian art of khemeia, probably during Alexandria about 300 BC, alchemy was born and it flourished for two thousand years. Alchemy combined mysticism and much general scientific experimentation. The alchemists became obsessed with the search of immortality and trying to turn any kind of metals into gold. They were the first to make general use of many of the chemicals we use today, such as strong acids - sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. They also developed many experimental procedures such as filtration, dissolution of solids and simple distillation. The alchemists had built up a list of practical scientific information but they did not understand why things happened. Before our current understanding of chemistry, there are 3 more important concepts that were developed and followed: 1. Appreciation that scientific progress begins always with experiments and onservations 2. An understanding of what an element is - Robert Boyle and Antoine Lavoisier concluded the elements are the simplest unit that cannot be further broken down. 3. Development of the Atomic Theory - Greek philosopher Leucippus and Democritus proposed about this theory but was not successful. John Dalton is the one that came in to prove its existence. And with that, the Russian Dmitri Mendeleev (1834 - 1907) came in to construct the world famous The Periodic Table which are recognised as the most important system of classification in Chemistry. Many people talked about teaching Chemistry, Sean Chua Lian Heng lives it. He is a passionate Chemistry Coach based in Singapore, Southeast-Asia and one of the most dynamic, powerful and humorous speakers in Asia. He has empowered hundreds of students to experience Chemistry learning with a difference, and unlock the secrets to achieve the grades they truly deserve. He specialized in helping students through The 1ST in Singapore GCE 'O' Level Chemistry Intensive BootCamp and Organic Chemistry Mastery Workshop using Accelerated Learning Techniques. His 10 years of coaching experience has equipped him to understand the true reasons why students are not able to perform well in Chemistry, and has allowed him to structure his teaching methodology to cater to different levels of learners. Sean has produced many outstanding students who have achieved marvelous 'O' Level Chemistry results under his wings of patient guidance and coaching. His chemistry coaching methodology emphasizes on the vital 4 'A's and has a 100% proven track record to help students to improve their chemistry grades: • Associations with Everyday Life • Applications in Real Life & Industrial Examples • Analogies for abstract Chemistry Theories • Accelerated Learning Techniques Having acquired knowledge in the different fields of Chemistry during his Polytechnic and University days Sean is able to communicate experiences, real life Chemistry observations, apt analogies - all this to simplify the Chemistry Concepts for students to grasp and remember in an easier manner. He also has several years of experience as a Chemist and Technical Specialist for the fast-growing Research Chemical Industry. Through his extensive experiences in the Chemical Research arena, he is constantly talking to aspiring scientists, researchers as well as Deans, educators in local universities and schools - such updated research and market trends are always the highlights when students asked about how each Chemistry topics relate to real life situations.

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