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Solutions of substances in reagent bottles, including ammonium hydroxide and nitric acid, illuminated in different colors

Chemistry is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter.[1][2] Chemistry deals with such topics as the properties of individual atoms, how atoms form chemical bonds to create chemical compounds, the interactions of substances through intermolecular forces that give matter its general properties, and the interactions between substances through chemical reactions to form different substances.

Chemistry is sometimes called the central science because it bridges other natural sciences, including physics, geology and biology.[3][4] For the differences between chemistry and physics see Comparison of chemistry and physics.[5]



  • Etymology 1
    • Definition 1.1
  • History 2
    • Chemistry as science 2.1
    • Chemical structure 2.2
  • Principles of modern chemistry 3
    • Matter 3.1
      • Atom 3.1.1
      • Element 3.1.2
      • Compound 3.1.3
      • Molecule 3.1.4
      • Substance and mixture 3.1.5
      • Mole and amount of substance 3.1.6
    • Phase 3.2
    • Bonding 3.3
    • Energy 3.4
    • Reaction 3.5
    • Ions and salts 3.6
    • Acidity and basicity 3.7
    • Redox 3.8
    • Equilibrium 3.9
    • Chemical laws 3.10
  • Practice 4
    • Subdisciplines 4.1
    • Chemical industry 4.2
    • Professional societies 4.3
  • See also 5
  • References 6
  • Bibliography 7
  • Further reading 8


The word chemistry comes from the word alchemy, an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism and medicine; it is commonly thought of as the quest to turn lead or another common starting material into gold.[6] Alchemy, which was practiced around 330, is the study of the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying, disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies (Zosimos).[7] An alchemist was called a 'chemist' in popular speech, and later the suffix "-ry" was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as "chemistry".

The word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā (الکیمیاء). In origin, the term is borrowed from the Greek χημία or χημεία.[8][9] This may have Egyptian origins. Many believe that al-kīmīā is derived from the Greek χημία, which is in turn derived from the word Chemi or Kimi, which is the ancient name of Egypt in Egyptian.[8] Alternately, al-kīmīā may derive from χημεία, meaning "cast together".[10]


In retrospect, the definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. The term "chymistry", in the view of noted scientist Robert Boyle in 1661, meant the subject of the material principles of mixed bodies.[11] In 1663 the chemist Christopher Glaser described "chymistry" as a scientific art, by which one learns to dissolve bodies, and draw from them the different substances on their composition, and how to unite them again, and exalt them to a higher perfection.[12]

The 1730 definition of the word "chemistry", as used by

  • Atkins, P.W. et al. Molecular Quantum Mechanics (Oxford University Press)
  • Pauling, L. The Nature of the chemical bond (Cornell University Press) ISBN 0-8014-0333-2
  • Smart and Moore Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction (Chapman and Hall) ISBN 0-412-40040-5
  • Stephenson, G. Mathematical Methods for Science Students (Longman) ISBN 0-582-44416-0
Advanced undergraduate-level or graduate text books
  • Chang, Raymond. Chemistry 6th ed. Boston: James M. Smith, 1998. ISBN 0-07-115221-0.
  • Voet and Voet Biochemistry (Wiley) ISBN 0-471-58651-X
Introductory undergraduate text books
  • Atkins, P.W. Galileo's Finger (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-860941-8
  • Atkins, P.W. Atkins' Molecules (Cambridge University Press) ISBN 0-521-82397-8
  • Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon - and other true tales from the Periodic Table (Black Swan) London, 2010 ISBN 978-0-552-77750-6
  • Levi, Primo The Periodic Table (Penguin Books) [1975] translated from the Italian by Raymond Rosenthal (1984) ISBN 978-0-14-139944-7
  • Stwertka, A. A Guide to the Elements (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-515027-9
Popular reading

Further reading


  1. ^
  2. ^ Chemistry. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  3. ^ Theodore L. Brown, H. Eugene Lemay, Bruce Edward Bursten, H. Lemay. Chemistry: The Central Science. Prentice Hall; 8 edition (1999). ISBN 0-13-010310-1. Pages 3–4.
  4. ^ Chemistry occupies an intermediate position in a hierarchy of the sciences by reductive level between physics and biology. Carsten Reinhardt. Chemical Sciences in the 20th Century: Bridging Boundaries. Wiley-VCH, 2001. ISBN 3-527-30271-9. Pages 1–2.
  5. ^
  6. ^
  7. ^ Strathern, P. (2000). Mendeleyev's Dream – the Quest for the Elements. New York: Berkley Books.
  9. ^ p. 854, "Arabic alchemy", Georges C. Anawati, pp. 853–885 in Encyclopedia of the history of Arabic science, eds. Roshdi Rashed and Régis Morelon, London: Routledge, 1996, vol. 3, ISBN 0-415-12412-3.
  10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1967). Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-21873-2
  11. ^
  12. ^ as found in:
  13. ^
  14. ^ Dumas, J. B. (1837). 'Affinite' (lecture notes), vii, pg 4. "Statique chimique", Paris: Academie des Sciences
  15. ^
  16. ^
  17. ^ First chemists, February 13, 1999, New Scientist
  18. ^
  19. ^
  20. ^
  21. ^
  22. ^
  23. ^ Morris Kline (1985) Mathematics for the nonmathematician. Courier Dover Publications. p. 284. ISBN 0-486-24823-2
  24. ^
  25. ^ "Robert Boyle, Founder of Modern Chemistry" Harry Sootin (2011)
  26. ^
  27. ^
  28. ^
  29. ^
  30. ^ Note: " is surely true that had Mendeleev never lived modern chemists would be using a Periodic Table" and
  31. ^
  32. ^
  33. ^
  34. ^ "What makes these family likenesses among the elements? In the 1860s everyone was scratching their heads about that, and several scientists moved towards rather similar answers. The man who solved the problem most triumphantly was a young Russian called Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, who visited the salt mine at Wieliczka in 1859."
  35. ^
  36. ^
  37. ^
  38. ^ Matter: Atoms from Democritus to Dalton by Anthony Carpi, Ph.D.
  39. ^ IUPAC Gold Book Definition
  40. ^
  41. ^
  42. ^
  43. ^ Burrows et al. 2008, p. 13.
  44. ^ a b Housecroft & Sharpe 2008, p. 2.
  45. ^ Burrows et al. 2009, p. 110.
  46. ^ Burrows et al. 2008, p. 12.
  47. ^
  48. ^ IUPAC Provisional Recommendations for the Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (2004) [1]
  49. ^
  50. ^
  51. ^
  52. ^ Burrows et al. 2008, p. 16.
  53. ^ Atkins & de Paula 2009, p. 9.
  54. ^
  55. ^ Reilly, Michael. (2007). Mechanical force induces chemical reaction, news service, Reilly
  56. ^ Changing States of Matter -
  57. ^ Chemical Reaction Equation- IUPAC Goldbook
  58. ^ Gold Book Chemical Reaction IUPAC Goldbook
  59. ^
  60. ^
  61. ^
  62. ^
  63. ^


See also

Professional societies

The chemical industry represents an important economic activity worldwide. The global top 50 chemical producers in 2013 had sales of US$980.5 billion with a profit margin of 10.3%.[63]

Chemical industry

Other fields include phytochemistry, polymer chemistry, radiochemistry, solid-state chemistry, sonochemistry, supramolecular chemistry, surface chemistry, synthetic chemistry, thermochemistry, and many others.

Other disciplines within chemistry are traditionally grouped by the type of matter being studied or the kind of study. These include physical chemistry, the study of chemical processes using physical concepts such as thermodynamics and quantum mechanics; and analytical chemistry, the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure. Many more specialized disciplines have emerged in recent years, e.g. neurochemistry the chemical study of the nervous system (see subdisciplines).




Chemical reactions are governed by certain laws, which have become fundamental concepts in chemistry. Some of them are:

Chemical laws

A system of chemical substances at equilibrium, even though having an unchanging composition, is most often not static; molecules of the substances continue to react with one another thus giving rise to a dynamic equilibrium. Thus the concept describes the state in which the parameters such as chemical composition remain unchanged over time.

Although the concept of equilibrium is widely used across sciences, in the context of chemistry, it arises whenever a number of different states of the chemical composition are possible, as for example, in a mixture of several chemical compounds that can react with one another, or when a substance can be present in more than one kind of phase.


A reductant transfers electrons to another substance, and is thus oxidized itself. And because it "donates" electrons it is also called an electron donor. Oxidation and reduction properly refer to a change in oxidation number—the actual transfer of electrons may never occur. Thus, oxidation is better defined as an increase in oxidation number, and reduction as a decrease in oxidation number.

Redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions include all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed by either gaining electrons (reduction) or losing electrons (oxidation). Substances that have the ability to oxidize other substances are said to be oxidative and are known as oxidizing agents, oxidants or oxidizers. An oxidant removes electrons from another substance. Similarly, substances that have the ability to reduce other substances are said to be reductive and are known as reducing agents, reductants, or reducers.


Acid strength is commonly measured by two methods. One measurement, based on the Arrhenius definition of acidity, is pH, which is a measurement of the hydronium ion concentration in a solution, as expressed on a negative logarithmic scale. Thus, solutions that have a low pH have a high hydronium ion concentration, and can be said to be more acidic. The other measurement, based on the Brønsted–Lowry definition, is the acid dissociation constant (Ka), which measures the relative ability of a substance to act as an acid under the Brønsted–Lowry definition of an acid. That is, substances with a higher Ka are more likely to donate hydrogen ions in chemical reactions than those with lower Ka values.

A third common theory is Lewis acid-base theory, which is based on the formation of new chemical bonds. Lewis theory explains that an acid is a substance which is capable of accepting a pair of electrons from another substance during the process of bond formation, while a base is a substance which can provide a pair of electrons to form a new bond. According to this theory, the crucial things being exchanged are charges.[59] There are several other ways in which a substance may be classified as an acid or a base, as is evident in the history of this concept.[60]

A substance can often be classified as an acid or a base. There are several different theories which explain acid-base behavior. The simplest is Arrhenius theory, which states than an acid is a substance that produces hydronium ions when it is dissolved in water, and a base is one that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. According to Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, acids are substances that donate a positive hydrogen ion to another substance in a chemical reaction; by extension, a base is the substance which receives that hydrogen ion.

When hydrogen bromide (HBr), pictured, is dissolved in water, it forms the strong acid hydrobromic acid

Acidity and basicity

Plasma is composed of gaseous matter that has been completely ionized, usually through high temperature.

An ion is a charged species, an atom or a molecule, that has lost or gained one or more electrons. When an atom loses an electron and thus has more protons than electrons, the atom is a positively charged ion or cation. When an atom gains an electron and thus has more electrons than protons, the atom is a negatively charged ion or anion. Cations and anions can form a crystalline lattice of neutral salts, such as the Na+ and Cl ions forming sodium chloride, or NaCl. Examples of polyatomic ions that do not split up during acid-base reactions are hydroxide (OH) and phosphate (PO43−).

The crystal lattice structure of potassium chloride (KCl), a salt which is formed due to the attraction of K+ cations and Cl anions. Note how the overall charge of the ionic compound is zero.

Ions and salts

According to the IUPAC gold book, a chemical reaction is "a process that results in the interconversion of chemical species."[58] Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an elementary reaction or a stepwise reaction. An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where the interconversion of conformers is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events').

The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of a chemical reaction is called its mechanism. A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in a number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many reaction intermediates with variable stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the kinetics and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many physical chemists specialize in exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like the Woodward–Hoffmann rules often come in handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction.

A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation. While in a non-nuclear chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons.[57]

Chemical reactions can result in the formation or dissociation of molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more smaller molecules, or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. Oxidation, reduction, dissociation, acid-base neutralization and molecular rearrangement are some of the commonly used kinds of chemical reactions.

When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its interaction with another substance or with energy, a chemical reaction is said to have occurred. A chemical reaction is therefore a concept related to the "reaction" of a substance when it comes in close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a solution; exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well as with the system environment, which may be designed vessels—often laboratory glassware.

During chemical reactions, bonds between atoms break and form, resulting in different substances with different properties. In a blast furnace, iron oxide, a compound, reacts with carbon monoxide to form iron, one of the chemical elements, and carbon dioxide.


The term chemical energy is often used to indicate the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or to transform other chemical substances.

Emission spectrum of iron

The existence of characteristic energy levels for different chemical substances is useful for their identification by the analysis of spectral lines. Different kinds of spectra are often used in chemical spectroscopy, e.g. IR, microwave, NMR, ESR, etc. Spectroscopy is also used to identify the composition of remote objects - like stars and distant galaxies - by analyzing their radiation spectra.

The transfer of energy from one chemical substance to another depends on the size of energy quanta emitted from one substance. However, heat energy is often transferred more easily from almost any substance to another because the phonons responsible for vibrational and rotational energy levels in a substance have much less energy than photons invoked for the electronic energy transfer. Thus, because vibrational and rotational energy levels are more closely spaced than electronic energy levels, heat is more easily transferred between substances relative to light or other forms of electronic energy. For example, ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation is not transferred with as much efficacy from one substance to another as thermal or electrical energy.

The phase of a substance is invariably determined by its energy and the energy of its surroundings. When the intermolecular forces of a substance are such that the energy of the surroundings is not sufficient to overcome them, it occurs in a more ordered phase like liquid or solid as is the case with water (H2O); a liquid at room temperature because its molecules are bound by hydrogen bonds.[56] Whereas hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas at room temperature and standard pressure, as its molecules are bound by weaker dipole-dipole interactions.

There exist only limited possible states of energy for electrons, atoms and molecules. These are determined by the rules of quantum mechanics, which require quantization of energy of a bound system. The atoms/molecules in a higher energy state are said to be excited. The molecules/atoms of substance in an excited energy state are often much more reactive; that is, more amenable to chemical reactions.

A related concept free energy, which also incorporates entropy considerations, is a very useful means for predicting the feasibility of a reaction and determining the state of equilibrium of a chemical reaction, in chemical thermodynamics. A reaction is feasible only if the total change in the Gibbs free energy is negative, \Delta G \le 0 \,; if it is equal to zero the chemical reaction is said to be at equilibrium.

Chemical reactions are invariably not possible unless the reactants surmount an energy barrier known as the activation energy. The speed of a chemical reaction (at given temperature T) is related to the activation energy E, by the Boltzmann's population factor e^{-E/kT} - that is the probability of a molecule to have energy greater than or equal to E at the given temperature T. This exponential dependence of a reaction rate on temperature is known as the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy necessary for a chemical reaction to occur can be in the form of heat, light, electricity or mechanical force in the form of ultrasound.[55]

A reaction is said to be exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state; in the case of endergonic reactions the situation is the reverse. A reaction is said to be exothermic if the reaction releases heat to the surroundings; in the case of endothermic reactions, the reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings.



Similarly, theories from classical physics can be used to predict many ionic structures. With more complicated compounds, such as metal complexes, valence bond theory is less applicable and alternative approaches, such as the molecular orbital theory, are generally used. See diagram on electronic orbitals.

In a covalent bond, one or more pairs of valence electrons are shared by two atoms: the resulting electrically neutral group of bonded atoms is termed a molecule. Atoms will share valence electrons in such a way as to create a noble gas electron configuration (eight electrons in their outermost shell) for each atom. Atoms that tend to combine in such a way that they each have eight electrons in their valence shell are said to follow the octet rule. However, some elements like hydrogen and lithium need only two electrons in their outermost shell to attain this stable configuration; these atoms are said to follow the duet rule, and in this way they are reaching the electron configuration of the noble gas helium, which has two electrons in its outer shell.

In the methane molecule (CH4), the carbon atom shares a pair of valence electrons with each of the four hydrogen atoms. Thus, the octet rule is satisfied for C-atom (it has eight electrons in its valence shell) and the duet rule is satisfied for the H-atoms (they have two electrons in their valence shells).

An ionic bond is formed when a metal loses one or more of its electrons, becoming a positively charged cation, and the electrons are then gained by the non-metal atom, becoming a negatively charged anion. The two oppositely charged ions attract one another, and the ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between them. For example, sodium (Na), a metal, loses one electron to become an Na+ cation while chlorine (Cl), a non-metal, gains this electron to become Cl. The ions are held together due to electrostatic attraction, and that compound sodium chloride (NaCl), or common table salt, is formed.

A chemical bond can be a covalent bond, an ionic bond, a hydrogen bond or just because of Van der Waals force. Each of these kinds of bonds is ascribed to some potential. These potentials create the interactions which hold atoms together in molecules or crystals. In many simple compounds, valence bond theory, the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model (VSEPR), and the concept of oxidation number can be used to explain molecular structure and composition.

Atoms sticking together in molecules or crystals are said to be bonded with one another. A chemical bond may be visualized as the multipole balance between the positive charges in the nuclei and the negative charges oscillating about them.[54] More than simple attraction and repulsion, the energies and distributions characterize the availability of an electron to bond to another atom.

An animation of the process of ionic bonding between sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) to form sodium chloride, or common table salt. Ionic bonding involves one atom taking valence electrons from another (as opposed to sharing, which occurs in covalent bonding)


Less familiar phases include plasmas, Bose–Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. While most familiar phases deal with three-dimensional systems, it is also possible to define analogs in two-dimensional systems, which has received attention for its relevance to systems in biology.

The most familiar examples of phases are solids, liquids, and gases. Many substances exhibit multiple solid phases. For example, there are three phases of solid iron (alpha, gamma, and delta) that vary based on temperature and pressure. A principal difference between solid phases is the crystal structure, or arrangement, of the atoms. Another phase commonly encountered in the study of chemistry is the aqueous phase, which is the state of substances dissolved in aqueous solution (that is, in water).



In addition to the specific chemical properties that distinguish different chemical classifications, chemicals can exist in several phases. For the most part, the chemical classifications are independent of these bulk phase classifications; however, some more exotic phases are incompatible with certain chemical properties. A phase is a set of states of a chemical system that have similar bulk structural properties, over a range of conditions, such as pressure or temperature.

Example of phase changes


The mole is a unit of measurement that denotes an amount of substance (also called chemical amount). The mole is defined as the number of atoms found in exactly 0.012 kilogram (or 12 grams) of carbon-12, where the carbon-12 atoms are unbound, at rest and in their ground state.[51] The number of entities per mole is known as the Avogadro constant, and is determined empirically to be approximately 6.022×1023 mol−1.[52] Molar concentration is the amount of a particular substance per volume of solution, and is commonly reported in moldm−3.[53]

Mole and amount of substance

A chemical substance is a kind of matter with a definite composition and set of properties.[49] A collection of substances is called a mixture. Examples of mixtures are air and alloys.[50]

Examples of pure chemical substances. From left to right: the elements tin (Sn) and sulfur (S), diamond (an allotrope of carbon), sucrose (pure sugar), and sodium chloride (salt) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which are both ionic compounds.

Substance and mixture

One of the main characteristics of a molecule is its geometry often called its structure. While the structure of diatomic, triatomic or tetra atomic molecules may be trivial, (linear, angular pyramidal etc.) the structure of polyatomic molecules, that are constituted of more than six atoms (of several elements) can be crucial for its chemical nature.

However, not all substances or chemical compounds consist of discrete molecules, and indeed most of the solid substances that make up the solid crust, mantle, and core of the Earth are chemical compounds without molecules. These other types of substances, such as formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance. Examples of such substances are mineral salts (such as table salt), solids like carbon and diamond, metals, and familiar silica and silicate minerals such as quartz and granite.

The "inert" or pharmaceuticals.

A 2-D skeletal model of a benzene molecule (C6H6)

Thus, molecules exist as electrically neutral units, unlike ions. When this rule is broken, giving the "molecule" a charge, the result is sometimes named a molecular ion or a polyatomic ion. However, the discrete and separate nature of the molecular concept usually requires that molecular ions be present only in well-separated form, such as a directed beam in a vacuum in a mass spectrometer. Charged polyatomic collections residing in solids (for example, common sulfate or nitrate ions) are generally not considered "molecules" in chemistry.

A molecule is the smallest indivisible portion of a pure chemical substance that has its unique set of chemical properties, that is, its potential to undergo a certain set of chemical reactions with other substances. However, this definition only works well for substances that are composed of molecules, which is not true of many substances (see below). Molecules are typically a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds, such that the structure is electrically neutral and all valence electrons are paired with other electrons either in bonds or in lone pairs.

A ball-and-stick representation of the caffeine molecule (C8H10N4O2).


. CAS registry number has devised a method to index chemical substances. In this scheme each chemical substance is identifiable by a number known as its Chemical Abstracts Service In addition the [48] The standard nomenclature of compounds is set by the [46] is a pure chemical substance composed of more than one element. The properties of a compound bear little similarity to those of its elements.compound A

Carbon dioxide (CO2), an example of a chemical compound


The standard presentation of the chemical elements is in the periodic table, which orders elements by atomic number. The periodic table is arranged in groups, or columns, and periods, or rows. The periodic table is useful in identifying periodic trends.[45]

A chemical element is a pure substance which is composed of a single type of atom, characterized by its particular number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms, known as the atomic number and represented by the symbol Z. The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. Although all the nuclei of all atoms belonging to one element will have the same atomic number, they may not necessarily have the same mass number; atoms of an element which have different mass numbers are known as isotopes. For example, all atoms with 6 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the chemical element carbon, but atoms of carbon may have mass numbers of 12 or 13.[44]

Standard form of the periodic table of chemical elements. The colors represent different categories of elements


The atom is also the smallest entity that can be envisaged to retain the chemical properties of the element, such as electronegativity, ionization potential, preferred oxidation state(s), coordination number, and preferred types of bonds to form (e.g., metallic, ionic, covalent).

The atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of a dense core called the atomic nucleus surrounded by a space called the electron cloud. The nucleus is made up of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons (together called nucleons), while the electron cloud consists of negatively charged electrons which orbit the nucleus. In a neutral atom, the negatively charged electrons balance out the positive charge of the protons. The nucleus is dense; the mass of a nucleon is 1,836 times that of an electron, yet the radius of an atom is about 10,000 times that of its nucleus.[43][44]

A diagram of an atom based on the Rutherford model


In chemistry, matter is defined as anything that has rest mass and volume (it takes up space) and is made up of particles. The particles that make up matter have rest mass as well - not all particles have rest mass, such as the photon. Matter can be a pure chemical substance or a mixture of substances.[42]


Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in terms of their structure, phase, as well as their chemical compositions. They can be analyzed using the tools of chemical analysis, e.g. spectroscopy and chromatography. Scientists engaged in chemical research are known as chemists.[40] Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines. Several concepts are essential for the study of chemistry; some of them are:[41]

A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances into one or more different substances.[39] The basis of such a chemical transformation is the rearrangement of electrons in the chemical bonds between atoms. It can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation, which usually involves atoms as subjects. The number of atoms on the left and the right in the equation for a chemical transformation is equal. (When the number of atoms on either side is unequal, the transformation is referred to as a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay.) The type of chemical reactions a substance may undergo and the energy changes that may accompany it are constrained by certain basic rules, known as chemical laws.

The chemistry laboratory stereotypically uses various forms of laboratory glassware. However glassware is not central to chemistry, and a great deal of experimental (as well as applied/industrial) chemistry is done without it.

The current model of atomic structure is the quantum mechanical model.[37] Traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles, atoms, molecules,[38] substances, metals, crystals and other aggregates of matter. This matter can be studied in solid, liquid, or gas states, in isolation or in combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are usually the result of interactions between atoms, leading to rearrangements of the chemical bonds which hold atoms together. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory.

Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne.

Principles of modern chemistry

The year 2011 was declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Chemistry.[36] It was an initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and involves chemical societies, academics, and institutions worldwide and relied on individual initiatives to organize local and regional activities.

His work on atomic structure was improved on by his students, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr and Henry Moseley. The electronic theory of chemical bonds and molecular orbitals was developed by the American scientists Linus Pauling and Gilbert N. Lewis.

At the turn of the twentieth century the theoretical underpinnings of chemistry were finally understood due to a series of remarkable discoveries that succeeded in probing and discovering the very nature of the internal structure of atoms. In 1897, J. J. Thomson of Cambridge University discovered the electron and soon after the French scientist Becquerel as well as the couple Pierre and Marie Curie investigated the phenomenon of radioactivity. In a series of pioneering scattering experiments Ernest Rutherford at the University of Manchester discovered the internal structure of the atom and the existence of the proton, classified and explained the different types of radioactivity and successfully transmuted the first element by bombarding nitrogen with alpha particles.

Bottom: Observed results: a small portion of the particles were deflected, indicating a small, concentrated charge.

Chemical structure

in the 1870s). Svante Arrhenius and J. W. Gibbs in 1852) and the application of thermodynamics to chemistry (Edward Frankland Other crucial 19th century advances were; an understanding of valence bonding ([35] Organic chemistry was developed by

British William Prout first proposed ordering all the elements by their atomic weight as all atoms had a weight that was an exact multiple of the atomic weight of hydrogen. J. A. R. Newlands devised an early table of elements, which was then developed into the modern periodic table of elements[32] in the 1860s by Dmitri Mendeleev and independently by several other scientists including Julius Lothar Meyer.[33][34] The inert gases, later called the noble gases were discovered by William Ramsay in collaboration with Lord Rayleigh at the end of the century, thereby filling in the basic structure of the table.

The development of the electrochemical theory of chemical combinations occurred in the early 19th century as the result of the work of two scientists in particular, J. J. Berzelius and Humphry Davy, made possible by the prior invention of the voltaic pile by Alessandro Volta. Davy discovered nine new elements including the alkali metals by extracting them from their oxides with electric current.[31]

English scientist John Dalton proposed the modern theory of atoms; that all substances are composed of indivisible 'atoms' of matter and that different atoms have varying atomic weights.

In his periodic table, Dmitri Mendeleev predicted the existence of 7 new elements,[29] and placed all 60 elements known at the time in their correct places.[30]

Prior to his work, though, many important discoveries had been made, specifically relating to the nature of 'air' which was discovered to be composed of many different gases. The Scottish chemist Joseph Black (the first experimental chemist) and the Dutchman J. B. van Helmont discovered carbon dioxide, or what Black called 'fixed air' in 1754; Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen and elucidated its properties and Joseph Priestley and, independently, Carl Wilhelm Scheele isolated pure oxygen.

The theory of Antoine Lavoisier, the chemical analogue of Newton in physics; who did more than any other to establish the new science on proper theoretical footing, by elucidating the principle of conservation of mass and developing a new system of chemical nomenclature used to this day.[28]

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is considered the "Father of Modern Chemistry".[27]

Under the influence of the new empirical methods propounded by Sir Francis Bacon and others, a group of chemists at Oxford, Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke and John Mayow began to reshape the old alchemical traditions into a scientific discipline. Boyle in particular is regarded as the founding father of chemistry due to his most important work, the classic chemistry text The Sceptical Chymist where the differentiation is made between the claims of alchemy and the empirical scientific discoveries of the new chemistry.[25] He formulated Boyle's law, rejected the classical "four elements" and proposed a mechanistic alternative of atoms and chemical reactions that could be subject to rigorous experiment.[26]

Chemistry as science

In the Hellenistic world the art of alchemy first proliferated, mingling magic and occultism into the study of natural substances with the ultimate goal of transmuting elements into gold and discovering the elixir of eternal life.[22] Alchemy was discovered and practised widely throughout the Arab world after the Muslim conquests,[23] and from there, diffused into medieval and Renaissance Europe through Latin translations.[24]

A basic chemical hypothesis first emerged in Classical Greece with the theory of four elements as propounded definitively by Aristotle stating that that fire, air, earth and water were the fundamental elements from which everything is formed as a combination. Greek atomism dates back to 440 BC, arising in works by philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus. In 50 BC, the Roman philosopher Lucretius expanded upon the theory in his book De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things).[19][20] Unlike modern concepts of science, Greek atomism was purely philosophical in nature, with little concern for empirical observations and no concern for chemical experiments.[21]

Early civilizations, such as the Egyptians[17] Babylonians, Indians[18] amassed practical knowledge concerning the arts of metallurgy, pottery and dyes, but didn't develop a systematic theory.

Democritus' atomist philosophy was later adopted by Epicurus (341–270 BCE).


[16] broadened the definition of "chemistry" to mean the study of matter and the changes it undergoes.Raymond Chang More recently, in 1998, Professor [15].Linus Pauling This definition further evolved until, in 1947, it came to mean the science of substances: their structure, their properties, and the reactions that change them into other substances - a characterization accepted by [14] considered the word "chemistry" to refer to the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces.Jean-Baptiste Dumas In 1837, [13]

