There are approximately 100 kifferent kinds of chemicals. All by themself, and not mixed with anything else, they are called elements. You know some of these, like gold, silver, and oxygen. These elements can be separate, but are usually found attached to other elements. Very few things in this world are "pure", in the sense that they are only one element. There are about 100 known elements. Imagine having 100 different shaped legos and building everything know to man, from these legos pieces! Pretty amazing, huh?
Elements are so little that most of them can not even be seen with a powerful microscope. These little, tiny things are called Atoms. Even atoms are made of several different parts. These parts are called, protons, neutrons and electrons. Usually atoms travel in groups of two or more.
What do Chemist do? A Chemist is a scientist who studies the elements. By studying what things are made of, scientists learn how to make new and useful items. Examples of this would be: Better plastic, more effective medicine or more powerful cleaners.
Those packing peanuts, the ones used in packages, were made of plastic. Now many of them are made of starch and can even be eaten! A Chemist invented these new, enviromentally safe packing materials.
Chemistry began long ago, about 2,000 years or so, when people called Alchemists tried to turn metals , such as iron into gold. They did more than just experiments though. They also tried to use magic! They never did learn to turn iron into gold, but they did learn a lot by trying. They learned how to make certain medicines. Modern chemistry, started about 200 years ago, no magic involved.
Scientists must have an idea of how something works before they begin to test their ideas. This idea is called a hypothesis. Science deals a lot with ideas that have not been proven. A Chemist or Scientist may have an idea about something and how it will probably work. It's a, sort of guess, based on things they already know to be fact. This idea, or hypothesis is then tested to see if it's true. This is how a scientist learns.
My next article will explain what atoms are and how they work. Future articles will include games, snacks, crafts and fun things to do while studying chemistry.
Go To Page: 1 2
